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Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad

by BooMan
Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 04:06:06 PM EST

Look, I don't know what is legal or precisely what is allowed or not allowed under the Senate ethics rules, but getting your rich daddy to pay off your mistress to the tune of $96,000 just doesn't seem worthy of a U.S. Senator. When you add to it that the mistress and her husband were both your employees and that you had them both terminated...I'm just not sure this whole transaction is kosher, let alone survivable politically.

Now, I know that the money could be as easily interpreted as fair compensation as hush money, but it was definitely an investment in containing knowledge of Ensign's indiscretion. And, while it's true that he didn't use any campaign funds, the use of his Daddy as a cut-out was clearly intended to hide obvious traces and probably to avoid Senate disclosure rules.

I am going to assume that Daddy Ensign is rich enough that he didn't require his son to pay him back in some kind of laundering arrangement, but who knows for sure?

In any case, it would probably be best if Ensign followed Eliot Spitzer's example and resigned his post. The fact that he's a hypocrite of the highest order only adds urgency to his decision.

And I think Tom Coburn is out of his mind pretending to have advised his roommate in his capacity as a physician and ordained deacon, and therefore his urging to to Ensign to pay for the couple's relocation to Colorado is privileged. That is horse-hockey.

Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad (4.00 / 2)

So let me get this straight: Macho Republican John Ensign, a sitting U.S. Senator, had to have his daddy (a casino mogul who sold out before the recent economic unpleasantness) and mommy bail him out of trouble.

And then he confided in and sought counseling from his...gynecologist?

Obviously a manly man who is too much man for just one woman.

by RAM on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 10:06:22 PM EST

Re: Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad (none / 0)

well he's so manly he doesn't mind if the entire world is laughing about him having an ob/gyn - but maybe it's not the gyn it's the ob; maybe he was going to carry a baby as someone's surrogate

Viva Obama

by Errol on Fri Jul 10th, 2009 at 08:16:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

IOKIFYR (none / 0)

l assume this $96k, is in addition to the $25k severence package he paid her.

wonder if mark sanford got as good a deal?

an we don't want them in colorado...we've enough loonies already...see tancredo, dobson, etal.

the revolution will not be televised...

by dada on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 04:29:54 PM EST

your subj. line spot on... (none / 0)

At least it's not Bill Clinton...

To Godwinize this...... remember that Ernst Rohm's homosexuality was overlooked literally for years until it was no longer politically expedient, and couldn't be hidden---then came the Long Knives....

"The invisible hand of Adam Smith seems to offer an extended middle finger to an awful lot of people"---George Carlin

by justadood on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 04:53:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: your subj. line spot on... (none / 0)

Well, I think it's more that Röhm's homosexuality became an expedient bit of dirt to throw once Hitler decided to have him terminated because he was increasingly challenging the regime. Unlike most National Socialists, Röhm actually was a socialist, and he had begun to publicly criticize der Führer for cozying up with large corporations in order to secure their support for the Nazi regime. The Night of the Long Knives served two purposes: to remove the potential challenge of Röhm's SA to Hitler, and to demonstrate to the capitalists that Hitler wasn't really serious about socialism.

But in general, yes, if you want to find scoundrels, start by inspecting the public moralists. Really moral people seldom feel any need to talk about morality; they're too busy living it.

by corvus on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 05:11:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: your subj. line spot on... (none / 0)

that reference brings to mind roy cohn who gained infamy as a major player in the mccarthy investigations.

perhaps more apropos to the situation and attitudes that are still prevalent in the gop...grand old perverts that they all seem to be.

the revolution will not be televised...

by dada on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 05:49:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad (none / 0)

Trying to use his status as an Ob/Gyn to claim "doctor-patient privilege" on this is just jaw-droppingly stupid. I mean, come on. I suppose if there had had to be some counseling on how to go about getting his mistress a discrete abortion you might be able to stretch it, but even then it would still rise to the level of "inane".

OTOH - the "ordained deacon" thing might stick. If Coburn wants to go to the mat to protect his advice to Ensign as "religious counsel", well, there will probably be a lot of religious groups who would back him on it if it ever came to court. Which it wouldn't because Coburn's a Senator and Such Things Just Aren't Done.

by nonynony on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 04:34:34 PM EST

Re: Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad (none / 0)

So you have to wonder: Did Ensign have his pap test this year?

by RAM on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 09:58:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad (none / 0)

Thankfully, this incident won't be forgotten in the wake of subsequent revelations of Palin and Sanford.

Oh, there you are, Perry. -Phineas -SLB-

by boran2 (blogistan@yahoo.com) on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 04:36:30 PM EST

Re: Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad (none / 0)

Does anyone elsre think that the GOP has got to get rid of either Sanford or Ensign. Looks like Sanford ain't going anywhere. My money is on Ensign, unless Ensign's people can put the drop on Sanford. Of course James Carville (who knew all along bout Clinton and Monica I bet) and Alex Castellanos (sp...repub strategist) say he can survive because Nevada is home to Las Vegas, and ya know what happens in Vegas... Still I gotta think that Nevadians are damn tired of people assuming that just cause of Las Vegas, that Nevadians is "looser on moral values" than other states.

by lamh31 on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 07:31:48 PM EST

Re: Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad (none / 0)

I strongly doubt that he'll resign. Republicans don't quit unless convicted. The national media who so enjoyed hounding Clinton and Spitzer will happily ignore Republican philandering.

The Four Horsemen of Bushism: War, Corruption, Hypocrisy and Greed

by esquimaux (esquimaux1 at gmail dot com) on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 07:57:01 PM EST

Re: Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad (none / 0)

If I turn Republican, will I get more and better sex?

by Buckhorn Okie on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 11:22:48 PM EST

Re: Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad (none / 0)

John Ensign's original name was Mueller. His mother married Mike Ensign, who adopted John. Mike Ensign is a casino executive who became Chairman of the Board of Mandalay Bay Resort Group. According to press accounts, Mike Ensign is definitely a multimillionaire and possibly a billionaire. Paying off his son's "other woman" and her husband wasn't even a drop in the bucket for John Ensign's parents.

by 1st Republic 14th Star (1strepublic14thstar@gmail.com) on Fri Jul 10th, 2009 at 09:10:10 PM EST

Ensign and Coburn Looking Very Bad | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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