Speaker John Boehner said there would be zero tolerance for scandals on his watch. Guess he wasn’t kidding. It only took 4 hours from discovery of a really stupid stunt on the part of Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY) until he resigned:
“It has been a tremendous honor to serve the people of Western New York. I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness.
“The challenges we face in Western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I have resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately.”
That’s pretty amazing. Most senatorial and congressional indiscretion takes months, sometimes years, to unearth. Of course, Lee was pretty stupid. He sent a picture of himself shirtless to some woman in an ISO on Craig’s List. Additionally, he lied about his age, his marital status and his job.
Huffington Post’s Nick Winger reported earlier in the day:
According to Gawker, the 46-year-old married Republican responded to a listing posted last month by a 34-year-old woman looking for “financially & emotionally secure” men who “don’t look like toads.”
In an email, sent from an account admittedly registered to Lee, someone reportedly replied, claiming to be a 39-year-old, “6ft 190lbs blond/blue,” “divorced” “lobbyist.”
After a few flirty back-and-forths, the woman told Gawker that Lee sent her a picture of himself, sans shirt.
Asked for comment, Lee’s spokesman provided a denial and claimed that the congressman’s email account had been hacked.
Story continues below“The Congressman is happily married,” the spokesman told Gawker. “The only time he or his wife posted something online was to sell old furniture when they changed the apartment they keep in DC.”
In handling unseemly behavior immediately, this event will probably be forgotten in a week. That’s actually pretty smart.
Nothing superhuman about our elected officials. They still sometimes think with their man-parts. It’s always amazing to me what they are willing to put at stake when it comes to sex.
Nice to see at least one party taking their trash out on time! It’s a refreshing change!
Slow – “Nice to see at least one party taking their trash out on time!”
I give Rep. Lee credit for displaying more character than Sen. (R-LA) “Diaper” Dave Vitter and taking responsibility for his actions. Vitter’s trash has been stinking up the air over in the Hart building for 3 1/2 years.
O.K., not sure I care about what a grown adult does in his private time, as long as it is not illegal. I guess it was the stupidity that concerns me not the sexual aspect.
I think they should post on youtube his wife kicking him in the family jewels. Hard. And repeat as needed.
I LOVE to see “family values” in action….AHAHAHAHAHA!
The sad thing is that fools still vote for people who claim to be “moral” (in the sexual, financial and religious sense).
“The sad thing is that fools still vote for people who claim to be “moral” (in the sexual, financial and religious sense).”
That would appear to be EVERYONE since no one votes for those that claim to be reprobates. I mean, do YOU vote for those promising to lie, cheat, and steal?
Cthulu for President. Why vote for the Lesser evil!
I would. It would be far more honest than the douchebags we have in there already. At least if one proclaims and decides to run around with a gaggle of homosexuals, pissing on crucifixes and promising to squander taxpayer dollars I would know him to be an HONEST man.
how do you spell Stupid Idiot….
There are many variations…..
Clean Coal
Obama
Boehner
Compassionate Conservatism
Tea Party
Sara Palin
Arrianna Huffington
George Bush
Drill Baby Drill
Family Values
The list is endless….
Bubba, I’d love to see how that candidate’s tv ad would work. 😉
You could also argue that the way he went about trying to cheat on his wife speaks to how Congress as a whole looks on the citizenry. He used his real name, real pic, personal BB and his real email address… He went to Craigslist to find his booty call. I really think he thought “well, it’s Craigslist – not the brightest of people use it” and went on the assumption that people are stupid and will be willing to be walked all over.
But, I’m reading into this too much. I feel for his wife and kid(s) and hope she takes him for everything he has.
@marin, sounds like he flashed the wrong person. On the other hand, I doubt that his wife can take him to the cleaners for what he did. He just looks sleazy.
He should keep his shirt on.
LOL marinm….
NONE of them think their constituents are really all that bright. And frankly, I would have to agree with that. Funny – people are more prone to leave office when caught with their pants down – LITERALLY, than when they are caught with their proverbial hands in the cookie jar.
An image of a man pimping himself on craigslist stands out in the public mind….an image of a man admitting to taking bribes – but who goes to church regularialy…easily forgotten.
If anyone thinks their national representatives consider the masses who voted for them intelligent, educated and informed….I have a deeply discounted, multi-million dollar seaside villa in North Dakota for sale – CHEAP.
And frankly, who could blame the politicians for thinking less of their constituents? Just give them bread and circuses and you are assured of your job.
@Not Me, Bubba
Actually, now that I remember, that’s why certain Louisiana governors kept getting re-elected when I was a kid. So you have a point.
@Moon-howler
He’ll be lucky to KEEP his shirt…. 😉
Speaking of “toads,” it turns out the woman was doing all this as a joke, and now is squawking in “exclusive” interviews. I smell a book deal.
@Emma, I was just happy to learn someone else used the expression “Toad.’
louisiana governors kept getting re-elected as long as they weren’t caught with a dead girl or a live boy
David Vitter. And I somehow got the idea that the operating rule on this blog was as follows: “It’s between him and his wife.”
@Wolverine, it isn’t a blog rule. It is how I view things. Vitter’s problem, however, is that he was making right wing policy about other people’s morals.
I would feel that way about anyone who wasn’t out there preaching at others like Insign, Sanford, Vitter, etc.
Exception: Edwards. His wife was ill. Therefore, his indecency elevated itself above ‘between him and his wife.’ He went from good guy to pig in about 6 seconds.
no, if edwards were a republican he would’ve gone from good guy to pig in about 6 seconds. but because he was a darling of the democrats, it took a lot longer than that, and only after the national enquirer broke the story, the drive-by media had no choice but to go forward with the news