G.O.P. Freshman’s Fiscal Message Clashes With His Finances

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER and STEVEN YACCINO
NYT

WASHINGTON — There is Representative Joe Walsh, a freshman from Illinois, deriding his colleagues once again for their poor stewardship of the economy. During the debt ceiling debate, Mr. Walsh took to the airwaves to call President Obama a liar for suggesting that the nation might default. Just the other day, Mr. Walsh held court at a Tea Party rally, complaining that Republican leaders in Congress had “been there too long” to understand how best to deal with the nation’s daunting fiscal issues.

Among the 87 Republican House freshmen, Mr. Walsh is perhaps the most visible when it comes to televised economic exposition, refracted through the lens of the Tea Party that helped him eke out a win last year in a suburban Chicago district. Although his district is among the least conservative of any won by a Republican, Mr. Walsh has among the most conservative voting records; he was one of 22 Republicans to vote against the debt-ceiling agreement last summer and among the 24 Republicans to reject a short-term spending agreement passed in September, arguing that its cuts were not deep enough.

But Mr. Walsh’s own finances are not quite in step with the tight-ship budgeting he calls for in Washington. According to a lawsuit filed by his ex-wife, he owes more than $100,000 in child support, an accusation he denies.

There have been other financial setbacks. Mr. Walsh lost a condominium to foreclosure before he ran for office. He has had a run-in with the Internal Revenue Service. He has no savings accounts, no investment accounts and has $3,000 in his only I.R.A., according to court documents filed by his lawyer last week.

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