Another Prostitution Scandal - This One Involving Senator Menendez of N.J.

A Democrat Senator goes to the Dominican Republic and hires a pair of hookers. After a few hours of fun, he doesn't pay them the agreed upon price, thus managing to stiff them both twice in a single transaction. What do you think - a game changing scandal?

The Democrat in question is Senator Bob Menendez of N.J. He is 58 years old and divorced. He is up for re-election next Tuesday. The most recent polls show that he holds a 14 point lead over his Republican challenger. The allegations against him have been raised by two prostitutes through their attorney and were published a few hours ago in the Daily Caller. Menendez himself has not yet responded to the allegations, but an aide, contacted yesterday, refused comment on the "false allegations."

Even assuming that these allegations are true, its not likely that this will be a game changer. True, client number nine, Gov. Eliot Spitzer, and Rep. Anthony Weiner, both Democrats, have been brought down by sex scandals in the recent past. But, both were married at the time, and in Spitzer's case, you had the yawning hypocrisy of him having spent years prosecuting organized prostitution in New York. With Weiner, it was the ignominy of him publicly broadcasting a picture of his woody across the internet. That was too much for even Democrats to swallow.

Spitzer and Weiner aside, Democrats have a track record of being incredibly forgiving of sex scandals. Bill Clinton is the poster child for Democrat tolerance. Before him, Barney Frank's squeeze was running a gay prostitution ring out of his apartment - forgiven. Gary Studds may not have read many books, but he did bend over a few pages in the halls of Congress prior to his reelection. Scandals of all sorts swirled around Ted Kennedy, but if his murder of Mary Jo Kopechne didn't stop his repeated reelection, no mere sex scandal would. For a more detailed history of Washington sex scandals of the past fifty years, see here.

Bottom line, this scandal, standing alone, isn't going to cause a 14 point swing among New Jersey voters between now and Tuesday. The only thing Senator Menendez could do to get himself in any appreciable trouble with his constituency over this allegation would be, if it is true, to lie and cover-up. But even then, it will be long after the election before a cover-up could be proven. Between today and next Tuesday, it will be just he said she said she said. Menendez will be safely ensconced in his seat for another six years before the issue will again arise.

This is not a game changer. All that said, Menendez would be wise to lay off the Viagra and for God's sake, learn the one lesson every government official in Washington should know by now - if you are going to hire foreign hookers, pay them their full asking price.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

Real Prostitution

I posted here on the intersection between the relatively benign solicitation of prostitution by "Client #9," Eliot Spitzer and the much more malignant variety practiced by Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats involving FISA:

Spitzer got in bed with a prostitute and paid with his money. Our House Democratic leadership are far worse. They are in bed with trial lawyers and they are paying them with our money - and degrading our national security in the process.

This cartoon identifies Client #10.

Real prostitution . . . it is not a victimless crime.

(H/T Powerline)

Read More...

Summary only...

Spitzer & Friends

I wrote here how the Spitzer scandal fit into our nation's long and always entertaining history of such scandals. While I was wasting time on something-in-cheek philosophizing, the good capitalists at TNOY saw commercial gold in Spitzer's latest acts and put together a pitch for a new sitcom to industry execs. Here is the trailer.

Read More...

Summary only...

Sex Scandal Retrospective

Eliot Spitzer . . .

and the diamond rated girls of Emporer Club VIP . . .



have swallowed the news cycle, as Don Surber wryly puts it. You can find much more here and here. There is nothing I can add to it, really, beyond putting it in some perspective.

With his pants around his knees, Eliot joins the club of recent and not so recent politicians in America who have made the scandal sheets and provided untold fodder for our nation's stand up comedians. And in appreciation for the sheer entertainment value, today we induct NY Governor Eliot Spitzer into America's well catlogued pantheon of politicians whose biggest crime was thinking with the little guy . . .
_________________________________________________

Republican Senator Larry Craig, convicted of propositioning an undercover officer in a men's room, is refusing to leave the Senate. He stands (so to speak) accused of practicing stall tactics.




2004: NJ Governor Jim McGreevey earned his 15 minutes of fame and ridicule when he hired his unqualified gay lover, Israeli Golan Cipel, as New Jersey's Homeland Security Advisor.



2004: When someone on then Senatorial candidate Obama's side got the divorce records of Republican candidate Jack Ryan made public, the "swinging" sex scandal therein catapaulted Obama to the spot of odds on favorite to win the Illinois Senate race, seven to nine.








1998: President Bill Clinton and the world's most famous man gobbler.











1995: The National Organization of Women claimed their first and only high profile victim when that got Oregon Sen. and notoious womanizer Bob Pack'n wood (R-OR) to resign over a sexual harassment scandal involving allegations from 29 different women - all former campaign workers or employees.



NOW would begin and end their concern for sexual harassment victims with Packwood, studiously ignoring serial womanizer Bill Clinton four years later. As to Senator Packwood, the joke at the time was that his favorite pick-up line was: "Wan'na help me make a motion on the floor?"


1990: The uncloseted Barney Frank (D-MA) was not above ordering up some take-out in the person of male prostitute Steve Gobie. Then Frank let him move in. Gobie not only moved in, but started a gay prostitution ring from Frank's apartment when Frank was not at home. Frank probably saved his career by reporting it to the Ethics Committee before the scandal broke publicly.


1988: Presidential candidate Gary Hart (D-CO) dared the press to find out anything about his alledged womenizing. They caught him with the lovely Donna Rice on a yacht called The Monkey Business. You can't make this stuff up. At least his taste in women was first class . . . or in today's lingo, seven diamonds.


1983: Gerry Studds (D-MA) and Dan Crane (R-IL) suffered a literary-esque punishment, censured for bending over a few paiges.



1981: Jon Hinson (R-MS) blew several things in 1981, his political career being one of them.





1980: Rep. Robert Bauman (R-MD) - was busted while soliciting sex from a 16-year-old male prostitute. He actually stood for reelection. I remember listening to local D.J. Johnnie Walker at the time who claimed that when Bauman was told on election day that he was behind his challenger several points, his response was "No problem. I love to come from behind."






1976: Wayne Hays (D-OH) hired Elizabeth Ray as his secretary. She later admitted that "I can't type. I can't file. I can't even answer the phone.'"






1974: Wilbur Mills (D-AR), the powerful House Ways and Means Committee Chairman and a 38 year member of the House, lost it between the bottle and Argentinian stripper Fanne Foxe.

1969 - Teddy Kennedy driving back from a party with Mary Jo Kopechne takes a turn into literary history with:




President Lyndon Johnson - no, he didn't have a sex scandal. But this is a photo of him on the first day after taking over the presidency, calling the White House janitorial staff to come up to the Oval Office and do something about the unusual stains on his desk.

Read More...

Summary only...