Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Stay strong, because they are weak.

We do not need to pander to people who do not like what we stand for.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

You are here: Home / Politics / Republican Stupidity / Hear My Song, People Won’t You Listen Now

Hear My Song, People Won’t You Listen Now

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Remember the number one concern for Republicans when their own Marc Foley had some issues? For those who don’t, it was… What did Nancy Pelosi know?

I’m sure it will surprise no one that their number one concern in the aftermath of the Massa mess is… “What did Nancy Pelosi know?”

They’re consistent, I’ll give them that.

And just for a dash down memory lane, here is Jon Swift taking on the Foley affair:

Although some in the liberal media claim that recent reports of Rep. Mark Foley’s overeager mentoring of male Congressional pages will be damaging to Republicans in the November elections, I think this incident demonstrates why turning Congress over to the Democrats would be such a disaster for our country. Once people know the truth about this scandal, I think it will actually hurt Democrats more.

Perhaps the most important issue people will be voting on this year is national security. Before the Democrats leaked this story, Republican leaders Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader John Boehner and Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee Tom Reynolds were able to keep it a secret for months, not even trusting Rep. Dale Kildee the Democrat member of the board supervising the page program, although they did let the Republican chairman Rep. John Shimkus in on the news. (It’s also possible that, as Powerlines’s John Hinderaker claims, the Republican leaders were too busy defending America from terrorists to remember to mention it to Rep. Kildee.) Democrats and the liberal media, on the other hand, just can’t seem to keep a secret, spilling the beans on the National Intelligence Estimate report that said Iraq was actually making the War on Terror worse and leaking information about NSA wiretapping, secret prisons, the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and many other stories that Republicans tried so hard to keep from the public so as not to give aid and comfort to our enemies. The revelation about Rep. Foley is just another example of Democrats’ being unable to keep their mouths shut.

Gawd, he is missed.

Reader Interactions

80Comments

  1. 1.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I just read about the House motion to investigate the ‘handling’ of Massa. I won’t hold my breath waiting for the Senate to investigate its “handling” of Ensign. Is the Senate ethics committee even investigating?

  3. 3.

    Chyron HR

    Once people know the truth about this scandal, I think it will actually hurt Democrats more.

    Bookmark it, libs. You will wonder how he was able to call this.

  6. 6.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I guess I should read articles and not just headlines. D’oh!

    WASHINGTON – Previously undisclosed e-mail messages turned over to the F.B.I. and Senate ethics investigators provide new evidence about Senator John Ensign’s efforts to steer lobbying work to the embittered husband of his former mistress and could deepen his legal and political troubles.

  7. 7.

    jibeaux

    Yay, got my new thread and I dedicate these health care reform rally pictures — keep in mind that this was the teabaggers’ idea to have this thing, and the group you see on the other side that’s 15 times bigger is the counter-protest — to Jon Swift, R.I.P. It was pretty earnest and none too satirical, but it’s the best I’ve got.

  8. 8.

    Fergus Wooster

    According to Peter Clarke, a Navy shipmate, Massa was notorious for making unwanted advances toward subordinates. He tells the story of his friend Stuart Borsch, with whom Massa shared a hotel room while on leave during the first Gulf War. “Stuart’s at the edge of the bed,” Clarke says Borsch told him at the time, “and [Massa] starts massaging him. Massa said, ‘You’ll have to get one of my special massages.’ He called them ‘Massa Massages.'” Ron Moss, a Navy shipmate and Borsch’s roommate, confirmed that Borsch told him this story at the time.

    theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/03/eric-massas-navy-files/37309/

    Shudder. . .

  9. 9.

    Mnemosyne

    It’s funny that even when John Ensign gave the media exactly what they claim to want, a nice juicy sex scandal combined with official corruption, they ignored (and continue to ignore) it as much as possible, which allows Ensign to stay in office rather than resigning in disgrace. This despite the FBI announcing that they’re investigating Ensign’s crimes.

    Eric Massa resigns before there’s even an official investigation and it’s a fucking 24/7 circus.

    Tell me again how the media has a liberal bias, because I’m just not seeing it.

  13. 13.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Mnemosyne, it is because Ensign did not seek to snorkle.

    Eric Massa. Democrat. New York.

  15. 15.

    Ana Gama

    The House just voted 402-1 to reopen the Massa ethics investigation.

    rollcall.com/news/44107-1.html

    “House lawmakers on Thursday directed the ethics committee to open a new investigation related to allegations that ex-Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) sexually harassed his aides, directing the committee to determine when Democratic leadership and their staffs learned of the accusations and their responses.

    The resolution, which passed 402-1 and was sponsored by Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), echoes one introduced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was then Minority Leader, in 2006 after allegations surfaced that then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) sent sexually explicit e-mail messages to a House page. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) was the lone “no” vote. “

  16. 16.

    Fergus Wooster

    @Brick Oven Bill: BOB, Ensign nailed his staffer’s wife while her husband and kids were in the friggin house.

    That beats any snorkel or wetsuit. Mnemosyne is right on.

  17. 17.

    Norbrook

    @Ana Gama: Well, now that they’ve got the political grandstanding out of the way, they can go back to … something. Maybe like passing HCR.

    Seriously, what are they going to do? Throw him out of Congress?

  18. 18.

    The Populist

    @Chyron HR:

    You mean like the times when DeLay and Gingrich would sweep Republican bad deeds under the carpet?

    Sorry, I don’t believe it’s the problem you think it is…mark MY words.

  19. 19.

    JK

    Party of Vitter, Ensign, and Sanford wants Massa investigation
    h/t dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/11/845190/-Party-of-Vitter,-Ensign,-and-Sanford-wants-Massa-investigat…

    Massa vs Ensign – Tale of the Tape

    “Senator John Ensign has been in the news for having an affair with the wife of an aide, Douglas Hampton. He is under investigation for steering lobbying work to Hampton, evidently in order to make up for Ensign’s affair with Cynthia Hampton, Douglas’ wife. The New York Times first reported on the affair and the alleged arrangement in October 2008. Ensign has been a Senator since January 2001 and served in the House from 1995 to 1999: about 15 years as a national political figure.

    Representative Eric Massa resigned his seat on March 8 for allegations he groped male staff members. Massa asserts the charges were part of a White House effort to change his vote against its health insurance legislation. Massa has served in the House of Representatives from January 2009 to March 2010: about one year and two months and he has held no other political office.”

    h/t kostyaatya.blogspot.com/2010/03/quick-hit-massa-vs-ensign.html

  22. 22.

    Fergus Wooster

    @JK:
    I could spit in the eyes of fools,
    as they ask me to focus on. . .

    Sailors fighting in the dance hall!

  23. 23.

    Brick Oven Bill

    I would prefer to be chased around a warehouse by a fork-lift wielding, menstruating female than wake to Eric Massa, Democrat, New York, unzipping my pants, seeking to snorkel.

  25. 25.

    The Populist

    Interesting…

    Massa acts like a lewd perv and gets pressure to resign. End of story regardless of what lie he tells about it.

    Ensign acts like a lewd perv and hypocrite (I am a Christian and I believe in the sanctity of marriage…gag), pays off people and uses the system to steer business to the lobbyists involved in his scandal yet republicans show no interest in forcing him out.

    I sense too much righteous anger directed at the wrong people here. Massa is a prick but he owned up to SOME of his misdeeds, resigned and it seems he was pressured to do so.

    WTF when it comes to Ensign?

  26. 26.

    aimai

    If I recall correctly at least one top Republican leader knew about Ensign’s affair, and is on record saying they counseled him about it.

    Four months later, Coburn is knee-deep in it. Since the scandal broke, Coburn’s role as an intermediary between Ensign and Doug Hampton, the longtime Ensign aide who was married to Ensign’s mistress, has come into much greater focus.__
    Coburn is also backing away from his initial claim that he wouldn’t divulge information to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics because he is both a deacon and a physician, which he claimed gave him a confidentiality privilege in his dealings with Ensign.__On Tuesday, Coburn said for the first time he would fully cooperate with federal investigators — positioning himself to become a key witness if the Ensign inquiries pick up steam.
    Read more: politico.com/news/stories/1009/27967.html#ixzz0htjzsakt

    And that was months ago.

    aimai

  29. 29.

    The Populist

    @aimai:

    Yet, why is the news so fascinated with Massa? What Ensign did was beyond ethical. Massa is just a dumb pervert who can’t keep his extreme male bonding fantasies to himself.

  30. 30.

    The Populist

    @Ana Gama:

    It makes him yet another in a long line of GOP who can’t come to grips with his sexuality. Funny, I know many gay men who don’t act the way Massa did. It’s weird how the closeted guys are the most extreme.

  34. 34.

    Mark S.

    @Ana Gama:

    From that article:

    Pelosi has said she was unaware of the ethics investigation into Massa’s actions until he announced his retirement last week, but media reports Wednesday indicated members of Pelosi’s staff may have been alerted to other concerns about Massa’s behavior, including his decision to live in a Capitol Hill townhouse with several aides, as early as October.

    Why would that be of any concern to Pelosi? It seems that there are a lot of odd living arrangements in DC (ahem, C Street). Also, unlike the millionaires’ club in the Senate, not every House member is filthy rich and can afford to have to have a nice pad in the capital as well as a house in his or her own district.

  35. 35.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Fergus Wooster: and, as a US Senator (which phone did he make the calls from? his Senate office where I pay the phone bill with my tax dollars! (channeling your average Fox watcher)? From the C-Street House that I subsidize with my tax dollars? I demand to know! (damn, I wish I could use more exclamation points to express my sarcastic outrage!)

    @aimai:

    Coburn is also backing away from his initial claim that he wouldn’t divulge information to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics because he is both a deacon and a physician, which he claimed gave him a confidentiality privilege in his dealings with Ensign._

    As a pysician? I missed that part. Ensign had an STD?

  37. 37.

    jibeaux

    @IndyLib:

    OFA brought their “A” game with that, I have to say. I got emails from them, from the local dems, from a random guy in my neighborhood, etc., about the event. And they brought speakers and neighborhood coordinators.

  39. 39.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Pelosi has said she was unaware of the ethics investigation into Massa’s actions until he announced his retirement last week, but media reports Wednesday indicated members of Pelosi’s staff may have been alerted to other concerns about Massa’s behavior

    I don’t think the person who wrote that article understands what “but” means. There’s no contradiction between what Pelosi said and the rumors in the second clause.

  40. 40.

    licensed to kill time

    Tickling the pickle is always more newsworthy than stuffin’ the muffin.

  41. 41.

    jl

    I think the upcoming election will be a good test of Big Dawg Bill’s Strong But Wrong versus Weak But Right theory. Which do the mass of voters prefer?

    This natural experiment will not have an ideal quasi-experimental design however, since the Democrats have been at best Weak And Half Right.

    And we will find out whether GOP tactics obey Einstein’s theory of relativity: as their application of ultra bitch slap tactic approaches the speed of light, will it approach an asymptotic limit, or will it break through, creating hitherto unknown effecs that may drive everyone insane?

    I am not worrying anymore about whether the new CERN collider will create a big-bang mini black hole glue that swallows up the earth when it gets to full power in two years. At this rate, we will all be too ga-ga in the head to notice anything. It might even be perceived as an improvement, at least by mass of people living in the US who will be batshit insane by that time.

    I will surely be one of the loony by then.

  42. 42.

    The Populist

    @Mnemosyne:

    There is no liberal bias as we all know. Whenever any rightie wants to play that argument, they have already lost.

    It’s insane that it’s okay for Ensign to get away with what he did and yet righties make the Massa thing the #1 issue of the day.

    Ensign should be the focus because one has to wonder how many in the party were aware he was doing this. I just find it hard to believe Coburn was the only one that knew.

  44. 44.

    JGabriel

    Roll Call via Ana Gama:

    “House lawmakers on Thursday directed the ethics committee to open a new investigation related to allegations that ex-Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) sexually harassed his aides, directing the committee to determine when Democratic leadership and their staffs learned of the accusations and their responses.
    __
    The resolution, which passed 402-1 and was sponsored by Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), echoes one introduced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was then Minority Leader, in 2006 after allegations surfaced that then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) sent sexually explicit e-mail messages to a House page. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) was the lone “no” vote. ”

    Jesus Fucking Christ, Democrats voting against their own interest, AGAIN.

    I’m sorry, but this is NOT like the Foley case. The Foley case involved adolescents. Further investigation was necessary beyond Foley’s resignation to determine what steps were needed in the future to protect the pages better.

    Whatever Massa did involved adults, and the processes for reporting his inappropriate conduct obviously worked, since he’s resigning during his first term.

    Over how long a period did Foley’s conduct take place? Wikipedia:

    More pages came forward, alleging a history of inappropriate conduct by Foley dating back at least 10 years.

    Further investigation of the Massa matter, on the other hand, serves no purpose but to prolong the story and give Republicans fodder for more conspiracy theories.

    .

  45. 45.

    Fergus Wooster

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    As a physician? I missed that part. Ensign had an STD?

    You know, I always assumed Coburn was just hedging his bets with the deacon/doctor confidentiality thing.

    I like your theory better.

  46. 46.

    jl

    BOB into some kind of hetero metal S&M action, or what?

    As for Ensign, don’t forget the corruption and very likely bribes, money and political favors style criminality.

  47. 47.

    Tsulagi

    They’re consistent, I’ll give them that.

    Take it to the bank. They’re the “we deal with our own” serious adults. Just ask Diaper Dave, Married Staff Banger Ensign, and just about all of the C-Street alums like Soulmate Hunter. Oh, almost forgot Wide Stander.

    Speaking of serious adults, RedState is on the hunt highlighting behavior Pelosi must have personally known…

    …the source said, was a lunch date that Massa made with a congressional aide in his 20s who worked in the office of Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

    Yep, The Snorkeler had a lunch date with a gay guy. If he worked in Barney Frank’s office, how could he not be? Pelosi covered it up. What we need are the logs of all lunch dates with Frank staffers and search warrants to conduct full countertop inspections to ferret out D-gay moles we don’t already know about.

  48. 48.

    IndyLib

    @jibeaux:
    I’m happy to hear that it was organized by OFA. They seemed to have kicked it up here in the last couple of weeks. I hadn’t heard anything from them on healthcare since the August recesses. Of course, my Rep is Paul Ryan, so it’s not like all the organization in the world, protests and calls to his office would make a dent is his wingnut version of reality.

  50. 50.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    John Boehner is the moron who handed out tobacco industry donation checks on the floor of the House.

    In 1995, Boehner handed out campaign checks from the tobacco industry to members on the House floor at a time when lawmakers were considering eliminating a tobacco subsidy.

    It’s old news that Boehner is a filthy, conniving crook. But, yeah, let’s investigate Pelosi. Why not, I’m sure it will be money and time well spent for the GOP noise machine.

    Is that Jack Abramhoff I hear laughing from his jail cell?

  51. 51.

    jl

    To present the unfairly discriminated against and suppressed GOP view on this blog, I will make one important point about Ensign.

    Since his depraved behavior had been covered up for up to ten years, by the time the public found out, it was not news, therefore, not really important.

    QED by application of Village Rules, and Standard Calvin Ball Procedures.

  52. 52.

    Folderol and Ephemera

    I just can’t believe we haven’t gotten to the bottom of what sort of “snorkeling” Rep. Massa was up to.

    Inquiring Perverted minds want to know!

  54. 54.

    jibeaux

    Oh, one more prop for OFA. They had the whole crowd of 200 or so pull out their cell phones. They had signs with the phone numbers of the area congresscritters and our senators. They asked everyone to try to call right there. Since of course we can’t all get through, they say — keep that number in your phone, next to your mama’s, and call it again. I thought that was a fairly productive stunt.

  55. 55.

    JGabriel

    Norbrook:

    Seriously, what are they going to do? Throw him out of Congress?

    Waste time, rile up their base, grandstand, and draw false equivalences in an attempt to justify their own behavior on the lie of “Hey, they do it too!”

    .

  56. 56.

    aimai

    Aren’t Coburn and Ensign both C Street roomates?

    From The Salon Article:

    Now, of course, I know I was wrong: John Ensign is a brightly tanned, hapless figure who used his Family connections to cover up the fruits of his flirtations, to make moral decisions for him, and to do his dirty work when his secret romance sputtered. Doug Hampton, the friend and former aide whom Ensign cuckolded, tells us that it was Family leader David Coe, along with Coe’s brother Tim and Family “brother” Sen. Tom Coburn, who delivered the pink slip when it was time to put Cynthia Hampton out of Ensign’s reach.

    C street included Stupak and also Sanford and it seems clear from Sharlett’s book that there was a ton of mutual “counseling” going on. If we could only subpoena these guys and discover that they were snorkling, as well, the press would finally pay attention.

    aimai

  58. 58.

    jacy

    If Massa would just flip his affiliation back to Republican, then they’d leave him alone.

  64. 64.

    Jake

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    LOL. You do realize that you haven’t made a point here…except to show yet again what a hypocritical fool you are…It’s not the sex, asshole…

    It is the combination of claiming religious purity and virtue, while having extra-marital sex, AND while filtering contracts to keep people quiet that should have Ensign not only being dragged before an ethics committee, but also dragged out of Congress and into prison.

  65. 65.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Mnemosyne asked the question Jake. All I have provided is enlightenment through visual aids.

    For further enlightenment, here is a picture of Eric. He is a Democrat from New York who tickles men.

    Not that there is anything wrong with that.

  66. 66.

    cat48

    Hopefully Massa’s staff were adults. Some of Foley’s pages were 16 and 17 if I remember correctly. That made it more offensive to me personally.

  67. 67.

    Chyron HR

    Gee, it’s too bad for Republicans that they proudly claimed Massa as one of their allies in the War on Obammunism. Now everything he did is their responsiblity, not ours.

  68. 68.

    ABS

    Remember when Congressional Republicans launched an investigation into Jeff Gannons trips to the White House? Oh, thats right…..

  70. 70.

    JGabriel

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    I would prefer to be chased around a warehouse by a fork-lift wielding, menstruating female …

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    All I have provided is enlightenment through visual aids.

    Menstruation as “visual aid”?

    Damn, that visual must have been seared into your brain at an impressionable age. Very much the classic, Freudian, Vagina Dentata neurosis. Still afraid that Mommy’s gonna bite off your dick and turn you into a girl.

    Good lord, BOB, you really have no filter, do you?

    .

  71. 71.

    MikeJ

    @Ana Gama: I’m all for a public option, but I don’t think it can go through the reconciliation sidecar, and I’m not convinced they have the votes for cloture.

  74. 74.

    Ana Gama

    What are folks more put off by, Brick Oven Bill’s bigotry or his misogyny?

    I’m bipartisan. :o)

  75. 75.

    aimai

    I called Capuano’s office, and I read the letter. Its typical of Capuano’s style–he really is a detail guy. I don’t think he’ll end up voting no, I think he just wants to lay out all the issues and its clear from reading his letter that from MA point of view the health care bill is going to be costly. I encouraged Capuano to remember that his constituents, the ones who care, are pro passing the bill and fixing it later *even though* we know the Senate has a bad track record of screwing the house. It may well be bad for MA–in fact, I’m sure it will be because it is good for all the other states which have been routinely screwing their poor and middle class while we actually have a plan in place and the Senate bill won’t help us much. But still–you have to legislate with the good of the country in mind, not just your tiny slice of it.

    aimai

  76. 76.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    @aimai:

    But still—you have to legislate with the good of the country in mind, not just your tiny slice of it.

    Speaking as somebody not living in MA, thank you for saying that (of course the same applies on my end).

  77. 77.

    Wile E. Quixote

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    BOB, BOB, BOB. Look BOB, you’re a homosexual and what’s more we all know you’re a homosexual. If you were able to consolidate the concentrated (and fabulous) gayness of the Village People into one single human being that human being still wouldn’t be as gay as you are. Dude, you’re gay, you’ve demonstrated over and over again that you want a strong, manly, uniformed daddy figure with a mustache in your life telling you what to do. Chesley Sullenberger has a restraining order out against you because he’s tired of you sending him naked pictures. Your only problem with Eric Massa is that he doesn’t have a mustache and that he’s not wearing his navy uniform. If he were in his dress whites you’d be begging to snorkel him. Your copy of Glenn Beck’s How to Argue with Idiots has never been opened and never will be because the copious amounts of semen you ejaculated over the cover after seeing Glenn in uniform (and after you drew that little Hitler mustache onto him) have glued the pages shut. You’re a closet case and a bottom with a serious uniform fetish, furtively hiding in airport toilet stalls hoping that your wide stance will attract a manly, mustachioed, uniform wearing pilot to one of the glory holes you’ve drilled.

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