Republican Sen. John Ensign said Monday that not only does he have no intention of resigning in light of his affair and his parents’ payout to the woman’s family, he plans to seek reelection when his term is up in 2012.
Ensign told the Las Vegas Sun he has received calls and e-mails of encouragement from supporters both in Nevada and Washington. When asked Monday whether he had any thoughts about stepping down, Ensign said his supporters are sending one message: “They say, ‘Don’t.’ ”
They must be communing with the supporters of Niger’s president, Mamadou Tandja (see below).
But, it gets better.
The affair has drawn in Ensign’s colleagues, including Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, a housemate in the Christian home they share in Washington. Mark Sanford, the South Carolina governor who recently admitted an affair with an Argentine woman, has said he sought counseling with those from the C Street house.
Governor Sanford sought counseling at the C Street house? That's rich.
Ensign said Monday an ethics investigation in the Senate is up to the committee, but he stands by the statement from his attorney that the payments were gifts. “I think the facts speak pretty clearly,” he said.
Be afraid of the facts, Senator, be very afraid. Spin can only go so far. Still, chutzpah goes quite far.
Showing posts with label Senator Ensign. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Senator Ensign. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
What Happened in Vegas
Collins is spot-on, again.
The reason the Republicans lost so many Senate seats last November is now becoming clear. No one had any time to think about the campaign. They were too busy worrying about Senator John Ensign’s sex life.
Nobody paid a great deal of attention. Really, there are only so many randy Republicans we can keep track of at once. But lately, the Ensign saga has become more and more fascinating. Every social conservative in Washington seems to have been involved.
That's an interesting point: the Republicans seem over-sexed, the very same party that espouses (pun intended) family values as a centerpiece of its mission statement.
Ensign was, at the time, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which was supposed to be working to elect candidates in 2008. In Washington, he lived with some other conservative Christian lawmakers in a building known as the “Prayer House.” Both members of the N.R.S.C. and residents of the Prayer House were brought into the drama. Hampton, in his version of events, seems to remember Ensign’s friends as being particularly concerned with making sure that the cuckolded aide got generous compensation for his suffering.
Hampton is the wronged husband of the woman whom Senator Ensign pursued, and caught, and literally did to the same thing he figuratively did to the husband, his constituents, and the country at large.
One of Ensign’s roommates, Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, was described by Hampton as being particularly vocal about the importance of cash contributions to “make these folks whole.” Coburn denies this, although he won’t say exactly what advice he gave to his erring colleague. Coburn told Roll Call that he talked to Ensign as a “physician and as an ordained deacon” and that he will therefore have the right to keep mum even if he’s dragged into court or a Senate committee hearing.
This makes me sort of hope that some kind of investigation takes place just so Coburn, who’s an obstetrician, can explain how exactly doctor-patient confidentiality figures into this.
Zing.
We hardly need to point out that Ensign was one of the people who demanded that President Bill Clinton resign over the Lewinsky affair, that he votes against financing for education and contraception services to combat teenage pregnancy and that he supports a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. In the world of politics, hypocrisy is a hard market to corner, but lately the Republicans have been making a Microsoft-like effort to do it.
Actually, we do need to point out their hypocrisy.
Both of the Hamptons lost their jobs, and Doug was shuttled off to a Las Vegas-based airline, run by a friend of Ensign’s, where he is now vice president of government affairs. Unappeased, he hired a lawyer to demand that Ensign make financial amends for “evil and completely unjustifiable acts by one of our country’s top leaders.” He also tried to leak the story of the affair to Fox News, apparently under the theory that out of all the media, Fox would be most excited by the opportunity to humiliate a powerful conservative Republican senator.
Fair and balanced, right?
Truly, this puts a whole new spin on the term “family values.”
The reason the Republicans lost so many Senate seats last November is now becoming clear. No one had any time to think about the campaign. They were too busy worrying about Senator John Ensign’s sex life.
Nobody paid a great deal of attention. Really, there are only so many randy Republicans we can keep track of at once. But lately, the Ensign saga has become more and more fascinating. Every social conservative in Washington seems to have been involved.
That's an interesting point: the Republicans seem over-sexed, the very same party that espouses (pun intended) family values as a centerpiece of its mission statement.
Ensign was, at the time, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which was supposed to be working to elect candidates in 2008. In Washington, he lived with some other conservative Christian lawmakers in a building known as the “Prayer House.” Both members of the N.R.S.C. and residents of the Prayer House were brought into the drama. Hampton, in his version of events, seems to remember Ensign’s friends as being particularly concerned with making sure that the cuckolded aide got generous compensation for his suffering.
Hampton is the wronged husband of the woman whom Senator Ensign pursued, and caught, and literally did to the same thing he figuratively did to the husband, his constituents, and the country at large.
One of Ensign’s roommates, Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, was described by Hampton as being particularly vocal about the importance of cash contributions to “make these folks whole.” Coburn denies this, although he won’t say exactly what advice he gave to his erring colleague. Coburn told Roll Call that he talked to Ensign as a “physician and as an ordained deacon” and that he will therefore have the right to keep mum even if he’s dragged into court or a Senate committee hearing.
This makes me sort of hope that some kind of investigation takes place just so Coburn, who’s an obstetrician, can explain how exactly doctor-patient confidentiality figures into this.
Zing.
We hardly need to point out that Ensign was one of the people who demanded that President Bill Clinton resign over the Lewinsky affair, that he votes against financing for education and contraception services to combat teenage pregnancy and that he supports a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. In the world of politics, hypocrisy is a hard market to corner, but lately the Republicans have been making a Microsoft-like effort to do it.
Actually, we do need to point out their hypocrisy.
Both of the Hamptons lost their jobs, and Doug was shuttled off to a Las Vegas-based airline, run by a friend of Ensign’s, where he is now vice president of government affairs. Unappeased, he hired a lawyer to demand that Ensign make financial amends for “evil and completely unjustifiable acts by one of our country’s top leaders.” He also tried to leak the story of the affair to Fox News, apparently under the theory that out of all the media, Fox would be most excited by the opportunity to humiliate a powerful conservative Republican senator.
Fair and balanced, right?
Truly, this puts a whole new spin on the term “family values.”
Friday, July 10, 2009
Family values
This jerk's picture should appear in the dictionary next to the word tawdry. And his room-mate should be a footnote.
Sen. John Ensign has put a new spin on family values. The Las Vegas Republican, 51, enlisted his elderly parents to pay out $96,00 in "gifts" to his ex-mistress and her family. His father, Mike, is a wealthy casino mogul.
Mighty suspicious gifts.
Lest anyone think it was hush money, his lawyer Paul Coggins insisted, "Ensign has complied with all applicable laws and Senate ethics rules."
Those ethics rules need some revamping, as does the Senator's morality.
A statement from Ensign's office said that "his parents decided to make the gifts out of concern for the well-being of long-time family friends during a difficult time."
Difficult time, alright.
"The gifts are consistent with a pattern of generosity by the Ensign family to the Hamptons and others," it continued.
Nice people.
In addition to getting help from dear old dad, Ensign received some life-coaching from fellow Sen. Tom Coburn. Coburn counseled Ensign to end the affair, but he denied helping draft the the breakup letter Ensign wrote to Cindy Hampton. "I was never present when the letter was written."
Not present when the letter was written does not exclude Senator Coburn from having participated in discussions about, or the drafting of, said letter.
Coburn refused to say what he told Ensign to do, noting that he was both a medical doctor and an "ordained deacon," and such information was "privileged communication."
Amen.
Sen. John Ensign has put a new spin on family values. The Las Vegas Republican, 51, enlisted his elderly parents to pay out $96,00 in "gifts" to his ex-mistress and her family. His father, Mike, is a wealthy casino mogul.
Mighty suspicious gifts.
Lest anyone think it was hush money, his lawyer Paul Coggins insisted, "Ensign has complied with all applicable laws and Senate ethics rules."
Those ethics rules need some revamping, as does the Senator's morality.
A statement from Ensign's office said that "his parents decided to make the gifts out of concern for the well-being of long-time family friends during a difficult time."
Difficult time, alright.
"The gifts are consistent with a pattern of generosity by the Ensign family to the Hamptons and others," it continued.
Nice people.
In addition to getting help from dear old dad, Ensign received some life-coaching from fellow Sen. Tom Coburn. Coburn counseled Ensign to end the affair, but he denied helping draft the the breakup letter Ensign wrote to Cindy Hampton. "I was never present when the letter was written."
Not present when the letter was written does not exclude Senator Coburn from having participated in discussions about, or the drafting of, said letter.
Coburn refused to say what he told Ensign to do, noting that he was both a medical doctor and an "ordained deacon," and such information was "privileged communication."
Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)