Speaking of Political Sex Scandals

Jay Newton-Small:
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I’m so glad to see that you’ve decided to take Matt Yglesias’ excellent advice for journalists (link to Matt Yglesias’ excellent advice for journalists):

Eric Massa
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I really think that political journalists who’ve spent more than 20 minutes over the past 24 hours covering the Eric Massa story need to turn the TV off, turn the BlackBerry off, turn the Twitter off, shut everything down, go to a nice quiet room, take a deep breath, look in the mirror and ask themselves why they got into this business.
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How many reporters are covering this story? What are the odds that some important fact of Massa’s life will go unrevealed if you do not devote your talents and energies to looking into it? Isn’t it more likely that you’re going to commit useful journalism by looking into something else? Anything else? Like, literally, anything else? It seems to me that at the margin pretty much any use of a journalist’s time would have a greater social value than further Massa reporting. A nap, even. Get well-rested for tomorrow’s goofy story.

Yes, stuartzechman, it’s why I chose not to cover his Glenn Beck appearance. I actually feel sorry for the man: he’s sick, he’s political life is in ruins, he may never work again given his indelicate utterances on Fox and he’s totally humiliated his family. I haven’t felt this bad for someone since Mark Sanford’s public meltdown. And this time I feel much worse.
JNS

Jay Newton-Small:
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Thanks very much for responding to commentary.
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I’m not actually thinking about this in terms of Eric Massa’s feelings or desires, although you make a great case for being a human being first, and not a lamprey of a paparazzi.
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I’m taking Yglesias’ advice literally, as in there could be so much more that you as a political journalist could do to help, so much more you could accomplish, so much more you could be fulfilled in your work, if you were to take his advice.
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We’d be better off out here, too, most likely.
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But it’s nice to hear from you that you’re a human being with a decent heart fully of natural sympathies and honest values, Jay Newton-Small.
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Thanks again for responding.

Thanks, Jay. I remember now to check the swamp before sleep since you and Amy are night owls. When the R’s preach moral values they should kinda pretend to follow them. Or at least keep their flies zipped.
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Gossipy scandals are fun and I encourage Jay and Amy to pursue them (sorry stuart, we’ll just have to disagree here) but when it becomes criminal then it matters. From William “The Freezer” Jefferson to Ted “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” Stevens, at the least their seats flipped parties so the vote counts are affected. Jay, if Ensign’s indicted, let alone convicted, do you see a serious threat of expulsion if he won’t quit? Was Packwood the last one facing that before he quit?
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Why isn’t Reid going after him in public? I don’t see why he’s silent. Why tolerate those behaviors? What do you know, Jay? (sorry to see the rough dialogue earlier over senate rules; I haven’t figured them out yet so I’m neutral there.) Sleep well.

deconstructiva,
Reid and Ensign – like many senators from opposing parties that hail from the same state – have a mutual non-aggression pact. You don’t go after me, I won’t go after you. Thus, Reid’s conspicuous silence. That said, if Ensign is indicted, which seems pretty plausible these days, it only benefits Reid. His top opponent, Sue Lowden, is an Ensign protege.
JNS

Thanks for mentioning Louden, Jay. I think she’s leading over Tarkanian. It’s amazing how family names affect races, Reid’s son included. I don’t know how that tea party candidate will affect things.

…alas, I just read your 7.9 reply at senate rules post. Without taking sides or attacking others, I don’t understand why you and Amy (and Michael almost as much) receive so much personal venom. Karen doesn’t, fortunately, but I still don’t get it. I try to avoid doing that …with the exception of rusty, of course. He’s fun to kick around and he kicks back. I read a recent major fight among three websites over credits for a Sarah Palin-related story (two Alaska blogs and one “outside” anti-Palin). Yeah, it was that minor but wow, it was vicious (the sites were mudflats, immoral minority, and palingates).

…I miss paragraph break in replies, well crap. Another reason I avoid ranting; I tend to mess up the typing. Risibility is better.

Jay – definitely second your reaction to Massa, though it feels more like a breakdown than Sanford’s ego trip about love. I just get the sense that Massa really hated the whole fundraising and politicking that he had to do. I think he came up the other excuses, e.g. health, party persecution, to deal with his desire to quit the House. Just an armchair diagnosis. Massa needs some professional help, especially for when he comes down from the rush of the present media frenzy and realizes what he’s done to himself and his family. I’m not a regular churchgoer but this guy needs some prayers.

The only redeeming consequence of Massa’s breakdown was watching Beck go fetal. He wanted dirt so bad. In fact, at one point Beck was pleading for dirt. Jay, it was good tv. I am surprised he didn’t produce tears. I guess they can only be faked. Since I can’t abide watching his show or tuning into Fox, I watched some of the videos from the show. Beck was at a loss for words when Massa called for election finance reform and the cessation of severe use of rhetoric on Fox. I thank Massa for that.
What disturbs me about Ensign, Stupak, Sanford, Pickering, et al is their connection to The Family and the C Street theocracy. I think there needs to be a real
investigation of the influence of that group and there status as a non taxpaying church.

Jay, if you’re checking back here, hopefully this clip on resolving conflicts from “Dharma and Greg” will cheer you up –
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…and at least you and your swamp colleagues don’t have to deal with communications problems like these –
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LoL — thanks!

JNS-I am not sure why you feel sorry or bad for any of these people. I don’t feel sorry for any of them rather it be Ensgin, Stanford, Massa, Vitter, Clinton or the senator in the next stall. I can completely understand your compassion for their close friends and families who have to deal with the destruction these peoples’ personal conduct causes.
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Just to be clear, I’m not coming from some holier than thou or they are getting what they deserve perspective here. All of us I think, face personal demons and adverse temptations on a daily basis. A lot of us work very hard to overcome those because there is much more at stake than us as individuals. We are responsible for and to other people. And we can’t do sh*t just because the opportunity presents itself. Most of all so don’t have jobs we can’t be fired from or have the ability to have press conference and trot out the wife as a human shield.
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But above all, these people have been complete and utter a^^holes here. And they need to be told that on a daily basis. They not only let their wives and children down, they let their voters down and everyone who worked to put them in a place of special trust and priviledge that most Americans will never have the opportunity to enjoy.
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I don’t feel sorry or bad for any of these men.

“commit useful journalism ”
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::snicker::
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What if they’re only driving the getaway car?

I don’t understand why you and Amy (and Michael almost as much) receive so much personal venom.
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Michael gets it when he writes the gossipy, Beltway cocktail party stuff, but he’s proven that he can contribute meaningful things when he puts his mind to it.
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I have no idea why people go after Jay, as her work is fairly solid. She’s responsive to comments here, too.
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The venom directed at Amy is bewildering, though. She does some of the best reporting on religious conservatism out there, but for some reason, people hold that against her as if she’s the one pushing the issue into the public forum. She’s not. It’s out there, and I think those on the other side of the Religious Right would appreciate a little opposition research on those groups.

Beck was hilarious. Begging for any kind of dirt at all: “What about the unions? … Anything on Rahm? …. Show me on the doll where Steny Hoyer touched you….”

decon: I believe it is the post, not the poster, that draws fire here in the Swamp.
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Jay’s work on the Capitol beat, the auto industry and Haiti was roundly praised. Her post yesterday on Senate process was unclear/incorrect in the opinion of many commentors, and also pushed the loaded term “obscure” in reference to a parliamentary procedure. This draws fire.
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As Kevin said, “Michael gets it when he gets gossipy”. I’d add that Joe gets it when he has neither the “time nor legal expertise” to find out who’s right about an issue (but posts anyway). Amy’s going to have to live down her John Edwards posts for a while.
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So, you see, we’re equal-opportunity Humorless Ego Vampires here!

Thanks, kevin and kbang. These help explain the criticisms out there. I’ll be happy to have Edwards posts go on hiatus, but I wish Amy would reply to us like Jay and KT do.

Decon –
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The moment I saw “risibility” I thought of embedding the “Brian” video. It should trouble you that you’re on my wavelength.

The lack of media attention (present company excepted) to the Ensign corruption/hypocrisy can be attributed to either of two acronyms: ADHD, or IOKIYAR.

Maybe both.

Couldn’t happen to a creepier God-botherer.

“I actually feel sorry for the man: he’s sick, he’s political life is in ruins, he may never work again given his indelicate utterances on Fox and he’s totally humiliated his family.”
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For a minute there, I thought you might be talking about Beck.

Jay, you should revise your earlier post about Massa’s transgressions not being known to leadership. WaPo is reporting that they were.

So if Ensign had tickled some guy, he’d be gone by now?

He looked like an albino slug after salt has been sprinkled on it. Awful imagery but that’s what came into mind. He was melting away.