Forget The Fly: It’s Time For A Sex Scandal

He voted to impeach Clinton, and defended the sanctity of marriage on the Senate floor.
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He is almost as bad as President Gingrich.

Michael-What are the good senator’s thoughts on Gay marriage? I know he doesn’t opposed it and has never made any statements suggesting that we should hold marriage between one man and one woman. He is never made statement like:
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Marriage recognizes the ideal of a father and mother living together to raise their children. Marriage is the cornerstone on which our society was founded. For those who say that the Constitution is so sacred that we cannot or should not adopt the Federal Marriage Amendment, I would simply point out that marriage, and the sanctity of that institution, predates the American Constitution and the founding of our nation. Marriage, as a social institution, predates every other institution on which ordered society in America has relied

Aspiration (n): The entry of secretions or foreign material into the trachea and lungs

^ Clinton’s impeachment wasn’t over whether he had an affair. It was over whether he committed perjury and obstruction of justice. The notion that Clinton was impeached for having an affair I suspect was and is repeated to deflect the seriousness of the ACTUAL criminal charges.
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If the only thing was him having an affair while he was separated (I always thought during separation it was implied that that was okay), then to me that would be fine. However, having an affair with a married woman? That’s bad. Very, very bad.

Sorry, when I was typing only Trifecta had responded, that’s what the “^” was for.

“It was over whether he committed perjury and obstruction of justice.”
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Is that the rule of law thing I have heard so much about? Wonder if that the reason why Bush officials did everything they could not to be swear in when they testified about anything.

John Ensign:
“The effort to pass a constitutional amendment reaffirming marriage as being between a man and a woman only is being undertaken strictly as a defense of marriage against the attempt to redefine it and, in the process, weaken it…Marriage is an extremely important institution in this country and protecting it is, in my mind, worth the extraordinary step of amending our constitution.”
And:
“There’s too many people that paint with a broad brush that we’re all corrupt, we’re all amoral. … And having these kinds of things happen, whether it’s a Republican or Democratic senator — we certainly have had plenty of Democratic scandals in the past — we need people who are in office who will hold themselves to a little higher standard.”

apollyon: Um… Ensign was actually talking about Clinton’s affair, not his lying about it, to wit:

“Ensign repeated his call for President Clinton’s resignation in light of his admitted affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Reid called the affair immoral but said he would “keep an open mind” and let the process proceed before deciding whether to impeach Clinton.’

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/1998/sep/28/sparks-fly-at-reid-ensign-debate/

@ gysgt213: Are you serious? So it would be alright if Clinton did in fact commit those crimes (not saying whether he did or didn’t…that didn’t go to trial) as long as Bush officials, who had nothing to do with Clinton, did something illegal? Really now?

Oh bs Apollyon. Clinton was impeached because they were out to get him. They tried with Whitewater, failed, and did whatever they could. Bush broke the law continually. The GOP didn’t mind. I am reminded of Trent Lott, who was not alone in voting against articles of impeachment against Nixon, but for convicting Clinton.
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Yeah, it was all about lying in a civil deposition being the worst thing ever to happen in this country.
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Only rubes believe that it was about upholding the law. Lying about a hummer in a civil hearing is not a high crime and misdemeanor. Sorry.

@ incandenzah: I didn’t refer to Ensign talking about his affair. I referred to Ensign voting to impeach Clinton. I also said the affair Ensign had was “very very bad”, since even though he was separated, it was with a married woman.

Oh right it was the “vast, right-wing conspiracy”. And aren’t perjury and obstruction of justice felonies? Tell me, if an ordinary citizen committed two felonies, wouldn’t they likely face jail time? AGAIN, not saying he did, because that was never determined since it never went to trial.

In 1998, while running for the Nevada’s senate seat against Harry Reid, Ensign called on President Clinton to resign in light of his admitted affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky:
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“I came to that conclusion recently, and frankly it’s because of what he put his whole Cabinet through and what he has put the country through,” Ensign said Thursday, becoming the first member of the Nevada delegation to call for Clinton to quit. “He has no credibility left.”

For my money, I don’t care so much about the affair he had as much as the potential felonies. Going to dinner, peace.

Felony does not equal high crime and misdemeanor. Please. If you really believe that violating the 4th amendment like W did is less of a high crime and misdemeanor than lying in a civil case about a hummer, you must be “the base”.

Funny how Dodd’s shenanigans don’t make Swampland. Seems that Dodd got a lot more from his Irish investment than the percentage that he paid in.
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Hmmmmmm. Wonder what the income tax consequences of that transaction were. Wonder if Michael Scherer would have the balls to ask Dodd’s Senate office.

Anyone can admit to having an affair on Twitter, but to actually have an affair on Twitter takes talent. I await Mr. Ensign’s attempt.

If you really believe that violating the 4th amendment like W did is less of a high crime and misdemeanor than lying in a civil case about a hummer, you must be “the base”.
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Surely you realize, trifecta, that the Clinton Administration prosecuted people for lying about sex.

“@ gysgt213: Are you serious? So it would be alright if Clinton did in fact commit those crimes (not saying whether he did or didn’t..”
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Those crimes? Now its multiple crimes? Listen apollyon this my point. You can’t be for the rule of law when its some one you like and against the rule of law when it is someone you did. You can’t skirt around the rule of law and then hold other people to a higher standard than you do yourself. But last thing here. Let’s not confused breaking the law with punishment for breaking the law. Clinton was punished. He was impeached by the House and not by the Senate the rule of law worked. What punishment has Bush suffered?

I don’t care about Ensign, you people can crucify him if you like. But, there is a difference, a vast difference, between what he did and what President Clinton did. Now, let me proclaim right here that I never thought Clinton should be impeached for what he had done. With that said, there is a difference between a Senator having a relationship while he is separated from his wife and the President of the United States cheating on his wife in the Oval Office. The lack of judgment by President Clinton, as the head of the nation, reflected poorly on the Unites States of America. Sen. Ensign does not speak for the nation, but for the state of Nevada. Now, again, neither Ensign nor Clinton should be punished for these transgressions, however, I see no hypocrisy in the actions of Ensign; he was separated and his offense was certainly not carried out while serving as the chief spokesperson for the nation. I contend that Clinton’s affair directly had a much more significant and detrimental affect on the nation.
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Either way, Clinton got off, as he should have. Lets just leave Ensign alone. I’m sure the Nevada voters will hold him to whatever accountability they deem appropriate.

Chalk me up as someone who doesn’t give a flying f@ck if a pol is diddling someone other than his/her spouse. Aside from would-be hypocrisy (which I think Flynt has covered) this is not news. I already miss the KT-only Swamp. Now, all we need is Amy’s midnight jesus-kaleidoscope.

Lets just leave Ensign alone.
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neorationalist86-I’m sorry but why not tell Ensign to leave gay people alone and let them get married if they want to? Finally, being separated from your wife does that mean you are no longer married? Having an affair with a married woman while you are married does not weaken the institution of marriage? This guy did this because he can, yet he gets to make decisions that impact others. BS leave him alone.

I see no invocation of the name of Kenneth Starr and his sleezy religious crusade yet. I don’t care about Ensign’s dog in heat prowlings, nor Clintons. I find it a little disgusting and demeaning, but hey, let them do their own sniffings and react like dogs and alley cats. In the end, it’s all about religion and it’s controlling “morals” and I have no interest in it. Want to know about that, ask his holiness Kenneth Starr.

gunny, yeah, leave the queers alone. They are just doing what everybody is but reversed. Who tf cares. Married, queer, cohabitating, doin it in an alley, it’s pretty much the same. Ensign maybe will give us an apology (no doubt) and tell us how pained he is.

Fj-Gays have been getting a free ride for way too long in my opinion. I can’t wait until they have to suffer like me and my ex-wife did (mainly my ex) its only fair on the law.

gunny, I feel your pain.

And who wants to live in an institution anyway?

“And who wants to live in an institution anyway?”
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If Randle McMurphy’s in charge, then I do!

Ensign met with the woman’s husband and had a “positive encounter”? That’s nice. There’s always the possiblity the husband will get upset if you’ve been banging his wife. This is very bad news indeed for the McCain campaign.

The guy is saying we need Constitutional Amendments to “protect marriage”. He also says that elected officials should be held to higher standards than the rest of us.
That is hypocrisy. The opinions of hypocrites can’t be trusted. I hope this is the end of people respecting his opinion or quoting him without noting his word means nothing.

Apollyon07. Sweet Jesus you can’t mean that it’s okay for Bush to have lied to the American people about a billion times about taking us to war and whether he had authorized torture, but it’s a terribly serious crime for Clinton to have weazled about whether he had sex with that woman.

At least Ensign seems to have learned the lesson that so few of his colleagues have absorbed, and said instead “publish and be damned.”
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OT: Bernie’s got a petition for those who want single payer:
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http://sanders.senate.gov/petitions/index.cfm?uid=7fd59f2e-88e1-477a-8eaf-762a5b050809

[...] Hmmm…. seems there may have been some blackmail involved [...]

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Forget The Fly
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Or, at least in Ensign’s case, caught with an Open Fly, after taking Spanish Fly…
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The bestest part of the HuffP article:

Ensign has been a member of the men’s ministry the Promise Keepers, a Christian ministry.
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He had been highly critical of former Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who served in Congress for a quarter- century when he was arrested in an airport bathroom. Ensign stopped short of urging him to resign but suggested strongly that he should.
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“I wouldn’t put myself hopefully in that kind of position, but if I was in a position like that, that’s what I would do,” Ensign said. “He’s going to have to answer that for himself.”

Hypocritical pr!ck.

grape_crush: Ensign was not being hypocritical. He just meant that he wouldn’t do strange men in public restrooms. I’m sure he got a decent room somewhere before he had sex with another man’s wife. There was probably even a Gideon’s Bible in the nightstand drawer. Closer my God to thee and all that. Senator Ensign just meant that if an undercover cop ever stuck Mr. Happy through a Glory Hole, he’d resist the temptation. That was the Promise he would Keep.

There’s always the possiblity the husband will get upset if you’ve been banging his wife.
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But, as always, IOKIYAR.

Ahhh, don’t even get me started with Promise Keepers and Bill McCartney. If I wasn’t feeling out of sorts tonight, I’d be providing links to that whole mess – but you can read all about it on teh Google.

Promise keepers huh…loser.
I suppose according to the “Rosen Doctrine” we can expect an article written by Ensign about how how much Obama sucks in this weeks Time.

Why is this (and things like this) important to talk about right now?

Love young republicans reliving their glory days. A couple of days ago it was two of them relishing Bush v. Gore and today it’s the impeachment.
Good times.

FT: I hope you get to feeling better soon.
SZ: It’s not really important. It’s just that with North Korea detonating a nuke, Iran throwing an election that held some promise and all the other important things going on, we just need an excuse to cut loose and hoot and holler about gossipy sex stuff. When it involves someone like Ensign who thought he had “God Squad” stamped on his forehead, it’s just too much fun to pass up.

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stuartzechman Says:
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 9:01 pm

Why is this (and things like this) important to talk about right now?

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The only reason I can think of, S.Z. is because this illustrates once again that the party of (morality, Jesus, fiscal responsibility, keeping us safe, fill in the blank) is full of complete hypocrites.
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The GOP deserves to go the way of the Dodo in a way the Dodo never did.
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Yes, there are bad Democrats. The worst of the lot are the ones who are most like the Repubicans (aka Dave Broder’s bffs).
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Plus when MS threw in the line about Ensign meeting with the guy that is married to the woman Ensign was bumping uglies with and says it was a “positive encounter”, it’s hard not to imagine Ensign on his knees “begging forgiveness” so that he wouldn’t get his sanctimonious ass kicked. Seriously, if some guy was doing the humpty dance with your wife wouldn’t you be saying “bat…meet head”. Positive meeting? Not unless the paramedics had to restart the guy’s heart.

What’s that? There are two worthless Republican sacks of sh*t from Nevada?
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Thought you were referring to Harry Reid.

Harry’s a democrat. Sort of. Disregard party affiliation and we’re talking three.

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Hah, I was going to throw Harry Reid in, too, as one of “the ones who are most like the Repubicans”.
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But I don’t think that Harry is running around, not to mention thumping his bible at others (and you really need both for the win).
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If Ensign wasn’t being black mailed would we be hearing about this? Also was there a price point he was unwilling to go beyond?

Cliff-have to admit the republican didn’t up. All I saw was sacks of sh*t of Nevada.

Evidently what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas. New slogan please.

Well, it’s not like he got liquored up, drove off a bridge and left a woman to die in the car . . . .
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OH MY GOD guys how many times have I indicated on here that I strongly disapproved of Bush’s presidency? MAYBE I didn’t mention it on here BECAUSE THIS POST WAS NOT ABOUT BUSH.
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YES, it IS possible for someone to dislike both Clinton and Bush. Not everyone fits into a clear cut ideology. Geez.
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And Kathy, I don’t appreciate you putting words in my mouth.

Oh and Paul, actually it was Trifecta who brought up the Clinton impeachment in the first place, not “young Republicans”.

Good one, spob, bringing up a forty-year-old incident as a reply to Ensign’s somewhat more recent philandering.

If Ted had been driving a Volkswagen, he’d have been elected President. Those suckers float.

Hmm, Eliot Spitzer? Rod Blagojevich? Alan Mollohan? William Jefferson? to name some “somewhat more recent” incidents, philandering included.
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Of course if we want to get into the down and dirty of corruption scandals, financial contributions, campaign finance violations, cover-ups, fund-raising improprieties, and illegal candidate switches on behalf of the ‘Clean Up Washington” Democrats, I’m confident I could provide much more hypocrisy as well.

A-Pol: “YES, it IS possible for someone to dislike both Clinton and Bush.”
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I’m with you there, though I come from the other end of the spectrum.
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Let’s cut to the chase–they’re all corrupt, sluttish hypocrities. They’re not men to admire. Start with that and there’s some hope for America.
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As Alvy Singer famously said in Annie Hall: “Lyndon Johnson is a politician. You know the ethics those guys have? It’s like-uh, a notch underneath child molester.”
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This, of course, became doubly funny decades later, but the original truth goes unchanged.

Always start by asking yourself “Would I trust this politician to watch my goat?”. If you answer yes, you don’t love your goat.

While I’m all for some good jokes about politicians (and sacredh, I hadn’t heard the goat one before . . . I’ll have to remember it), I think everyone would do well to realize that, in a democracy, leaders are only as good as the people who elect them.
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Our country was founded by politicians (Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and yes, Washington), and shaped by politicians admired by many (Lincoln, Roosevelts, Kennedy, Reagan). All of these men were flawed, of course, but they basically were good men elected by a good nation. What does it say about our system and our people that now we’re winding up with losers?
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I, for one, don’t subscribe to the anti-politician rhetoric: call me naive (cue spob, rusty, textee), but I think Obama is an inherently decent man, and he’s shaping up to be a good leader. At least, I think he’s unlikely to be getting hummers at the Resolute desk or helping pad the wallets of oil company cronies.

vastwastelander: I also believe Obama is a decent man that genuinely wants to make it better for us. The problem is that the attempt to make it better is going to result in fundamental changes that scare the sh!t out of those who want to maintain the status quo. We’re at a nexus where we can adopt the changes or let the forces that want things to stay as they are win. They’re not going to go quietly into the night. The battle is going to get very ugly.

Ah, Shakespeare, does it matter? The bottom line is that Dems lionize a member who left a young woman to drown.
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That pretty much trumps everything.