If he should stay or go. Apparently, its much to do about nothing in Nevada because I not heard any outcry from the people of that state.
This goes beyond just an affair, which in & of itself really isn't newsworthy...But this story goes way beyond that (payoffs, Senator Coburn's (R-OK) strange involvement, etc.),....And since Senator Ensign was one of those "holier than thou I'm better than you hypocrites", who called for Clinton to resign after Lewinsky scandal, well, time for Ensign to go....
Because you know if it was a Democrat, there'd be calls for his head...
First, let's be realistic. The more power a man wields, the greater his drive for sexual novelty -- and the more access he has to it due to female hypergamous tendencies.
I don't care where you look -- whether it be in government, corporations, etc. -- the greater the power, the greater the drive and access to sexual novelty.
So this is something I expect. It should probably still be discouraged because specifically condoning it could lead to large-scale polygyny; but that's a subject for another day.
Second, while I am a right-winger, my issue with Clinton was NOT that he got a blowjob in the oval office from an over-21 female. I mean -- shoot, I couldn't even dream of any sort of sex with Hillary. Not Monica either, to be honest -- but that's not the point.
The issue, for me, was that AFTER he had signed all sorts of sexual harassment laws that make it so I don't even dare LOOK at a female in the workplace; when a sexual harassment suit was brought against him, he lied lied lied lied in order to deny Paula Jones her day in court.
THAT was the issue, and the issue for which he was impeached. NOT the fact that he got a blowjob.
The idea that Clinton was impeached over a blowjob is reductio ad absurdum. He was impeached for lying under oath -- perjury -- a felonious act.
Now -- we can apply the same standard to Mr. Ensign.
Did he perjure himself in order to deny a woman her day in court? No? Well -- then okay. He should stay.
Even Spitzer didn't end up resigning because he had slept with a prostitute. Rather, it became evident that massive amounts of adjunct government funds for bodyguard overtime and stuff like that had been involved. In other words, he could have survived the prostitution scandal IF he had paid for it all (including travel and bodyguards) out of his own pocket. Of course, there WAS that little hypocrisy where he had worked to shut down the prostitution industry; but he was a Democrat.
NOW -- if Ensign has diverted government funds beyond the odd phone call or whatnot to support his lover -- that is an entirely different matter. If he paid her from government or campaign funds, entailed government expenses to fly her places, etc. -- then THAT would be a reason for him to resign.
But the fact that a high status male would have drive and access for sexual novelty -- and actually take advantage of it -- is a fact of life without regard to party affiliation. It is not a cause for resignation. Diverting public or campaign funds IS cause. Perjury to deny a woman her day in court IS cause.
See the difference?
as much as I detest your slimy progressive capitalist political position I have to agree with you in this case.
No human could ever withstand the scrunity that the independent prosecutor placed on Clinton and to say that it was not politically motivated, you are fooling yourself.
However, you made several factual errors in your analysis. First of all Spitzer, was never alleged to do the things that you said in your post. What you described is what Gulliani did in his affair. Spitzer, like all of us hobbyist used his own money to pay the agency and the agency arranged her transport to DC and overtime was not a factor because it was a hour/not an overnight stay. The AG found that the escort activities was with his own money.
Now you are correct, Ensign was a smart man. He never directly paid or broke any laws. He double their staff salaries - not a crime. He hired her 19 year old son as a consultant to the RSC - not a crime. Now HIS PARENTS paid the family 8 seperate 12,000 checks to avoid tax code violations for gifts. All ethically wrong if not legally wrong.
Their only difference between Clinton and Ensign is that Ensign got tired of the scumbag husband trying to milk him for more money and came clean or somewhat clean. Now lets see if this husband had the political motivation of Linda Tripp and went to the Senate ethics first and the question would have been put to him. Did you have sex with that woman - I winder what Ensign response would be then. Its a little more than speculation to think he would have said No, like Clinton, because even after his confession, he failed to tell about his parent coverup, until the scumbag hubby mentioned it in a interview.
After reading a transcript of Ensign and Sanford speeches of the House floor during the impeachment hearing both should resign based on their standards but why not? They both liken themselves to King David of Israel, who cheated and had the husband killed. Why could Clinton be like David? I guess David was a Republican.
"Because you know if it was a Democrat, there'd be calls for his head..."
Your statement implies that Democrat's are held to a higher standard than are Republicans and that is just patently not true. Republicans may score higher on the hypocrisy meter, but if either party is judged harder where it comes to sexual scandals it is the Republicans. We can debate all day that it might be justified, but justified or not it is still a fact.
As far as Ensign resigning or being forced to resign, my opinion is still being formed on that issue. He has broken no laws that I can tell, the "payoffs" were never alleged to have come from public funds. I don't recall him ever perjuring himself about the affair. I would think that the members of TER would be a bit more understanding about sexual scandals, or is this your partisanship showing?
In fact, I voted for him in spite of his outspoken views on marriage. I'm not all that upset over his hypocrisy, although I think it's funny that saying over & over that someone will be faithful makes people think it will be so.
My issue with him, as a Nevada resident, is that he used his power for personal gain. He had people on the payroll at bloated salaries so that he could get some strange. Until the government subsidizes my poontang habit, let him pay for it himself.
It seems that the media has missed the point that his chippy is really just a prostitute, and the husband is a pimp.
If he should stay or go. Apparently, its much to do about nothing in Nevada because I not heard any outcry from the people of that state.
I don't speak FOR the state, but I get my one vote. I'm disappointed, because I thought he was the good senator. Not great, but the better one. I don't really care where he puts his dick, as long as it's not near me, but it will hurt him politically.
Harry's son (Rory) is already pushing to advance himself, although I believe he's aiming for the governor job. Having two of the Reid family with powerful government jobs is about as appealing to me as having child molesters living on either side of my kids daycare facility.
because I don't think they are either...HOWEVER, if a Democratic senator/governor etc. had a sex scandal of ANY kind, don't you think Republican leadership would be giving barking orders for him to resign?....Look at Elliott Spitzer, think he resigned within 2-3 days after his scandal broke....And John Edwards political career is over....Well, he was never a serious presidential candiate, last year, it was going to be either Obama or Clinton for the Democratic nominee...But Edwards won't hold ANY political office from this point on....
Sure, normally I would have empathy for a politcian involved in a sex scandal, but I have a REAL difficult time getting past the holier than thou crowd....John Ensign, among others, called on Clinton to resign after Lewinsky, now he wants a pass??...
Now if Governor Schwartzenegger or Mayor Bloomberg had a sex scandal, I TRULY would have empathy for them...They never got on a pedestal & preached morals & values & they are 2 Republicans who are not hypocrites...