In response to a controversy that barely had time to develop, Rep. Christopher Lee (R., NY) has abruptly resigned from the House after the web site Gawker reported on an alleged romantic exchange between Lee and a Maryland woman over craigslist.org.
Lee is married, and after initial denials told Fox News little more than an hour ago that the exchange was something he would have to “work out” with his wife. In a statement announcing his resignation, Lee apologized to his family and staff for “profound mistakes” and promised “to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness.”
-and the RNC wonders why I don't donate my hard-earned money anymore...
...geniuses.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAt least there are few in the GOP who would cling to power and tell the public to MYOB. Good on him. He screwed up and acted like a man when it came to light.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHuh. I wonder what that is about. But, at least, he had the integrity to resign.
Hypocrisy, regardless of party, annoys the living daylights out of me.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMarital infidelity is so lame.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhy did Rep. Lee resign? Democrats insist that their private lives - and indiscretions - have nothing to do with their ability to represent their constituents or be President of the United States.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYes, you're right Jenna. Republicans don't resign for these things. Just look at John Ensign. Look at David Vitter. I mean, Vitter was doing prostitutes and had weird fetishes and he's still among the GOP's shining stars.
It's about hypocrisy. If the GOP want to legislate the private sex lives of American taxpayers, they deserve to have their indiscretions flashed up on Gawker.
Especially when they're so dumb as to troll on Craigslist.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMaybe what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but certainly what happens on the Internet is open to the world. It is amazing how many people do not understand that.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI hope his wife takes a "golfing" lesson from Tiger's ex.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLesson: don't get caught playing 18 holes or you'll end up like Tiger Woods.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm a Democrat, but I just don't like adultery from either side of the aisle. It is 1) a betrayal of those you hold most dear, and 2) a breach of the marriage contract (No, I do not call it a "covenant". That word seems to connote the supernatural, and I am a rationalist.) Barney Frank and the Congressional pages? Quite seamy and inappropriate, as seamy as Larry Craig's "toe-tappin'" routine in the men's room. Frank and Craig, too, should have known better. They should have at the very least known enough not to mix business with pleasure or fish from the company pier. The difference is that Craig was married and Frank is not. As for the ages of the pages--yes, they were underage. Violation of the law, pure and simple. I can't help but wonder, though, if some of those pages knew exactly what they were doing. But I suppose that is a matter for psychologists, not lawyers or prosecutors.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAnother idiot with no judgment. Glad he's gone, if he's this stupid who knows what kind of laws he'd vote for. Adultery is one thing, putting a picture with your face on it out on Craiglist is quite another.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse@Jenna:
Their argument is that a Congresscritter's sex life is fair game when he supports laws that intrude on unlimited sexual liberty for others.
So he would get a pass on this sort of thing if he supported gay marriage and abortion, and opposed DADT (in theory, anyhow...in practice I suspect that the "R" after his name would doom him among the Gawker and HuffPo crowd anyhow). But since that's not the case, and he's therefore a declared enemy of sexual freedom, he's a "hypocrite" who deserves to be exposed.
Jonah's written persuasively before about this tired "hypocrisy" game; though I believe the temperature has risen a bit since he last wrote. More and more people are becoming convinced that politicians who are opposed to gay marriage and in favor of DADT are no different than segregationists, and should be treated accordingly.
It becomes positively a moral imperative to destroy such evil people whenever and however possible. Heck, the recent Chick-fil-A kerfuffle showed that in this strange new world it's even morally required to refuse to serve such people chicken sandwiches.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHard to estimate the percentage of politicians who are ethically flawed, but I'm guessing it's pretty high. The difference between the parties seems to be that Republicans who get caught have enough sense of shame to resign while Dems (e.g. Clinton, Studds) hang on at all costs.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJenna: Your point is well taken. Reality is Democratic voters will turn out and vote for someone who did something like Chris Lee did. Republicans by and large won't.
At least this is done and over with quickly. Probably won't stick around for 21 more months till the next election cycle.
Still a dumb and regrettable move.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLove trolling on craigslist?
What a dope...
P.S. MSNBC should set up a sting, "To Catch a Congressman". They'd probably nab at least 300.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLet's not assume that either party in this marriage is without missives.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat does Representative Lee's resignation have to do with Democrats? (Or with Republicans, for that matter.) He resigned because he wanted to resign. He wasn't about to be expelled from the House - by Democrats or by anyone else - and he wasn't facing the prospect of paying enormous legal fees attendant to a Democratic-led investigation of his conduct
Not everything is about the sorority fight between the Ds and the Rs. Some people just screw up and decide that resignation is the right thing to do.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt's too bad. He was good for Western New York.
Naturally, Democrats made sure the media knew about it ASAP. Check this out (copied and pasted from a WNY newsroom inbox):
http://gawker.com/#!5755071
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Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJosh Schwerin
Regional Press Secretary
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Office: 202-485-3443
Cell: 518-369-5469
Schwerin@dccc.org
@Jenna: "Why did Rep. Lee resign? Democrats insist that their private lives - and indiscretions - have nothing to do with their ability to represent their constituents or be President of the United States."
He probably resigned because his life was about to become a humiliating circus, and his chances for re-election dropped considerably. Just a guess, Jenna! I don't care about the sex lives of politicians, but that doesn't mean I can't understand why he resigned. I do life on planet earth.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIn an argument on Facebook last night where I challenged the mooing liberals to name one accomplishment of Hillary! Clinton's beyond leveraging her scorned wifehood into high office, I just had the sexual peccadilloes of every Republican of the past 10 years hurled at me and I'm sure if the thread was still going on, this moron would be added to the pile.
It just goes to show the double-standard: If you're a Republican who steps out on your marriage, you're career is over; however, if you're a Democrat who recruited for the Klan or let a woman drown while you ran away to save your career, you become a "lion of the Senate."
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