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GOP Plots Ensign's Ouster
(Jeff Scheid, Rapport Press / Newscom
Republicans are turning against Senator Ensign in the wake of revelations that his parents paid off his mistress. The Daily Beast's Margaret Carlson on the GOP plan to save his seat in 2012.
Republican Sen. John Ensign did what any red-blooded American would do upon returning to the floor of the Senate after the revelation that his parents paid off his mistress and her family. He gave a speech about a bill to help families of our wonderful veterans and brought his young son along as a human shield.
But compared to the first time Ensign showed up on the Hill after news broke that he'd had an affair with the spouse of his top aide, the reception was much less fulsome. The earlier attitude was the whole thing would blow over. Members of the Club are never eager to discipline another member of the Club unless the conduct in question is clearly outside the bounds of accepted sexual deviance. Calls for Sen. Larry Craig to quit were immediate and loud.
Ensign, said a colleague, should “leave now so the Republican governor can appoint someone new who has time to get a leg up on holding the seat for the GOP.”
At first, Ensign's case seemed closer to that of Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter, who apologized, wife at his side, for his brush with the "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey and held on—although he could have a rough reelection race in 2010. Now Ensign’s standing is shakier. On the heels of his cameo at the Capitol on Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, asked whether Ensign should stay and run for reelection, replied brusquely "Sen. Ensign will have to speak to those issues himself" before walking away from reporters.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has a personal pact with his fellow senator from Nevada not to speak ill of each other, was asked the same question. All he could muster in response was "this is Ensign's own personal decision to make."
One former Republican member of Congress told me this week that sentiment shifted decidedly against Ensign after details of the affair, and the payoff, emerged. The best chance of keeping his seat, he said, is for "Ensign to leave now so the Republican governor can appoint someone new who has time to get a leg up on holding the seat for the GOP in 2012."
It was revelations about a "Christian intervention" and his parents' involvement that turned Ensign’s colleagues sour. Ensign's parents, casino moguls (Ensign himself worked on The Strip), funneled nearly $100,000 to the family of Doug Hampton, the cuckolded husband who blew the whistle on Ensign. Not only do these "gifts" raise tax issues, they also infantilize the senator and makes him look foolish.
Then there is the colorful group of conservative men who came together to "save" Ensign at a group Christian residence on C Street on Capitol Hill. Former NFL star and Republican Rep. Steve Largent, who no longer lives there but visits frequently, said that the group got involved because their friend was "wandering off the reservation."
John Talks Joe
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Amateur Hour at the White House
Leslie H. Gelb, a former New York Times columnist and senior government official, is author of Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy (HarperCollins 2009), a book that shows how to think about and use power in the 21st century. He is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Going Rogue: The Index
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
Stop Indulging, America
Margaret Carlson is a columnist for Bloomberg News. She was a columnist and deputy Washington bureau chief for Time magazine.
Taking on Teddy's Cause
Margaret Carlson is a columnist for Bloomberg News. She was a columnist and deputy Washington bureau chief for Time magazine.
How Bad Parenting Became Cool
Margaret Carlson is a columnist for Bloomberg News. She was a columnist and deputy Washington bureau chief for Time magazine.
So much for "family values"!!
ROTFLOL!
Nothing to do with family values here. What we have here is the homage vice pays to virtue. Put another way, hypocrisy. There are no hypocrites in the Democratic Party, none.
Hypocrites abound politically. From John Edwards to John Ensign, they're all cut from the same dishonest, self-serving cloth.
perfect, when caught red handed point at everyone else and challenge them. So much for taking responsibility. Yes, it is the Democrats fault because not every single Democrat is without sin. What a silly argument you make.
The Democratic Party has never claimed to be the "party of values" or moralized about gays and gay marriage. Republicans have wrapped their arms around determining for EVERYONE what "family values," morality," and "personal responsibility" should be. That the difference. And it's a big difference. If you don't see why things like this are destroying the Republican Party from the inside out, you really are just as clueless as your comment.
Looks like the new and improved Banjo1 roll out isn't going quite as well as expected.
The Repubs claim to be the party of family and ethical values is what brought them back to power and the meaning of Hypocrite does not exist for them, they're CHOSEN!
Every adult knows there's plenty of sinning on both sides of the aisle, but pointing at the other party doesn't fix what's wrong with this jerk. Stop trying to deflect from Ensign's miserable ethics with a "Look over there" gambit. He's a reprehensible jerk that even the Repugs don't want around.
"Rep. Largent, who no lives there..."
That's Margaret Carlson writing?
attn: Tina...I was once a proof reader and considered myself one of the worst in the business, looks like somebody at the Daily Beast has set an even lower standard...Impressive.
Indeed! What editor in their right mind would stet "he doesn't show up for"?
blinky, I am happy you were a proof reader at one time. Really who cares we get the point of the article.
You said it, blinky. There's a lot to be said for professionalism, standards and respect for the American English language. What our southernyankee friend doesn't appreciate is that if this writer and her editors are worth a damn, THEY care that A. they were sloppy, B. we noticed and C. we called them on it. Keep keeping them on their toes.
Tina,
Listen to blinky. Maybe you could drop the "culture blog" and make Rachel the new copy editor?
I agree Blinky - but it's not just the Daily Beast, it's all of the tv and print news. I used to point out misspelled words but it's gotten so ubiquitious that it's pretty much a waste of time. Now I just close my eyes and shake my head.
If there is one union that needs busting it's the teachers.
Ha Ha. That's too good. I'm guessing you spelled ubiquitous with the extra I on purpose... possibly to make your point? I would hope so because misspelling a word while bitching about how bad teachers are and how bad spelling is throughout "ALL OF THE TV AND PRINT MEDIA"... well, that's too funny. Thank you for bringing a good laugh to my AM.
*closes eyes and shakes head*
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blinky and friends -- Have you seen any advertisements on this site? No? Wanna have limpid edition? Yeah?
Well, it don't come free. Wanna see this site edited by pros? Bring on the commercials then, Tina. Some readers here -but not all, I am sure- would rather have their edition druthers and ancillary costs.
piktor,
Good point. Only ever saw that gawd awful ad for for handbags or whatever it was. It came up on the front page as clickable option along with the stories. Ughh. If that's the alternative, bring on the typos -- but still -- can't we lose the culture blog and give poor Rachel something else to do?!
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socialworklady -- Yeah, those commercials were schlocky. Advertisers will arrive sooner or later, though. Huffpost was amateur hour until real writers were brought in. Tina is backed by Barry Diller, so this site will have to become a moneymaker or it will fold. Some of the authors here seem to have barely finished college, the shallowness and gutless writing of some of the stories is a flailing journalistic malpractice of sorts.
Yep, I agree. The worst one I recall was the one where Michael J's ex-wife supposedly agreed to keep her maternity a secret from the kids in return for money. Come on!
And all the Palin stories. They should just have a whole category for "Character Assassination" for all the conservative Republicans they love to bad mouth.
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Ensign had an abortion that he doesn't want anyone to know about since it also goes against his party's line.
It totally makes sense that Coburn is his doctor. Ms. Carlson indicates that Ensign is a big baby ("they also infantilize the senator and makes him look foolish").
What I worry about more than the affairs of these numb nuts is the connection with this group The Family. Plus Coburn is a female doctor. I don't think the privacy law with Coburn and Ensign applies to privilege. This group needs to be investigated.
southern,
Coburn isn't a female doctor, he's a doctor with female patients ....
Southern: No wonder you don't give a fig 'bout dem der copy edeets.
"The Family" aka "Christian Mafia" of which Ensign, Coburn and others are members of have been working for decades with conservative political leaders, of both parties, to pass bills to "blur the lines" between "Church and State".
David Coe, the current leader of the group, says that they must be like the "mafia"...staying secretive so that they can have have more influence.
Their goal....To see that God's sovereignty is in every aspect of governance...
To learn more google....author Jeff Sharlet "The Family": The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power...
Again, this group has both republicans and democrats in their ranks. This is not about a political group's agenda. It is about a secret religious groups "grab for power and influence' in our government.
Great. A theocracy. Just what we need: a narrow interpretation of ONE religion as the state religion. So much for reflecting the diversity of our melting pot.
We need to be vigilant and expose groups like this for what they are. We need to name everyone in Congress who participates in this clandestine blurring of church and state (including Palin's whackiness).
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Not only are the Republicans weird, comical and pathetic, but they are damned scary also. They are so fanatical about their moralism that they are turning into a sexually hedonistic group of weirdos and an crazy evangelical fanatical bunch. Not much different from those hysterical "witch burners" from Salem, Massachusetts and, quite frankly, the Taliban.
Doctor patient privilege? These clowns are more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
Could not agree more!
Couldn't happen to a better group of guys. The is what ya get when you "thrown stones."
Well, to be fair to Mr. Coburn, even if your speciality is obstestrics, as a physician you have learned to treat other injuries. Therefore, even if he put a band-aid on Ensign's finger, he can cite doctor/patient confidentiality as a reason not to talk. I just wanted to point that out!!
You are wrong. A doctor-patient relationship is established by formal treatment. Did Coburn do Ensign's PAP smear? Or prescribe his birth control pills? Maybe Coburn put in Ensign's IUD. Doctor-patient relationship can't be sighted so casually as you describe. Check the laws which govern medical practice in your state. I'm certain you'll find a narrow definition of doctor-patient relationship. Of course, what's really going on here is the Senator-Senator relationship, right?
A judge who was not affiliated with "The Family" is unlikely to rule that doctor/patient priviledge would extend to an obstestrician and his male room mate. There are limits to confidenitality. I think Coburn is the most dangerous one of all because he is the brightest and the most ruthless. When a group decides that GOD is own their side and that they are the chosen ones, the mindset dehuminizes all others who are not one of them. They feel no obligation or responsbility to those who elected them because they do no credit the voter since God ordained them to power.
The good doctor, Ensign's gynecologist, may be The C Street Family's private abortionist. With all those affairs going on, and the total hypocrisy, would anyone with a healthy dose of cynicism be shocked if that turned out to be true?
Doctor-patient confidentiality is the right to refrain from disclosing or divulging information gained within the context of a "special relationship." Special relationships include those between doctors and patients, attorneys and clients... Dr. Coburn would have to be 'treating' Ensign or seeing him professionally for this discussion to be protected by confidentiality rights. Given that Ensign is a 'lobbyable' govt. rep., there would have to be appropriate billing for these services (or conflict of interest issues would arise). So, I'm betting confidentiality rules don't apply in this case.Also, just curious but what other injuries has Coburn 'learned to treat' in his career as an obstetrician that would be applicable to Ensigns 'problem' ???
Coburn and the C street group need to be exposed for what they are. They helped keep quiet the illegal things that were going on as far as Ensign was concerned.
Rachel Maddow has been doing a great job of covering the C St family.
Frankly, this C St group is scary. This secret family believe that they are the chosen ones and the laws of morality don't apply to them. No wonder they went ballistic when Obama mentions empathy.
Again and again in these scandals, the point that truly appals me is the utter, total stupidity.
Scandals are nothing new. historically, those in power have had scandals attend them throughout the centuries.
The problem with this latest batch of scandals is the stupidity.
How, how, do these people think that they will not get caught? Are they totally unaware of the paparrizi? Of political enemies? Of the internet? Of cell phone cameras?
Geeze.
Does anybody really want anyone this totally stupid runing anything? Even the shoeshine counter?
I two am udderly appled. There are sandals for sentries, hysterically. The latest batch of sandals is a problem..they are cots. Wearing eminem underwear in pizzerias? Selling phones on the intenet? Does anyone ruin anything? Totally! Eve and Joe shine the counter. Shame, shame.
prickly,
This sort of thing always seems to happen to you late at night...
Time to take your appled udders to bed, hon.
Where am I? Feels like the Russian army just marched through my mouth!
socialworklady -- Homer!
What? (two(too), appled(appalled), sandals(scandals), sentries(centuries), hysterically(historically), ruin (run), they are cots(what?) Please help us out here. Give us some idea what the heck you are talking about. Anyone who can't spell any better than that shouldn't be posting. It just makes you look ignorant.
I forgot udderly (utterly).
cot (caught).
socialworklady,
I get bored.
The same ole same ole droning on and on and on.......and on.
For an original comment see my latest at 1400 hrs. 7/17.
prickly,
Okay. Is that what was going on with that *farts* thing late one evening -- all those posts that got removed? You were bored, so you filled the board with *cyer fart sounds?* Just checking.
They didn't seem to mind when Clinton was stupid, did they? And, he was running the whole darn country. Somebody put this stupid idiot in twice. OMG, he was a Democrat too. That is just UN-thought of, right?
Clinton was one of the most intelligent presidents we have had (unlike, say, George W. Bush). Clinton is the only president in the last 50 years to have a budget surplus - the holy grail of so-called conservatives.
"Somebody put this stupid idiot in twice." Yup. In 2000 and 2004. Wasn't my fault - I voted against Bush.
As if John Ensign and Mark Sanford weren't example enough, it seems the mysterious Hotel for Hound Dogs known as "C Street" has produced yet another Republican Casanova:
(from Josh Marshall at TPM)
"But it's been occurring to us that the C Street Group, which is an emanation of a shadowy religious outfit called "the Family", might not be a religious fellowship at all so much as a covert 12 Step Group from Republican Hound Dogs, womanizers and sex addicts trying to get clean during their tenure in the hallowed halls of Congress."
(snip)
"Pickering and his wife divorced soon afterward and now she is suing the novelistically named Elizabeth Creekmore-Byrd for "alienation of affection," i.e., for stealing her husband. What's more, according to legal papers filed by Leisha Pickering, some of the "wrongful conduct" between Pickering and Creekmore-Byrd (I guess that's what they call it down there?) took place at ... you guessed, the C Street group home up on Capitol Hill."
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/07/c_street_on_the_skidz .php#more?ref=fpblg
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Like the rest of the country!
Finally the covert Fundamentalist program gets some exposure. and hopefully will show the electorate, especially the ultra right conservatives, how they've been used to gain power. When reading "The Family" one has to wonder what the ultimate goal is: an American Taliban?
I am not sure just how powerful this group is but MSM isn't touching or reporting on "The family"
pricklypear, WTF did you say? Honey, this blog is in English; you need to have a better command of it if you hope to communicate with English-speakers.
Margaret there's a lot more to this story and you could have made it
much juicier if you'd chosen to. Why leave out the best stuff? Secret societies, foreign dictators, vested power directly from God to white men. You barely exposed the tip of the iceberg.
He should have been a Democrat. Then, he would have fit right in and wouldn't get punished for his lack of morals because they don't have any. The GOP weeds out the crooks while the liberals keep them hanging on. He must have a lot in common with John Edwards. Of course liberals don't like to admit this kind of stuff happens to them. Heck, they are still in denial that JFK and Clinton were cheaters also. Don't they claim that these two were the best presidents ever? I bet their wives would beg to differ. They undoubtedly believe in free love. It is acceptable for a Democrat though. Go figure the so called Christians that supported these marriage cheaters. That is why some have been down on Christian values. If they say it is OK for Democrats to cheat on their wives then, how much religion do they have in their own lives. It is fake Christianity.
You really don't get this? It's about hypocrisy. Republicans run around screaming family values in everyones faces then do what they said not to do.
John Edwards is not currently an elected official, and did not have his mistress paid off by his parents. As I recall Clinton was vilified for his actions, no one sanctioned them. I can't speak much about Kennedy's womanizing, it's a little before my time, but eventually he was assassinated. Was killing him good enough for you?
And yes, this type of behaviour from so called Christians is what turns people like me off to Christianity. Their basic tenet seems to be "do as I say, not as I do". Then they go on TV, bawl like babies, admit their sins and all is good.
People like you always use the tactic of "but Clinton and Kennedy...." Shut up already.
And what, pray tell, is wrong with free love? If you had some, you wouldn't be typing your gibberish on this site. Oh, excuse me, gotta go!
Stop the old "deflection" game. This article is about Ensign, a Republican, who's a shameless jerk CAUGHT paying blackmail money to his paramour and her husband (via his parents, no less). The GOP didn't "weed out" either
Ensign or Sanford. They were exposed so don't get all moralistic about the superiority of the GOP because it isn't there any more than amongst the Dems.
"The GOP weeds out the crooks while the liberals keep them hanging on."
You mean like Senator Larry "wide stance" Craig, who was "weeded out" after his term ended? Or Senator David Vitter, who is still going strong? And how about Senator John Ensign, who has announced he is running for re-election? What a joke.
Keep on weeding, Joanne38...
Politico is reporting that former Rep. Chip Pickering (R) was having an affair with another woman while he was living at the C street Family residence. He and his wife are filing for divorce and she is suing his mistress for alienation of affection. Pickering is now working for his mistress' family as a lobbiest for their large communications company.
The C street morality plot thickens!
Forgot to mention that Pickering has 5 children. Nice guy.
The author of "The Family" stated that the Brotherhood would not bat an eye if the affair happened under their nose! Yuck!
It was indicated last night on Rachel Maddow that they were using the C street residence as the meeting place for the affair. Pickering resigned suddenly as did Trent Lott without plausible explanation.
Hey
Where is Ritarita?
She just disappeared.
I miss her stylish musings
and vertical
prose
Anyone?
Me, too.
I didn't see the word Democrat mentioned much in this report. Even Harry Reid is left anonymous, and yet throughout there is much use of the term Republican - especially as Margaret identifies each evildoer. Consider the sexual indiscretions recently of some of the most influential in the Democratic party (I won't mention them individually, we all know the details). I think the comparison to Louisiana REPUBLICAN Senator David Vitter says everything about the impatiality of M. Carlson's writing; it is very biased and probably sensational for no good reason. I categorize this piece under: National Enquirer.
The very idea of someone leaving office for such a minor offense is hard to believe, yet to the Far Right Wing Nuts of the Grand Orgy Party, such an offense is akin to 'blaspheming the Holy Spirit.'
How dare someone who uses the 'bully pulpit' commit such an untoward and unseemly indiscretion. This is what the Republicans get for making the Far Right Wing Nuts the base of their party. Never mind that Washington is a hot bed of indiscretion and affairs, the people behind the scene, demand of their party and representatives, conduct that is saintly and never, never, untoward.
I am appalled at the lack of empathy among the Christians, when the chips are down, they must stone the sinner. This is not the Christianity that I heard preached when I was a child.
We need an ethical not moral revival in this land, we have had too much of this so-called moral revival and it has gotten us further and further into the moral abyss of separation from the world community. Now is the time for an ethical revival apart from the morality and preachiness that has pervaded this country for the last 40 years.
AMEN TO THAT!
This guy is one sick character...ugh
Former NFL star and Republican Rep. Steve Largent, who no longer lives there but visits frequently, said that the group got involved because their friend was "wandering off the reservation."
I don't think the group has seen the reservation in some time.
Thank you.
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