Thursday, February 10, 2011
Three-Hour Scandal
Perhaps in the era of Twitter's 140 characters, it was bound to come to this: The days of the Clinton impeachment drama -- which stretched out over a year from revelation to Senate acquittal -- are long gone. The quick evaporation of one Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY) happened in all of three hours on Wednesday, February 9, 2011.
Gawker ran the story around 2:30 PM -- with a shirtless picture of the married Buffalo congressman; it was on Twitter moments later. By 5:30, Lee told Fox News that he had to "work this out with my wife." Minutes later, he was gone: The recently-elected two-term Congressman had resigned his seat.
That a congressman would quit because of a sex scandal isn't such a shock. But that it turned out to be a sex scandal, where there is little evidence of any actual sex having taken place. Especially when there are members in the House and Senate who have survived real sex scandals.
Of course, it may well turn out that this wasn't the first time Lee was on Craigslist looking for some action. Indeed, the resignation probably stops cold any further questioning on that line. He's now a private citizen. Of course, as a few people noted, the real surprise is that the first congressman to quit because of scandal wasn't this guy.
In one sense, it's a sad tale that a foolish act would end someone's career so quickly. However, there is the judgment question of -- why would Lee use his real name in an e-mail communication with a woman who wasn't his wife!?!?
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Gawker ran the story around 2:30 PM -- with a shirtless picture of the married Buffalo congressman; it was on Twitter moments later. By 5:30, Lee told Fox News that he had to "work this out with my wife." Minutes later, he was gone: The recently-elected two-term Congressman had resigned his seat.
That a congressman would quit because of a sex scandal isn't such a shock. But that it turned out to be a sex scandal, where there is little evidence of any actual sex having taken place. Especially when there are members in the House and Senate who have survived real sex scandals.
Of course, it may well turn out that this wasn't the first time Lee was on Craigslist looking for some action. Indeed, the resignation probably stops cold any further questioning on that line. He's now a private citizen. Of course, as a few people noted, the real surprise is that the first congressman to quit because of scandal wasn't this guy.
In one sense, it's a sad tale that a foolish act would end someone's career so quickly. However, there is the judgment question of -- why would Lee use his real name in an e-mail communication with a woman who wasn't his wife!?!?
Labels: Chris Lee, Gawker, sex scandal
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Spitzer To Quit Today
The Post's Fred Dicker reports this morning:
UPDATE: Daily News reports Lt. Gov. Paterson to be sworn in today.
UPDATE II: Spitzer's resignation will be effective Monday.
UPDATE IV: Spitzer's departure. And "Kristen" surfaces! With a MySpace page, of course!
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Gov. Eliot Spitzer has decided to resign and will begin notifying top state officials of his decision just after 9 a.m., The Post has learned.Not surprising, as follow-up reports on the scandal have the total he spent on prostitutes over the years reaching at least $80,000.
Word began circulating of his decision in state political circles just minutes ago, which came after what one source called "an agonizing night," as the governor's wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, and the governor's lawyers went over a possible plea deal offered by federal prosecutors, sources told The Post.
Lt. Gov. David Paterson, who has remained at his suburban Albany home for the past three days, was expected to be notified of Spiter's decision within the hour.
Sources said Paterson has told friends that if he does become governor, he would like Sptizer to hold off his resignation until Monday to give him enough time to prepare for a transition.
UPDATE: Daily News reports Lt. Gov. Paterson to be sworn in today.
UPDATE II: Spitzer's resignation will be effective Monday.
UPDATE IV: Spitzer's departure. And "Kristen" surfaces! With a MySpace page, of course!
Labels: Eliot Spitzer, prostitution, sex scandal
Monday, March 10, 2008
3 AM Call...
The phone rings. Hillary Rodham Clinton picks it up.
"Yes?"
"Hillary, it's Silda Wall Spitzer. Sorry to call so late. Eliot's still not home. Based on your experience, what should I do?"
UPDATE: Welcome, visitors from Andrew Sullivan, Conservative Grapevine and Reddit! Hope you make it back!
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"Yes?"
"Hillary, it's Silda Wall Spitzer. Sorry to call so late. Eliot's still not home. Based on your experience, what should I do?"
UPDATE: Welcome, visitors from Andrew Sullivan, Conservative Grapevine and Reddit! Hope you make it back!
Labels: Eliot Spitzer, Hillary Clinton, prostitution, sex scandal
Friday, November 30, 2007
Best Laid Plans
In noting the NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson charge that Rudy Giuliani "stonewalled" his auditing probe into the reallocated security billings back in 2002, Andrew Sullivan echoes my pre-debate observation. Rudy's hope/strategy to let Mike Huckabee be a stalking horse for Mitt Romney in the early states may backfire:
UPDATE: Rudy's creative "accounting" gets mega NYC tabloid love here, here and here.
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But it's a sign of what may well be coming with the Giuliani candidacy: so many skeletons from so many New York City closets that he begins to become a liability. People talk of how Huckabee could weaken Romney and allow Rudy to win. But what if Rudy and Romney so destroy one another that Huckabee comes up between them. He's been rising in South Carolina all year as well. And Giuliani has been sliding there constantly in the past nine months.Josh Marshall's Muckraker task force also points out that Giuliani defenders are already in "changing story" mode.
UPDATE: Rudy's creative "accounting" gets mega NYC tabloid love here, here and here.
Labels: GOP 2008 President, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, sex scandal
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
The Love That Dare Not Take a Wide Stance (Cont'd)
Madscribe:
Apparently, RAG's favorite Republican candidate's campaign now has a simmering same-sex scandal of its own.
To tie this all in with another of RAG's favorite pastimes, I always imagined that if Giuliani were an X-Man villain that I would see him crashing through the walls of Prof. Xavier's (or Dr. Paul's) home screaming, "DO YOU know WHO I am? I'M the 9/11 MAYOR, B*TCH!!"
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Apparently, RAG's favorite Republican candidate's campaign now has a simmering same-sex scandal of its own.
To tie this all in with another of RAG's favorite pastimes, I always imagined that if Giuliani were an X-Man villain that I would see him crashing through the walls of Prof. Xavier's (or Dr. Paul's) home screaming, "DO YOU know WHO I am? I'M the 9/11 MAYOR, B*TCH!!"
Labels: Destruction of the GOP, Rudy Giuliani, sex scandal
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Not To Be Judgmental...
...but honestly -- straight, gay or whatever, the only people who should be caught having sex in public restrooms are celebrities (or wannabes), high on coke and looking for a mention in Page Six.
Otherwise...ick.
UPDATE: Drudge's headlines...listed here only for their pun-ishing sensibility:
BROKEBACK BATHROOM: SENATOR BUSTED IN AIRPORT SEX STING...
CRAIG'S LIST: TERROR IN THE TOILETS...
His Own Private Idaho...
But the best bad pun goes to one of Ed Morrissey's commenters at Captain's Quarters:
This has got to be one of the weirdest summers on record.
UPDATE: A different take on the Craig episode, offered by one of Josh Marshall's readers and fill-in blogger. Gives fair-minded folk something to think about.
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Otherwise...ick.
UPDATE: Drudge's headlines...listed here only for their pun-ishing sensibility:
BROKEBACK BATHROOM: SENATOR BUSTED IN AIRPORT SEX STING...
CRAIG'S LIST: TERROR IN THE TOILETS...
His Own Private Idaho...
But the best bad pun goes to one of Ed Morrissey's commenters at Captain's Quarters:
Posted by watchingthenews August 27, 2007 7:20 PM
Just another example of GOP stall tactics.
This has got to be one of the weirdest summers on record.
UPDATE: A different take on the Craig episode, offered by one of Josh Marshall's readers and fill-in blogger. Gives fair-minded folk something to think about.
Labels: Larry Craig, Republicans, sex scandal
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
With Friends Like These...
Real Clear Politics details an interesting trend:
And, of course, it's not just one hooker. Vitter was apparently not a quitter (the Louisiana madam -- as opposed to the "D.C. Madam" -- speaks quite highly of him). Of course, if his wife is true to her word, politics is the least of Sen. Vitter's worries:
Oh well, one thing Giuliani doesn't have to worry about: His support for gun control means that he won't get Ted Nugent's endorsement. Thank goodness. Otherwise, he might have to worry about a possible trifecta of endorsee scandals covering sex (Vitter), drugs (Ravenel) and rock & roll!
UPDATE: Josh Marshall offers something of a contest that I'd like to give RT readers an opportunity to jump in:
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Boy, Rudy can sure pick 'em. The former New York Mayor had a good fundraising quarter, outraising every other Republican in the field, but he can't seem to hold on to endorsers. First, President Bush relieved Giuliani of his Iowa state chair when he appointed former Congressman Jim Nussle to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Then, a federal grand jury relieved Giuliani of his South Carolina chairman when it indicted Treasurer Thomas Ravenel on cocaine charges (Ravenel pleaded not guilty and flew to the Sierra Tucson facility for rehabilitation).Vitter's indiscretion -- unlike, say, Ravenel's -- can be even more damaging to Giuliani than just the loss of a "conservative liaison": It directly highlights on one of Giuliani's personal "issues", i.e., infidelity and marital problems.
Now comes news that the first member of Congress to be swept up in the so-called D.C. Madam case is Louisiana Senator David Vitter. Vitter, as Marc Ambinder points out, was one of the first top Republicans to throw his weight behind Giuliani, and while Vitter's apology last night may not make Rudy cut him completely adrift, it's certainly a loss of someone who could have played a big role as a conservative liaison.
And, of course, it's not just one hooker. Vitter was apparently not a quitter (the Louisiana madam -- as opposed to the "D.C. Madam" -- speaks quite highly of him). Of course, if his wife is true to her word, politics is the least of Sen. Vitter's worries:
In 2000, his wife, Wendy, was asked if she would stand by her man like HillaryOuch.
Clinton if she faced a similar situation.
“I’m a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary,” Mrs. Vitter told Newhouse News. “If he does something like that, I’m walking away with one thing, and it’s not alimony, trust me.”
Oh well, one thing Giuliani doesn't have to worry about: His support for gun control means that he won't get Ted Nugent's endorsement. Thank goodness. Otherwise, he might have to worry about a possible trifecta of endorsee scandals covering sex (Vitter), drugs (Ravenel) and rock & roll!
UPDATE: Josh Marshall offers something of a contest that I'd like to give RT readers an opportunity to jump in:
I was thinking it would be interesting to have like a Rudy futures market -- trying to figure out in advance who was likely to be engulfed in a major scandal or caught committing serious felonies so Rudy could hurry up and appoint them to something while the getting was so good.Two words, Mr. Mayor, two words: "Background checks."
In any case, that aside, so far we've got Kerik (wenching, bribery, assorted corruption), Ravenel
(coke dealing), Ravenel Sr. (history of racist comments), Vitter (patron of prostitutes) and ...? Who else can you think of? Let us know.
Labels: David Vitter, GOP 2008 President, Rudy Giuliani, sex scandal
