NBC News reports that "Ensign told other senators earlier today
that the reason he decided to go public about the affair is that his
ex-mistress was indeed trying to extort money out of him."
See! That woman was evil all along. Just like that temptress Eve in the garden of Eden. Why did we ever give them the vote? Poor little Johnny Casino. He got seduced by a siren in the Big City.
Meantime, in the reality-based community, I'll reiterate what I just told the teevees, which is a point that lots of others have been making as well: Apart from the hypocrisy vis-a-vis values, Goddy McGod, etc., which is hard to overstate, Ensign has also committed a serious breach of professional ethics. Whether you're a U.S. Senator or the manager of the convenience store on the corner, the rule is you don't schtup the help. That this woman's husband was also employed by Ensign makes the Hairdo's conduct all the more disturbing. And creepy. Readers of this little corner of the cyberwasteland already knew that Ensign's judgment as a U.S. Senator was atrocious. Now we know that goes for his judgment as an employer, and as a human being.
So THAT was the promise Mr. Promise Keeper was expected to keep! He promised her money. Damn liar, that Sen. Hairdo... ;-)
Posted by: atdleft | 06/16/2009 at 05:33 PM
It's good that Senators and their families have lifetime medical coverage. His wife is going to need it to cover periodic screening for sexually transmitted diseases.
Posted by: Digger | 06/16/2009 at 05:52 PM
I mean c'mon. What gal could resist that hair....walking petry dish or not? ;)
Posted by: Scorpiogal | 06/16/2009 at 06:49 PM
And in other "sanctity of marriage" news...
http://www.mydd.com/story/2009/6/16/205923/891
President Obama will announce DP benefits for same-sex spouses of federal employees tomorrow. It's about damn time...
Posted by: atdleft | 06/16/2009 at 07:06 PM
Sorry, but I couldn't help it. These marriages, whether the feds want to recognize them or not, are far more sacred than what Sen. Hairdo makes them out to be. He should have been focused on keeping the "sanctity" of his own marriage intact.
Posted by: atdleft | 06/16/2009 at 07:08 PM
Or to put it another way, his lie to his wife and family, and his lie to the public about his personal life, was perfectly acceptable until someone threatened to blackmail him? I believe that's called situational ethics--or, more accurately, the Republican platform.
Posted by: Michael Green | 06/16/2009 at 07:58 PM
The affair was over 10 months ago. He and his wife reconciled and moved on. Extortion is illegal...hellloooo???? It's not like he got caught having the affair and covered it up. It was over and when the person threatened to go to press if he didn't pay, he made it public. I'm not excusing the conduct, but get the facts straight and make logical deductions please. This is not a Rep or Dem issue, it is a human one. People, especially people in power, seem to think they are above the standards of everyone else. Whether they are liberal or conservative, lying & cheating are wrong and there are consequences, at least there should be, to our choices.
Posted by: Middleotheroader | 06/16/2009 at 09:56 PM
A few years ago, John Ensign disappeared for a week or two, and nobody seemed to know where he was. He later said that he was resolving some family issue. Nobody followed up, and the story died. Do you suppose it was related to the present scandal?
When an evangelical Christian conservative turns out to be having an affair, I just LOVE it!! This is a situation for which the Germans invented the term Schadenfreude.
This is almost perfect. "Perfect" would be a gay sex scandal involving Jim Gibbons, Sen. Orrin Hatch, a couple of hookers, a German Shepherd, and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Posted by: Nevada Ned | 06/16/2009 at 10:10 PM
Middle of the Roader- grow up. If McDo's lover was really extorting him, were is her mug shot? Where is her name? No where cause there is no extrotion other than some reporter following up on McDo's hypocrisy.
Posted by: Allison Hill | 06/16/2009 at 11:46 PM
Middle-
No, he just spent all these years trashing committed gay & lesbian relationships as "immoral" while he was messing around with other people. Perhaps he should get his own house in order before he bursts into ours and tell us how to live and whom to love?
Ned-
Heh. As a friend once told me, "If you want advice on the kinkiest, wildest sex acts, ask a Christian fundamentalist."
Ever wonder why they know more about BDSM, swinging, and orgies than "average Jay gays" like me? ;-)
Posted by: atdleft | 06/16/2009 at 11:50 PM
Ensign to Nevada: "Stay classy, Las Vegas!"
Posted by: Dude | 06/17/2009 at 10:12 AM
@Dude and Ned
omg...tff
atdleft has nailed it. When politicians use their religious beliefs as part of their political image/platform and ram their brand of holiness down our throats, you can't help but totally enjoy the Schadenfreude. Look, most of us sane people don't look to politicians as some sort of sexual-moral compass or as perfected beings and can look past an indiscretion but I can't tolerate the hiprocracy. That,to me, speaks volumes and is far worse than than the affair.
Posted by: Scorpiogal | 06/17/2009 at 11:27 AM
John Ensign is a veterinarian. The obvious solution to his fence-jumping issues? "Neuter and Spay, it's the Only Way."
See:
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/john-ensign-promise-keeper/
Posted by: Mike Licht | 06/17/2009 at 12:31 PM