The Ghost of Wilbur Mills
There's been quite a number of scandals in D.C. and the country in general these days. From Enron to Katrina to Plame to Iraq-- sometimes it's hard to keep up. Don't you just long for the days when a good ol' fashioned sex scandal dominated the news 24/7? After all, titillating news about Oval Office blowjobs is SO much better than hearing about manipulation of energy for capital gain, mismanagement and neglect during a natural disaster, revealing the name of a covert intelligence agent, or lying the country into war, don't you think?
Well, the good news percolating over the web today indicates that if the story has enough legs to carry through the weekend, we may just be due for a good ol' D.C. sex scandal. As Georgia10 over at DailyKos relates, it seems that the lobbyist involved in the Randy "Duke" Cunningham scandal invited quite a few others to "pay to play" with gifts of cash, favors, and, um, "hospitality suites." This wonderful euphemism indicates our Congressmen have spent their free time in D.C. frolicking with "ladies of the night." The DailyKos article links to an earlier story in the San Diego Union-Tribune, and a piece posted yesterday in the Wall Street Journal. It's not only the WSJ that's picked up the story; apparently MSNBC is sniffing around as well. So this story potentially has legs-- it's not just the blogosphere, it's the Corporate Media that's perking up its ears, and whispering: sex scandal!
This one looks so far to be a Republican sex scandal, and depending on how it plays out, could really wound them this fall during election season. It depends on how soon some of the key players start to sing, and how fast investigations (if any) move. Still, if I was involved, I'd be scared: it's one thing to obfuscate the public in somewhat complex unethical situations, but messing around with prostitutes is something anyone that isn't living under a rock can understand.
Quite a few Republicans have had their share of hypocritical family values lately; here's a list of some of them. To be fair, sexual misconduct is a bipartisan affair (*snicker*); Wilbur Mills, Wayne Hays, Gary Hart, and Mel Reynolds are examples of some of the Democratic members across the aisle who have gotten caught with their pants down, or their hands where they don't belong.
No matter how this current scandal du jour plays out, I'm willing to bet it won't have the cachet of exposés of years past. From naughty tales of cigars and boat cruises to frolicking in the Tidal Basin, simply boinking in a hotel room doesn't carry the same heft of illicit romance. Still, power and misconduct is an old story on Capitol Hill. Someplace, somewhere, the ghost of Wilbur Mills is smiling.
Well, the good news percolating over the web today indicates that if the story has enough legs to carry through the weekend, we may just be due for a good ol' D.C. sex scandal. As Georgia10 over at DailyKos relates, it seems that the lobbyist involved in the Randy "Duke" Cunningham scandal invited quite a few others to "pay to play" with gifts of cash, favors, and, um, "hospitality suites." This wonderful euphemism indicates our Congressmen have spent their free time in D.C. frolicking with "ladies of the night." The DailyKos article links to an earlier story in the San Diego Union-Tribune, and a piece posted yesterday in the Wall Street Journal. It's not only the WSJ that's picked up the story; apparently MSNBC is sniffing around as well. So this story potentially has legs-- it's not just the blogosphere, it's the Corporate Media that's perking up its ears, and whispering: sex scandal!
This one looks so far to be a Republican sex scandal, and depending on how it plays out, could really wound them this fall during election season. It depends on how soon some of the key players start to sing, and how fast investigations (if any) move. Still, if I was involved, I'd be scared: it's one thing to obfuscate the public in somewhat complex unethical situations, but messing around with prostitutes is something anyone that isn't living under a rock can understand.
Quite a few Republicans have had their share of hypocritical family values lately; here's a list of some of them. To be fair, sexual misconduct is a bipartisan affair (*snicker*); Wilbur Mills, Wayne Hays, Gary Hart, and Mel Reynolds are examples of some of the Democratic members across the aisle who have gotten caught with their pants down, or their hands where they don't belong.
No matter how this current scandal du jour plays out, I'm willing to bet it won't have the cachet of exposés of years past. From naughty tales of cigars and boat cruises to frolicking in the Tidal Basin, simply boinking in a hotel room doesn't carry the same heft of illicit romance. Still, power and misconduct is an old story on Capitol Hill. Someplace, somewhere, the ghost of Wilbur Mills is smiling.
posted by Mr. Sandman | 6:25 PM
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