I wonder what Ken Starr would think of this:
Sen. John Ensign’s attorney acknowledged Thursday that the Nevada Republican’s parents paid nearly $100,000 to the family of his mistress after she and her husband left his staff in April 2008.
In a statement from Paul Coggins, Ensign’s attorney, said that the senator gave Doug Hampton, Cindy Hampton and their two children gifts worth $96,000 and that “each gift was limited to $12,000.”
“The payments were made as gifts, accepted as gifts and complied with tax rules governing gifts,” Coggins said.
Coggins said that after Ensign told his parents about his affair with Cindy Hampton – who was an then a campaign aide – the senator’s parents “decided to make the gifts out of concern for the well-being of long-time family friends during a difficult time.
We’ve gone past “affair” and have now moved to bribery, hush money, etc.
But then again, IOKIYAR.
jibeaux
Um, if you’re old enough to be a Senator, aren’t you old enough that your parents shouldn’t have to bail you out anymore?
JK
It’s time for Nevadans of good will to burn up Ensign’s switchboard and inundate his email account. This duplicitous, arrogant motherfucker needs to be run of office ASAP.
The same goes for that smarmy, smug asshole Mark Sanford.
OT
RIP Oscar Meyer
Incertus
Ensign must have thought he was home free after the Sanford-Palin cookie with a dollop of Michael Jackson whipped cream on top, but I guess not.
Keith
JMM’s on this one especially with Coburn, who is now saying he won’t answer any questions because he’s a deacon and an Ob/Gyn. Apparently, he believes that that makes what Ensign told him AND what he told Ensign to do all protected counsel, in spite of the possibility that he advised the breaking of one or more laws and in spite of Ensign being neither pregnant nor having a vagina.
Michael
Ensign’s got some brass balls, about 10 pounds each. It would take that for him to have an affair with his house configuration the way it was. Think about it – living under one roof you had:
The logistics of that had to be a nightmare for the hookups. The bed hopping had to be reminiscent of the estate weekend scene in “The Secret of My Success” (Michael J Fox, Helen Slater).
low-tech cyclist
I always give my friends’ kids $12,000 gifts when my friends are going through tough times. Doesn’t everyone?
scav
Family Values.
come on, we can work with this……
scav
“The Family that Pays together, Stays together.”
Ed Drone
Whose money?
Ed
Brick Oven Bill
I will no longer volunteer for Ensign’s Presidential campaign.
low-tech cyclist
Sanford’s still in office mainly because his Lt Gov’s a nutcase.
Since Ensign’s a Senator, what’s the excuse here?
used to be disgusted
I think I’m back to being disgusted
JK
Interview with Doug Hampton
http://www.lasvegassun.com/videos/sets/2009/jul/08/exclusive-interview/
kay
Cringe. This part: “The gifts are consistent with a pattern of generosity by the Ensign family to the Hamptons and others.”
They’re already creating a record for his bribery/pay-off defense.
geg6
Ack! I just posted on this in the Steyn thread.
It’s even better than that, John. Remember how Coburn’s aides were talking about how he counseled his old C Street buddy to pay off the girlfriend? Now Coburn is saying he can’t talk about what he said to Ensign because it’s confidential. Because he did his counseling in his role as physician and spiritual advisor to Ensign.
Coburn is an OB/GYN.
asiangrrlMN
Eh. It doesn’t surprise me. I think the money angle MAY force Ensign to resign (and/or be arrested, hopefully), but I wouldn’t even hold out much hope for that.
scav
Although, you really have to begin to wonder at some point. To these people, merely acknowledging the possibility of teh ghay is enough to corrupt their youth into degenerate lifestyles, the possibility of artificial sperm leads to a world dominated by giant lesbians and upon hearing a woman slept with their son, parents give her money “out of concern for the well-being of long-time family friends during a difficult time.”
sorta sad, in a madly giggly way.
kay
96 divided by 12 is 8, and 12k is the fed tax-free gift limit, I think.
So, how many people are in this family? Or did both senior Ensigns give each of four a gift?
cbear
Wow! A $100 grand?
Wonder what that works out to per encounter? We could be in Spitzer territory here.
JK
@geg6:
What a load of bullshit.
NonyNony
4 gifts of $12,000 each does not equal $96,000, so how is that supposed to work?
I like that Ensign was apparently using the tried and true tactic of “money laundering” to keep everything legal. That shows some forethought!
blogenfreude
@NonyNony: $12k from each parent to each family member.
And WTF – they structured the transaction, but then only wrote one check? Standards people, standards!
Keith
It went something like this “give….take….give….take. give.take. GIVE! TAKE! GIVE-TAKE-GIVE-TAKE-GIVE-TAKE-GIIIIIIIIVE-TAAAAAAKE!” followed by a cigarette.
GregB
I’ll have you know that Senator Ensign generously offered his penis to his mistress repeatedly.
Doing God’s work.
Amen brother.
-G
Dulcie
@NonyNony: Each of Ensign’s parents gave a “gift” of 12k. As a Nevadan, I apologize for the morans in my state who elected this asshat to the Senate.
Brachiator
@JK:
Haven’t you heard? Religious conservatives have an automatic Get Out of Sin Free card direct from the baby Jebus (Why the left misjudges GOP sex scandals)
“Their survival isn’t in spite of the GOP’s evangelical base, but rather because of it. And while liberals tend to see continued support as hypocrisy from both the politician and his supporters, what matters to conservative Republicans is not so much the behavior of their leaders as the repentance they show after their fall from grace.”
And so, Ensign can actually write a letter to his mistress admitting, “I used you for my own pleasure, not letting thoughts of you, Doug, [childrens’ names] come into my mind. … I betrayed everything I believed in and lied to myself over + over. I justified my actions because I blamed my wife,” but everything can be forgiven as long as he throws down this magic charm:
Godless, Commie libruls, on the other hand, must take their lumps and resign from office if caught with their pants down, because they don’t have the Celestial Butler available to sweep away their transgressions.
Brian
I have very little familiarity with tax law and have never received a $12,000 gift from a U.S. Senator’s parents, but I always thought the $12,000 cash gift exemption from taxable income was limited to intra-family gifts.
In any case, it’s interesting that Ensign’s parents seemed to want to do what they could to avoid saddling the gift recipients with a potential Al Capone-style tax evasion problem.
JK
It does if you use hire these folks to be your certified financial planners
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cydcnQf0usg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLprXHbn19I
JK
Nevadans and South Carolinans need to hold general strikes to shut their respective states down until Ensign and Sanford resign
MP
Each spouse can contribute $12k to an individual per year. Thus, each family member could receive $24k from the Ensigns ($12k from Ma Ensign, and $12k from Pa Ensign). 4 x $24k = $96k. On the downside, they’ve got a sleazeball for a son, but on the upside, they’ve got a good accountant.
Comrade Stuck
Just think how many 10 dollar whores that would have bought him down at the corner whorehouse next to the Elvis Chapel.
Damn repubs got no sense of thrift.
HRA
It’s not that I cannot believe this happened. It’s that I thought it happened mostly to what some have begun to call “real America”.
Do I dare go on? Sure! A female relative is dating a married man whose family includes this female relative in all their events and celebrations.
It’s unbelieveable.
The Cat Who Would Be Tunch
@geg6:
Hmmm, well since Ensign was having an affair with a woman, I guess it could be said that he was looking for some expert advice having to do with his relationship. Or something. I’m sure the Republicans will clarify why Ensign had to consult with an OB/GYN in one of their myriad press statements, non-apology apologies, and back-pedaling interviews.
asiangrrlMN
@Brachiator: Apparently, though, according to the hubby (yeah, yeah, I know), Ensign continued to pursue the wife after he sent her that letter.
Whatever. Yawn.
ironranger
In Doug Hampton’s Las Vegas interview, he talks of himself in the 3rd person.
The whole bunch are whackadoodles.
JK
Jon Stewart had the best observation
Ensign and Sanford – Conservative minds with Liberal penises.
Maurs
I Like Josh’s take on Coburn acting as Ensign’s Doctor:
Now that Sen. Coburn (R-OK) has said he will not answer any questions about his conversations with Sen. Ensign (R-NV) because he was acting as his physician (and spiritual counselor), TPM Reader DE reminds us that Dr. Coburn is an OB/Gyn.
A deeper scandal than we’d ever imagined?
–Josh Marshall
lol! Emphasis mine.
cbear
@Michael:
Makes Jon and Kate Plus 8 look pretty tame, huh?
Hell, throw in the family pets (x’s 2) and you’re talking a mini Noah’s Ark there. One can only hope that no animals were harmed in the making of this production.
Jackie
I’m alot more interested that his parents were also “generous to others” How many mistress’ are they paying off to keep their mouth shut?
Mnemosyne
@geg6:
See, now I can see a way that Coburn could genuinely be held by doctor-patient privilege — if Ensign’s mistress got herself into, ahem, a little trouble and needed a special prescription, like maybe some RU-486.
Given Coburn’s public anti-abortion pronouncements, that could well be a career-killer for him.
JK
@cbear:
Maybe Ensign and Sanford can get together and set up an evangelical free love commune somewhere along the Appalachian Trail.
Kyle
Ensign’s parents paid off his fuck-toy to keep her quiet?
I just can’t live up to the high moral standards of Repig ‘family values’.
At least this time the Repig adultery-du-jour was with an American, and with a woman.
Comrade Stuck
Brady Bunch from Hell.
evie
Is there anything illegal about them giving the money? Doesn’t seem like it to me. The possible extortion seems illegal, but who knows. It seems worth an investigation since so much money is involved (watch out, Edwards), but if it was legal, then I’m not convinced he should have to step down.
NonyNony
@The Cat Who Would Be Tunch:
There’s about only one thing I can think of that Ensign would need the advice of an OB/GYN in these circumstances. If Coburn really wants to push the “doctor-patient privilege” angle he can, but he should know that the rumors that that sort of push will spawn will be far, far worse for him than if he just drops it and pretends that his status as an “ordained deacon” qualifies him for “priest-penitent” protection instead.
(Of course if that were the case it would explain a lot about this whole affair. I doubt it is, but if it turns out to be the case then I guess I won’t be terribly surprised.)
Paul L.
I do not remember the same outrage fro progressives about John Edward’s payments to his mistress Rielle Hunter.
Comrade Stuck
@evie:
Nookie fee. Legal in NV, I think/
Comrade Stuck
@Paul L.:
Edwards wasn’t in office, numbnut/
fastandsloppy
@Michael:
Unless their act of love resulted in very little movement or noise and was over within a minute or two.
Hmmm, I wonder if Mrs. Fastandsloppy thinks I am a Republican Senator?
DonnaInMichigan
The republican men believe that marriage should only be between a man and a woman and the man’s mistress!
cbear
@JK:
Seriously, think about it—a few well-placed minicams and there would have been no need for the bribery, everyone could have gotten rich as shit just off the television rights.
Silly Republicans.
Colette
If I get ordained as a deacon (or pagan priestess, or Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, or whatever) through one of those online ordinations, can I then advise and conspire with my friends to commit crimes with impunity? Because that would totally be worth the $20 ordination fee.
Bad Horse's Filly
@Michael: Or a British Bedroom Farce.
Violet
It’s a real live soap opera. All those folks living under the same roof, elected official, hush money, paying people off, praying to God for help. When does the Tide commercial start?
The hypocrisy is what gets me. Writing a letter about how much you’ve sinned and how wrong it was, and then continuing the affair for six months and lying about it. Or how about having a chaperoned “break up weekend” with your mistress, but then planning a ten day visit with her a few months later. Do they not see the hypocrisy when they turn around and point fingers at Dems for sexual misconduct? How can they do that and still look at themselves in the mirror?
The mind, it boggles.
Just Some Fuckhead
Senator Ensign can fuck my wife for half that amount. Call us Senator, we’re very discreet.
Brachiator
@Brian:
Let’s open up our hymnals (in this case, IRS Publication 950) and sing together now:
Those of you with mistresses or as the Brits say, WAGs (for Wives and Girlfriends) need to make note of these pay for play thresholds.
Violet
@Just Some Fuckhead:
If you’re really discreet, maybe they’ll get you a job in the Washington press corps too.
cbear
@Paul L.:
Yeah, libruls always skate on sex scandals. See: Spitzer, Elliot.
Jerky.
Comrade Stuck
@Just Some Fuckhead:
I trust your wife is not a Balloon Juice reader.
edit- or has a really good sense of humor.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Violet:
Just because we’ll have sex for thousands of tax-free dollars doesn’t mean we’re whores, ya know.
JK
Is this good news for John McCain?
Poopyman
Each of Ensign’s parents gave $12K each to Doug, Cindy and two of their kids?
I’d be pissed if I was the third kid.
HumboldtBlue
So Coburn was advising Ensign in his role as an M.D. I guess that does make Ensign a pussy who doesn’t have the guts to step down.
Violet
@Just Some Fuckhead:
It’s not personal. It’s business.
asiangrrlMN
@Mnemosyne:
I thought this, too. I can’t think of any other reason why Coburn would claim doctor/patient privilege. Hm.
@evie: Nope. This part isn’t illegal. The part where Ensign paid his mistress twice as much once he started bonking her and hired her son and increased his pay while bonking mom are a problem, though.
Violet
@JK:
Of course it is! Now McCain knows he can get his mom to pay off his mistress.
JK
Two wild and crazy guys, John Ensign and Mark Sanford debate the merits of another economic stimulus package
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9SaKYFR6ms
binzinerator
@Violet:
The bigger question is why doesn’t everyone see who voted for these fucking sacks of shit see the hypocrisy?
My guess is they do, but they are the fundies whose real belief is, ‘do as I say not as I do’.
Honestly, these dumbfucks are sheep only too willing to let themselves be sheared. A belief that all you have to do is wave the magic baby jesus around and you’re good to go is just too fucking tempting to not be used against them by the cynical manipulative fucks they elect as their leaders.
Keith
I’m not a tax expert by a long shot, but I would not be surprised if the IRS considers a married couple taking a lump sum, dividing it in half and then distributing it to individual members of the same family (including several minors) in order to avoid taxation to be a conspiracy to avoid paying taxes.
Dennis-SGMM
Doug and Cindy Hampton now get to go through the rest of their lives knowing that their self-respect is worth the price of a modestly equipped Toyota Camry each. It must be sad to not only know your price but, to find out that it is so low.
binzinerator
I love this comment over at Politico:
Total win.
Ash Can
Seriously, seeing what’s become of Sanford, Palin and Ensign, I wouldn’t want to go anywhere near Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee at this point. I’d be afraid of getting hit by pieces of a falling piano.
Violet
@binzinerator:
Yeah, no kidding. They invoke the Baby Jesus Defense and that seems to be good enough for the voters.
It still surprises me, though. It shouldn’t, but it does.
cbear
@Just Some Fuckhead: Henny Youngman’s got nothing on you, bro.
kay
@Paul L.:
Paul, John Edwards isn’t a Senator anymore and he lost the primary.
You don’t recall any outrage, because no one really cared.
I’m not outraged about Ensign. I think that spiritual-retreat-house that Republicans are going to in DC is a cult, with the “chaperoned” meetings with mistresses and the hand-written letters and the money compensation for sin, and that’s why no one outside of a small group understands the Ensigns or the Sanfords, but I’m not outraged.
I think Republicans have ventured very, very far from Real America, Paul. You’re wackos.
Comrade Stuck
@Dennis-SGMM:
It’s a good thing they’re republicans, or else the loss of self respect would mean something..
linda
butbutbut, these crimes were committed by good christian men… so, all’s forgiven.
the friggin dems really need to take some friggin lessons. ignore your accusers and carry on with what you do best — f*ck your constituents. literally.
the endless criminality and scumbaggery — i am so goddamned sick of it. and no friggin accountability anywhere.
Ash Can
And if you’ve lost BOB, then you
just aren’t pretty enoughhave lost everyone.binzinerator
@Dennis-SGMM:
You mean, now they get to go through their lives knowing we know their self-respect could be sold for $25 grand. They knew that just before they accepted the money.
lotus
Anybody here from Oklahoma? Is Coburn’s part in this heartwarming saga getting any ink back home yet? No sign of OK datelines on GoogleNews that I can find . . .
Comrade Stuck
See, this is the problem with libs. Clinton just got his knob polished and was impeached. At least wingnuts get the full service and more than once. Then get to apologize to God and go their merry way. And some even get to keep wearing their diapers because who will check.
Dennis-SGMM
@binzinerator:
What sorry people they must be.
Demo Woman
Well just fuck! I have been painting a ceiling of my bedroom that is huge and already went through a gallon of paint. The reason that I did not hire a painter is cuz of the cost. How do I get a job doing what Hampton did. Never mind, I guess I’m to old, but not for the job.
Jay B.
It’s not Starr — it’s whoever prosecuted Henry Cisneros. The fuckers tormented the guy long after the Clinton Administration ended for exactly the same thing. They were trying to nail him for tax evasion or something because of the “hush money” he paid his mistress.
It’s totally different because Ensign’s a Republican, of course, but the Cisneros special prosecutor deserves a shout out here. Fucking cockbiter.
Dennis-SGMM
@Demo Woman:
Painting a ceiling? Hope that you picked a color that matches your skin tone.
Ugh
As long as its actually gifts to the individuals, including minors, and not with the expectation that the parents will just deposit the checks into their own accounts, then it’s fine (and even if the parents deposit into their own account it might be fine as long as they spend it on the kids, but much better if they did something that complied with the UTMA).
The problem here is that it doesn’t really seem like a “gift.” It seems to me that unless the Ensigns really have been giving the other family thousands of dollars over the past few years, they’re going to have a hard time proving it was a gift. Instead, it will be taxable income to the other family who should have reported it on their tax returns as such and paid taxes. It’s not a “gift” if there’s some quid pro quo.
KG
The Family Values Set vote for these assclowns because the assclowns sell the fallen, imperfect human routine. See, if they screw up, they (eventually) admit it, and feel really, really sorry about it. But they’re expected to fail because man is fallen (it says so in the Bible, honest, it does), and can’t be improved (pretty sure it says that in the Bible too). Us godless libertarians and liberals are held to a different standard, presumably because we 1) don’t believe man is fallen, 2) believe man can improve himself and his place in the universe, 3) don’t fear the unseen hand of god wagging his finger at us from 3,000 years ago, 4) don’t run on family values we can’t maintain on our best days.
Basically, the politician lies to the constituents and the constituents lie right back to the politician about how everything is black and white. It has to work like that, because reality, with all its complexities, is too scary.
Demo Woman
@kay: lol, I was outraged about Edwards but you are right, he did not have a government job to resign from. There is a huge difference between Ensign and dems. Repubs run on family values cuz that is all they have.
One thing that I like about Obama is the fact that he ran on issues but continues to show what family values mean..
gnomedad
Ensign’s parents paid off his girlfriend??
cbear
Breaking news—Burris won’t seek re-election.
So let’s see:
Foley out. Vitter in. Spitzer out. Sanford in. Palin out. Ensign in. Burris out. Craig in and out.
I’m beginning to see a pattern here.
dbrown
@Paul L.: And was Edwards lecturing every one on morals like this asshole? As for no outrage against Edwards, what world do you live in – Edwards was raked over the coals and is being investigated. Most democrats were laughing at him and saying the man was through politically. Either you are living in a cave or manage to only hear what you want to hear.
Xenos
@Jay B.: That was David Barrett. According to Wikipedia, he kept the investigation of Cisneros going until 2006.
Quite the racket, that.
CT
OT, but brilliant Hoekstroika (via Sully):
gnomedad
@CT:
And Obama can’t even quit smoking.
Dennis-SGMM
@gnomedad:
It would be irresponsible not to speculate about whether or not they left the check on Cindy Hampton’s dresser.
binzinerator
@Comrade Stuck:
Holy shit, and here me and Ms. Binz thought having just two kids really limited the window where we can be confident of no interruptions. I mean, how the hell do you bang someone with 6 kids and 2 other adults in the house without anyone knowing?
asiangrrlMN
@binzinerator: They knew. They all fucking knew. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ensign’s wife and Doug Hampton were getting it on, too.
@CT: WTF? So Palin is Washington? Good gravy.
kay
@Demo Woman:
I think that letter Ensign wrote was under duress. It reads like something written by a hostage.
They’re starting to spook me, seriously. I think it’s goddamn weird that they go to the spiritual retreat and leave with orders regarding their mistresses. They’re assessing money damages for sin? No one else thinks this is bizarre?
Sanford met with his mistress and a chaperone. What is that?
jennifer
Let’s see, he is still in office because the majority party is so deep into sex scandals and perversions that they overlook this action by Ensign.
Did Ensign’s family deliver the money in the freezer? Or is that just the MO of those on the Left? You know keeping cash in the freezer.
Are you wigging out that a politician had an affair…???
Edwards, Clinton, Barney Frank and his house of sex…are a few.
I think that the political ruling class are all the same. Having those of us in the mainstream of America negotiate which party has the worst perv is the problem. I say let’s start fresh and elect those from each side that are not LONG STANDING family members or politicians. We need fresh new non political folks to regroup and take back our country.
I know you will tell me Obama meets that criteria…no he doesnt as he has shown that when push comes to shove it is about cronys and well the old farts still dominating. Biden??? Of all those on the Left he picked Biden? There are tremendous number of sharp intelligent in touch people that could have made a difference.
By the way- when I say old fart I mean one not in with the times…recall the email comment from Biden. We are a tech society and those in leadership roles should be too.
jl
The Ensign affair is already far to complicated for me to keep track of. Only thing I have to note is that from what I have read at TPM, Coburn’s concern about the confidentiality of his doctorly and deaconly advice increased greatly after he realized the story was going to blow up. Before, not so much.
Did Coburn know that Ensign tapped his dear old mum and dada for $100K hush money when he started talking, and then hushed up when he found out the scandal was only going to get bigger?
harlana pepper
Speaking of fucking, fuck these fuckers
harlana pepper
@kay: It is some creepy, twisted, sick shit, that’s what it is.
Violet
@binzinerator:
Must be a really big house. Or else everyone was in on it and didn’t create a big stink until the money dried up.
geg6
CT: Do these wingtards ever study ANY history? This so-called obscure fact is, in fact, extremely well-known as it is usually characterized as one of the precipitating factors that predisposed Washington to support the rebellion against the British. He quit because they were so prejudiced against colonial militia officers that they wouldn’t pay their expenses or offer them commissions. And don’t even get me started on his rules for morals and proper decorum. Fucking idiots. Not a single thing in common with whackjob Palin.
Brachiator
@asiangrrlMN:
And the wife continued to let herself be “caught” by Ensign.
Don’t you just love those GOP family values?
Jay B.
@Xenos:
Thanks. I was too lazy to slog through it again. Cisneros got royally screwed, frankly. The ultimate irony of course, is that his political career was finished — and he could have possibly been where Obama is today — in 1995. Not to excuse the bullshit he pulled, of course. But the $250K he allegedly paid his mistress was about 1% of what it cost the government to prosecute him for 11 years, 5 years of which were after Clinton pardoned him.
So, that was a totally awesome and effective use of public funds.
jl
@CT: Washington resigned? That was in the middle of the French-Indian War. I think he was captured and released with promise to stay out of the theatre for a year. Or there was some international incident where Washington’s Indian allies were accused of a massacre, and GW had to clear his name. Something like that. I will have to look it up.
Anyway, it was not out of the blue.
Violet
I keep forgetting to mention that Ensign reminds me of J. Peterman from Seinfeld. It’s the hair, I think. I haven’t heard him speak, so don’t know if he waxes lyrical about Himalayan hunting jackets.
With many apologies to John O’Hurley. No offense meant.
binzinerator
@Ugh:
Well I know it’s a quid pro quo. And you know it’s a quid pro quo. But how does one prove that, short of an admission by Ensign’s parents or one of the Hamptons?
It’s only common sense obvious that’s what it is, but common sense is not an attribute of the people who put Ensign in the senate. I for one don’t expect to see any common sense in those people now.
jl
@geg6: I think GW resigned temporarily for some very definite reason in the middle of the French-Indian War, unless I have my dates mixed up.
asiangrrlMN
@kay: Well, he did write it under the ‘urging’ and ‘advice’ of Coburn, so it’s very possible that some heavy arm-twisting was involved.
@Brachiator:
Not to mention all the money the hubby was trying to extort. Hm. I wrote exhort first. Strangely enough, that fits as well.
@harlana pepper: Fuck them all to hell. Harry Reid needs to put an end to this shit right fucking now.
Brian
@Comrade Stuck:
The Brady Bunch from Hell sounds interesting.
“The Ensign Bunch (aka the Brady Bunch from Hell)”
“It’s the story, of a Repub lady,
Who spent much more than her husband could provide,
All she wanted was a mansion in the suburbs,
More than a double-wide.
It’s the story of a man named Ensign,
Whose parents had banked a wad of dough,
They decided they would pay off their son’s mistress,
No one would ever know.
‘Til the one day when the husband of this mistress,
Thought the odds were right for acting on his hunch,
So the families up and moved in all together,
That’s the way they all became the Ensign Bunch.
The Ensign Bunch, the Ensign Bunch,
That’s the waaayy, they became the Ensign Bunch.”
Demo Woman
What we should do as a group is tell Paul and BOB that they have an interesting point but! Truthfully, they are not interested in facts.
@Dennis-SGMM: I am covered in paint. The ex wanted a divorce and I maybe would have taken him to the cleaners but then he was diagnosed with colon cancer and we delayed the proceedings. He’s healthy now but being a wimp I felt bad and did not go after alimony. Painting the ceiling today, I though what the hell were you thinking of. It was a cleansing feeling though. We have adult sons that he moved away from and I’m fortunate cuz I see them a lot.
geg6
He was sent home after his capture but did not resign. He resigned later because the Brits wouldn’t give him a commission and would not pay his expenses for his militia service. Nor did they pay his men what they’d promised. Which is why, after the Revolution, he fought Congress to make sure the Continental Army got what they’d been promised. I am about 99% sure of this.
gnomedad
On the seventh day, God quit. Also.
kay
@jl:
They have problems with the clergy dodge. If Ensign holds the privilege, as the penitent, Ensign can waive it.
The doctor/patient idea is probably dumb too. Unless these conversations were conducted as a doctor to a patient, in that capacity, it doesn’t apply.
All doctors would just avoid all testimony, about anyone, or anything. A conversation about bribery with a person who happens to be a physician isn’t privlidged.
It’s not a get out of jail free card.
Comrade Kevin
Senator Coburn: “I’m a gynecologist, but this is my lunch hour“.
JK
@gnomedad:
Ensign’s father to John Ensign: “Young Man, You Are Grounded”
Ensign/Sanford 2012
Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough
Violet
@JK:
Lolz. I don’t think Rep. Peter King would be on board with that ticket.
dbrown
@jl: Washington could not read (or speak) French. So he signed a treaty (in French) that gave away many things that he never realized he was signing away. Totally embarrassed, he resigned rather than admit he never learned French (the diplomatic language of its day which all educated people knew (i.e. the elite … .)
Ruemara
@Colette:
I am ordained as a Right Reverend Rue and I welcome sinning republicans for my fee-based pagan priestess confessional. Only 10k per parent and non-option boot up yer ass negative feedback therapy with bibles taped on your eyes.
geg6
Um, my post at 114 is in reply to jl. Damn CrackBerry that won’t let me use the cute little reply arrow.
JK
Harry Reid needs to “ACT LIKE A MAN” (as Vito Corleone would say). Reid needs to grow some brass balls. Ensign needs to be kicked the fuck out ASAP and Democrats need to pull out all the stops to defeat that other dirtbag David Vitter.
Cat G
@kay: Some of us cared a whole lot about the affair. He’s cheating on his wife while he’s running for POTUS?!!? He betrayed his wife, his campaign staffers, supporters etc. If he had won the nomination, he would have handed a huge club to McCain. It was a profoundly irresponsible and stupid thing to do.
Can you say VP Palin?
By the time the financial stuff was established, he was DEAD to us.
As a private citizen who gives a shit. Who cares about congressmen and senators. You want to be POTUS, you don’t hand a club like that to your enemies. I’m loving all the sexual scandals these sanctimonious right wing religious types are throwing around. And shame on the dems for having been such wusses on “Family Values” which should include health care for children and families, subsidized family leave, etc. etc. Yes and marriage rights for gays.
PattyK
So why $96K in hush money from the parents? Why is Campbell’s husband still beating the bushes for more? Campbell and Ensign were consenting adults so what’s the big deal? The answer has to be that is was not just sex but extremely kinky and weird sex. At age 76 I thought I knew a lot about sex until David Vitter came along. Never would it have occurred to me that a grown man would have been into dirty diapers…well, enough of that. Yes, just you wait to see, In my long life I’ve found that I know things other people don’t. Something very weird this way comes.
Comrade Stuck
Did I just hear on The Ed Show that Coborn is claiming is claiming his involvement in Ensigngate is privileged info because of his status as a Church Deacon. Tell me I didn’t hear that, please?
lotus
Cat G, once Elizabeth knew and mummed up, she betrayed us too.
geg6
Comrade Stuck: Yes. And dr/ patient privilege. Also.
Xenos
Call him Deacon Blues.
PaulW
There was an argument awhile back over which state had the more corrupt officials. We had a good debate over it being Texas or Florida or Illinois or New York. But this is getting ridiculous.
Instead of trying to figure out which state is most embarrassed by their elected officials, can I ask which state has the fewest elected officials NOT under indictment, scandal, caught on film saying stupid shit, or currently serving jail-time?
Constitutional amendment idea #374: the re-installment of the main street stockade where any political official caught doing something balls-up stupid will be locked in place and pelted with rotten tomatoes. Given the current situation, we’re gonna need 500 stockades installed by next Friday…
asiangrrlMN
@Comrade Stuck: Yes. And because of physician/patient privilege (he’s an OB/GYN).
Gah. geg6 beat me to it!
@PattyK: I think the payments had more to do with the underhanded way Ensign was dipping into Republican funds to pay his mistress and her son while he was bonking said mistress. Who knows?
kay
@Cat G:
I’m sorry, and you’re right, some people cared.
I never was an Edwards fan, so I wasn’t disappointed, although I used to like his wife. Sadly, no more.
Xenos
@PaulW: Is there a state with no people in it?
Mouse Tolliver
@cbear:
This should give you an idea of how much Republican prostitutes cost. Matt Sanchez’s old “Excellent-Top NYC” male escort site. He charged $200 an hour. For $1200 you could have him for the whole day. Jeff Gannon charged similar rates.
binzinerator
@asiangrrlMN:
That’s what I was getting at. It really a stretch to think everyone was clueless.
But then again, it’s pretty much the chosen state of mind I think exists in most spouses of adulterers — which is to say, yeah they know. At some level most know. I think very few truly have no clue. I think what happens is they choose not to know. Kind of a defense mechanism.
@violet
Big house as in a separate floor for each person with multiple stairways/elevators?
But hey I live in a 1,110 square foot ranch, so that probably makes it hard for me to visualize the myriad surreptitious hanky-panky possibilities 40,000 square feet across 3 wings and 4 floors would offer. Then again, I don’t think Ensign lives in that kind of house.
But I think your other possibility is more likely: an arrangement that was, at least tacitly, accepted by all parties.
Comrade Stuck
So then, Ensign was having female trouble (not that kind, the other kind) and God trouble at same time. I know this should seem strange, but somehow it doesn’t.
asiangrrlMN
@Mouse Tolliver: I had to click your link, didn’t I? Serves me right. Now, excuse me while I wash my eyes out with lye.
P.S. I found the fact that his head is chopped off in all the pictures really creepy.
cbear
Uh, yeah, ok.
Thanks, I think.
kay
@Comrade Stuck:
Ensign is a veterinarian. Do with that what you will.
Comrade Stuck
@kay:
Maybe we need to bring Rick “Man0Beast” Sanitarium in on the case.
Cat G
@lotus: You and Kay are both right about Elizabeth. It makes my teeth hurt contemplating the political damage that could have been done and resulted in another Republican president. And Kay: I wasn’t disagreeing with you, I just didn’t want to hunt upthread to find the original comment. It’s a lazy, hot, afternoon.
Hammy
I read somewhere that the 2 couples had a confrontation at the Ensign house on Xmas Eve. Can you imagine what a wonderful xmas those kids had that year?
Comrade Stuck
@Brian:
Not bad!
Doug Hampton
Hey, it’s tough out here for a pimp.
Demo Woman
@kay: I can remember seeing a bad vet or two. So it really does nothing for me.
Mouse Tolliver
@asiangrrlMN: Did you see his fantasy page?
Here’s an exerpt:
The page is decorated with nude, headless photos of Matt Sanchez brandishing a sword. It’s like a psychotic stalker shrine to himself. That’s some messed up shit right there.
Brachiator
@Ugh:
In this case, it’s quim pro quo.
binzinerator
@Hammy:
For some twisted reason, that old Reeces’s peanut butter cup ad popped in my head:
“Hey! You got your peanut butter on my chocolate!”
“No, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!”
iluvsummr
@Demo Woman: Until Michelle smacks him upside the head for this. Actually she’d probably be amused, since he’s just looking. Obama, stay away from Sarkozy and Berlusconi.
Brachiator
@iluvsummr:
And of course, Berlusconi has set out some tempting bait, in the minister he selected to look after the First Ladies. Mara Carfagna is a former topless model who is now Italy’s equalities minister (Bellissima! Berlusconi’s ex-Playmate minister stands in).
kay
@Cat G:
I had problems with Edwards based on his Senate record. I think if he were in now, he’d be a blue dog.
Max Peck
Are you new? The whole liberal media meme is just a front to allow them to judge a book by it’s cover or only hear what they want to hear. They’ve made being dismissive as fashionable as being ignorant.
So what kind of person do you grow up to be when you get paid to ignore that your mom is banging someone not your dad? Is this worse than growing up in a home with two dads or two moms? and what Hammy said @142.
OT. regarding Nixonland.
IIRC, page 61 paragraph 3. Nixon gives his ‘you won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore’ speech after losing the california gubernatorial. His speech is the same speech Palin tried to give. Of course she’s an idiot and couldn’t pull it off but it’s the same woe is me speech about being hounded by the media.
tavella
@iluvsummr:
It’s Sarkozy’s amused look that really completes the picture.
dbrown
@Max Peck: Kids that grow up with two moms or two Dads do great. I see you are affraid of the ‘dangerous’ Homosexuals that will teach childern how to be … dare I say it … tolernate! Next, your worst fear will occur and the children will develop real christian values (unlike the fake liar ensign) and not hate people that are different or have values/beliefs that they don’t have – what a crime that would be.
As to your point, I agree about ensign and was not defending him.
asiangrrlMN
@Mouse Tolliver: I couldn’t read his turgid prose any more than I could stand looking at his turgid cock. Ew. Such a turn-off.
@Doug Hampton: Tougher for a ho.
@Brachiator:
Priceless! You win the thread, so far.
Sad_Dem
He’s just a successful paterfamilias of the old school. He remains meritocratic, circumspect, prudent and ambitious. He has high SAT scores.
BeccaM
This all begs the obvious observation: That Senator Ensign was (and still is) compromised as an elected official. He was behaving like a guy being blackmailed, and it sounds from the accounts as if it only ended when the repeated demands for cash by the Hamptons got to be too big.
He needs to resign. Now.
Little Dreamer
Something tells me that the Hampton children who were recipients of a part of these payments never actually saw a dime of it.
maya
You know what this startling development means don’t you?
Another famous celebrity has got to die. Amy Winehouse, come on down!
eric k
Josh Marshall wins the internet today with this:
And violet when I see Ensign I see James Brolin as Gov Ritchey on the West Wing
Max Peck
@dbrown:
I wasn’t trying to say they didn’t. I was trying to point out rigth wing hypocracy. Unfortunatley I’m handicapped by being a bad writer.
You don’t see that, you assume it incorrectly. But as I explained above it’s not your fault you misunderstood me. Sometimes even I do.
Is teaching kids to be tolernate a good thing? :) Why’d you capitalize homosexual?
Comrade Stuck
@maya:
she says No No No
Max Peck
@eric k:
“And by the way, ‘Crime, boy I don’t know’ was when i decided to kick your ass.”
Jeb Bartlett.
Great show before they booted Sorkin.
AhabTRuler
@Little Dreamer: If the kids are smart, they now have two sets of adults by the proverbial balls (one must be quite clear as to the differentiation between metaphorical and actual testicles in these cases).
Little Dreamer
@AhabTRuler:
They probably don’t even know that they were recipients. Unless they somehow stumble upon this knowledge (probably more likely now that it’s all over the internet), they might never have known.
Little Dreamer
@Max Peck:
I don’t know if you’re handicapped by being a bad writer, but you are certainly at a disadvantage due to being a bad speller.
Little Dreamer
@AhabTRuler:
Can you imagine the conversation in that family?
“Mom? Dad? Why are Senator Ensign’s parents sending me several thousand dollars?”
How does one answer that question?
AhabTRuler
@Little Dreamer: “It was for funeral expenses, kids.”
“Oh. Who’s?”
“Yours, now keep yer trap shut, ya pishers!
[/vaudeville]
Mike G
They probably don’t even know that they were recipients.
In which case their parents have defrauded the IRS.
Redshirt
I think the real political alignment is when the RNC officially comes out as a pro-swinger Party; also, with polygamy (and magic underwear).
Yay Mitt!
maya
A. “It’s required by Obama’s stimulus plan, son”.
B. “Do you remember the movie, Pay It Forward?
C. “You’ve just been awarded the Ensign Foundation Scholarship.”
Ash Can
@iluvsummr: LOLZ! That is one PRIZE photo. (And a big part of what makes it so funny is that we all KNOW he’s just looking.)
Nutella
So Ensign is a senator, a veterinarian, and (apparently, since his doctor is ab ob-gyn) also a transsexual. How does he find the time?
Comrade Trotsky
So was Hitler.
mcd410x
Can you give the a tax-free gift to a bun in the oven?
Lesley
Clinton must be having a hell of a laugh these days.
Someone could make four coffee table books out of Republican hypocrisy and scandal.