By Steve Peoples
Journal State House Bureau

The political shots last week were not limited to the House Finance Committee.

Talk radio listeners got a treat when WPRO host John DePetro asked Governor Carcieri about Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts' push to investigate a $370,000 payment to a consulting group with personal ties to a cabinet member.

"This is nothing more than, as far as I'm concerned, political grandstanding, getting face time," Carcieri said.

"This is part of the problem. I've said for years now that we need to get real with the rest of the country and have the lieutenant governor on the same ticket with the governor. Most states either do that or don't have a lieutenant governor."

Carcieri continued: "Ladies and gentlemen, there is no job, there is no job, there is no responsibility for the lieutenant governor. You got a million-dollar budget to do nothing -- except, I guess, run for governor and try and get face time."

Roberts took the high road when asked to respond to the specific jabs.

"I called for an investigation of the actions already taken by the administration because the public has a fundamental right to know whether public funds have been spent in compliance with the principles of transparency, good government, law and regulation," she wrote Political Scene in an e-mail.