Contrition, Republican style

Here's a star of the Republican party, showing proper remorse:

“I really don’t want to dwell on that,” Stern said of his 1996 felony theft convictions.

“I’m trying to make a better life for myself, and put the past in the past,” Stern said, adding later, “I paid a price that I shouldn’t have paid. It’s over and done with, and I want to go on with my life.”

(from the Nashua Telegraph, via BuzzFlash, emphasis mine).

Mr. Sterm was, according to the story (link above):

A man convicted of stealing more than $600,000 in a business loan scam received an award from the National Republican Congressional Committee honoring his business leadership and party support.

Ira Stern, 56, of Milford was among hundreds of people nationally to receive the 2004 Ronald Reagan Republican Gold Medal award, Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Alex Burgos said Wednesday.

Recipients were invited to be recognized at a dinner and tax reform workshop in Washington, D.C., on March 15, at which President Bush was the keynote speaker, Burgos said.

The awards were given by NRCC, and announced by House Majority Leader Tom Delay and NRCC Chairman Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York, to honor business leaders who support the party, and honor President Reagan’s “vision for an entrepreneurial America.”

“Mr. Stern has served as Honorary Chairman of the Business Advisory Council and has provided much needed support. This award could not have gone to a more deserving candidate,” Reynolds was quoted as saying in the Amherst Citizen newspaper.

Gotta love those "Republican family values"...