Rachel Maddow Interviews Larry Flynt About Rep. Weiner's Wiener

Rachel Maddow refreshed my memory about a couple of earlier sex scandals, and Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt's $1 million challenge to out philandering elected officials. Flynt could be dismissed as a mere pornographer of course, but he's also a free speech advocate, and a hypocrisy-fighter. And I really haven't got anything against pornography, provided it's all consenting adults. And really, when it comes down to it, virtually nobody is really outraged by Anthony Weiner's "Weinergate" scandal. They're amused. They're intrigued. They're maybe a little saddened, now that he's practically broken down publicly, found out his wife is pregnant, and apologized to the odious Andrew Breitbart. But who's outraged?

Anyway, the discussion of other politicians caught with their pants down is worth going over again, particularly the case of Sen. David Vitter. Vitter was caught in the DC Madam sting, and apparently liked hookers to treat him like an "adult baby," complete with diapers. Vitter broke the law, actually had sex (as far as we know, Weiner didn't), and he is still a sitting Senator. He even got a standing ovation from his colleagues! Why the fuss over Weiner's wiener, if people like Vitter get to keep their jobs?

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Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) Not Running For Senate in 2012

"And so, since my parents paid the hush money, this is not
technically prostitution. . ." Photo from NY Times

Wow, that was slow. It's been forever ago, politically speaking, that John Ensign got busted for schtupping one of his staffers (and that's just the tip of that iceberg of a story). Why now? I mean, David Vitter got busted soliciting hookers from the House floor for goodness' sake, and he got both a standing ovation from his colleagues and won reelection! My guess is that Ensign either a) is polling badly, b) is having trouble raising money, c) his wife is pitching a fit and doesn't want the attention all over again, or d) all of the above.  But like the earlier disgraced Senator from a neighboring state, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Wide Stance), Ensign will serve out his term, which for Ensign is all the way to January 2013! Way to milk the taxpayer, Captain Hairdo!

[Excerpt]

Senator, After Scandal, Won’t Run Again



Senator John Ensign, the two-term Nevada Republican caught up in a sex and ethics inquiry, announced Monday that he would not seek re-election in 2012 to avoid what he predicted would be an “exceptionally ugly” campaign. . .
 
Read more at: New York Times

Senator David Vitter's Hooker Problem

You know that everything in politics is topsy-turvy when a disgraced Senator like David Vitter (R-Louisiana) is leading in the polls.  I know that Democrats haven't exactly thrilled anybody, but it would seem that Republicans can do just about anything that used to disqualify anyone from office, and still remain viable candidates.  But we also don't see political ads laying it out quite as starkly as this ad. But I think it's too late to work.

Mike Stark Interviews "Values Voters Summit" Attendees

OK, this is pretty funny. Blogger Mike Stark attempts to interview attendees of the "Value Voters Summit," pondering where such Republican luminaries as David Vitter, Bill O'Reilly, Mark Foley and others might be. After all, most of them have proclaimed to have these prized "values." Stark is admittedly confrontational, but I find it interesting that most of the people interviewed have no answers and are mostly just pissed off.

So, while I may not choose to be quite so overtly mean (most of the time), there's still something to be said for this technique. Be forewarned, parts of the audio are NSFW, but are quotes directly from O'Reilly. . .

New GOP Urban Dictionary Definitions

Double-dipping into the Countdown with Keith Olbermann clips, because this one is just too entertaining. I do wish he'd included terms like Santorum and Vitter, though.

Sen. David Vitter Flips Out at Airport

Photo from source, Raw Story

Don't you just hate it when a celebrity or politician pulls the "Do you know who I am?" card to try to get his way, or get out of something? Sen. Larry Craig (R-Of Course) tried it to get out of his bathroom arrest. And now, Sen. David "Adult Diaper" Vitter (R-You Betcha) has tried the same thing to get out of causing disruption at an airport. Well, at least it had nothing to do with prostitutes this time.

[Excerpt]

GOP senator flips out at airline, sets off security alarm

. . .After missing a flight last Thursday from Washington to New Orleans,Louisiana Sen. David Vitter opened an armed security door and went off on a United Airlines employee, according to a report filed Wednesday by (paid-restricted) Roll Call. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

More on Vitter & Craig's "Marriage Protection" Amendment

Photo from source (with editing!), TowleRoad.com

Yeah, I know. I've commented on this story already. But I still can't get over the hypocrisy of the whole thing. Why is it that the loudest "defenders" of marriage (not just Larry Craig and David Vitter, but Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich and many others) are the worst at marriage?

[Excerpt]

Chutzpah Defined: Vitter and Craig Co-Sponsor Marriage Amendment

OK, so it's not news that politicians are hypocrites. But, my goodness. This just takes the hypocritical cake. As reported by PageOneQ.com, two infamous senators have signed on to the bill of Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker to establish a constitutional amendment codifying marriage as between a man and a woman. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Top 10 Conservative Idiots: June 30, 2008

Another Monday, and another list. Enjoy this one, because the Democratic Underground column usually takes a week off on holiday weekends. It's no surprise that Larry Craig and David Vitter (highlighted in my last post) topped the list this week. The writers of the column are talented, but c'mon, this one pretty much wrote itself! Enjoy.

[Excerpt]

The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 343
June 30, 2008
Look Who's Protecting Marriage Now Edition

This week Sens. Larry Craig and David Vitter (1) make a triumphant return to the list as they... well, you won't quite believe it. Elsewhere John McCain (2,3,5) struggles along, Sam Brownback (8) gets it backwards, and George W. Bush (10) drops a clanger. . .

Read more at: Democratic Underground

"Marriage Protection Amendment" Sponsored by Who?

Images from source, Page One Q

Quick. Name the two least likely Senators to co-sponsor a new federal "Marriage Protection" Amendment to the Constitution. Did you guess Larry "toe tapper" Craig, and David "I like hookers" Vitter? You can cut the irony with a knife, huh?

Honestly, which does marriage more damage? Furtive restroom sex with a strange man, hiring a prostitute, or The Other Half and I getting married in Palm Springs? I for one am more than a little insulted by all of this.

[Excerpt]

Sens. Larry Craig and David Vitter co-sponsor Marriage Protection Amendment

Two United States Senators implicated in extramarital sexual activity have named themselves as co-sponsors of S. J. RES. 43, dubbed the Marriage Protection Amendment. If ratified, the bill would amend the United States Constitution to state that marriage "shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. . ."

Read more at: Page One Q

John Kerry Doesn't Botch Joke!

Photo from dKosopedia.com

Who says John Kerry can't tell a joke? Oh, sure, there was that one time. . . But, he made up for it! Whoever wrote it (maybe Kerry himself), the delivery apparently worked. See what you think:

[Excerpt]

A Democratic aide close to Kerry has confirmed to ABC News that he said, "There once was a man named Vitter / Who vowed that he wasn't a quitter / But with stories of women / And all of his sinnin' / He knows his career's in the -- oh, nevermind."

But then, I guess I'm a sucker for a good limerick.

Read more at: ABCNews