by Senate Guru, Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 07:04:40 AM EDT
Y'all remember John Ensign, right? He's the Republican U.S. Senator from Nevada who recently announced that he cheated on his wife with an aide. But he's not resigning - despite the fact that he called on President Clinton to resign for his marital infidelity. Why the different standard?
Nevada U.S. Sen. John Ensign told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his affair with a friend's wife was different from former President Bill Clinton's affair in the White House because Clinton committed a felony when he lied about it to a grand jury."I haven't done anything legally wrong," the Nevada Republican said.
"President Clinton stood right before the American people and he lied to the American people," Ensign said. "You remember that famous day he lied to the American people, plus the fact I thought he committed perjury. That's why I voted for the articles of impeachment."
John Ensign is arguing that President Clinton should have resigned because his marital infidelity broke the law, while Ensign's own infidelity didn't (which is arguable if you follow the $96,000 in hush money that the Ensign family sent to the family of his mistress).
Well, what about Hookerlover David Vitter's infidelity? What about his Very Serious Sin? If Republican Senator John Ensign's standard for resignation is whether or not one's marital infidelity is also "legally wrong," then wouldn't soliciting prostitutes qualify, as Republican David Vitter's, um, personal life included?
In short, according to his own explicit standard, Republican Senator John Ensign must think that Republican Senator David Vitter should resign.
For daily news and analysis on the U.S. Senate races around the country, regularly read Senate Guru.
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by Senate Guru, Wed Aug 19, 2009 at 09:33:10 AM EDT
Golden parachute recipient Carly Fiorina is considering running for Senate in 2010, but that campaign would be one of her first brushes with the democratic process as, it turns out, she barely ever votes:
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Fiorina has voted in just 5 of 18 elections since she registered to vote in California.Before moving to California, the Chronicle found, Fiorina was registered to vote in New Jersey. But after eight years of never casting a vote, she was dropped from the voter rolls.
It gets worse:
Before that, Fiorina lived in Montgomery County, Md., where the registrar's office said they reviewed state databases and found no listing of Fiorina's voter registration.Fiorina strongly disputes the voting records as "just wrong," her spokeswoman, Beth Miller, said. Miller said Tuesday that Fiorina has no records to prove her past voting record and has acknowledged her failure to vote in some elections. But while "she didn't vote all the time ... she did vote," the spokeswoman added.
Fiorina has no records to prove that she registered to vote just like she has no records to prove she was an effective CEO before being fired with that cushy golden parachute. Oh, and speaking of her experience in the business world, just like she never filed the paperwork to vote, it appears she never registered her business:
Fiorina is facing scrutiny over her current business (Carly Fiorina Enterprises), which is not registered as a corporation in California, according to the paper. Her spokesman told the Chronicle that she doesn't need to register because the business is a sole proprietorship.But California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who is running for governor, has initiated an inquiry into the situation - which could create quite a political firestorm if his office found anything problematic.
I wouldn't expect Fiorina to make such a rookie mistake when it comes to registering her company. That said, if the inquiry does find anything the slightest bit problematic, it will be a major embarrassment for Fiorina. Stay tuned.
For daily news and analysis on the U.S. Senate races around the country, regularly read Senate Guru.
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by Senate Guru, Tue Mar 24, 2009 at 12:13:20 PM EDT
The Transportation Security Administration has set a very dangerous precedent:
The Transportation Security Administration has cleared Senator David Vitter (R-LA) of wrongdoing in his reported airport rage incident.To be exact, it was determined that Vitter did not pose a security threat. He did open the door to his plane's gate, which he should not have done after it had been shut, but he didn't go further after the alarm went off.
The TSA's statement: "TSA worked with local partners to review the incident and determined the actions of the individual did not pose a security threat. The individual caused a door to alarm but did not proceed into a restricted area."
The TSA has just declared that it is totally cool and perfectly legal for you to go around airports opening doors to restricted areas and setting off alarms as long as you do not "proceed into a restricted area." (Or does this only apply to Republican Senators who are in a hurry and don't want to be treated like us common lowlifes.) Anybody else think that the TSA's decision sets a horribly dangerous precedent?
One thing that is clear is that Hookerlover David Vitter is exceptional at committing potentially or clearly illegal acts and getting away with it clean as a whistle.
Here's Vitter's rap sheet so far:
Late-90's to Early-00's (?): Solicited an unknown number of prostitutes in possibly multiple jurisdictions including Louisiana and the District of Columbia.April 7, 2008: Was accomplice to the damaging of public property at the City Hall of Gonzales, Louisiana; and then fled the scene of the crime.March 5, 2009: Created a public disturbance at an airport boarding gate, reportedly yelling at airport staff; and then violated TSA policy by opening the door to a restricted area in defiance of the airport staff, setting off an alarm; and then reportedly departed the scene of the crime when security was to be alerted.How many more crimes can Vitter commit before Election Day 2010? Further, is every Republican in Louisiana content to support this values-deficient, hypocritical scofflaw?
UPDATE: Left off this doozie from September 1993:At a Sept. 21, 1993, town hall meeting in Metairie, he got into a confrontation with a questioner that led to a lawsuit against him.
Mercedes Hernandez, who was involved in Republican politics, testified that she frequently attended local meetings to engage officials on the issues, usually tape-recording the events. At a town hall meeting, Hernandez asked the state representative about a rumor she'd heard that he was supporting a gay-rights bill in the Legislature. Vitter became "enraged by her question, left the podium where he was standing, advanced toward her in a rapid, threatening manner, pushing aside chairs ... and grabbed a portable tape recorder" that Hernandez was holding, according to her legal complaint.
Hookerlover may truly be missing a few marbles.
For daily news and updates on the U.S. Senate races around the country, regularly read Senate Guru.
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by sem1480, Thu Feb 16, 2006 at 04:37:03 PM EST
Check out what the Patrick Murphy campaign found Mike Fitzpatrick trying to sneak under the radar:
In a staggering show of hypocrisy and election-year posturing, Mike Fitzpatrick yesterday tacked hard towards the center, expressing "some reservations" about the Bush FY '07 budget that further slashes Medicare, Veterans' benefits, and education. However, the facts just don't add up.
For Patrick Murphy's full press release click here. More about Fitzpatrick's hypocrisy on the flip...
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by erickarp, Thu Feb 16, 2006 at 04:30:13 PM EST
Check out what the
Patrick Murphy campaign found Mike Fitzpatrick trying to sneak under the radar:
In a staggering show of hypocrisy and election-year posturing, Mike Fitzpatrick yesterday tacked hard towards the center, expressing "some reservations" about the Bush FY '07 budget that further slashes Medicare, Veterans' benefits, and education. However, the facts just don't add up.
For Patrick Murphy's full press release click
here. More about Fitzpatrick's hypocrisy on the flip...
There's more...
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