The Hypocrisy of the Right, Part 8,345,816

Anything and Everything political, express your view, but play nice
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JerseyGuy
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Joined: Feb 20th, '05, 12:10

The Hypocrisy of the Right, Part 8,345,816

Post by JerseyGuy »

At least Conan and Letterman's jobs just got a touch easier this week:


Ensign resigns from GOP leadership after affair
By DAVID ESPO, AP

WASHINGTON — A former campaign aide to Sen. John Ensign confirmed her involvement Wednesday in an extramarital affair with the conservative Republican, lamented his decision to "air this very personal matter" and said she eventually would tell her side of the story.

An attorney for Cindy Hampton and her husband, Doug, issued a statement on their behalf as Ensign phoned in his resignation as a member of the Senate GOP leadership. The senator's aides refused to return phone calls seeking additional details about a dalliance that pushed the 51-year-old Nevada lawmaker's political career to the brink of disaster.

An Associated Press review of federal records showed Cynthia Hampton, 46, received a promotion and a pay raise around the time of the affair at one political entity controlled by Ensign and a pay raise at a second. Her husband was an employee in Ensign's Senate office.

Ensign told a hastily arranged news briefing on Tuesday he had an extramarital affair with a woman on his campaign payroll, and it lasted several months, ending last August.

The disclosure resurrected questions about a two-week period in 2002, when Ensign abruptly dropped from public view. A person familiar with that episode, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Tuesday the senator told a close associate the absence followed an earlier affair.

In Las Vegas on Wednesday, lawyer Daniel Albregts issued a statement that said "Doug and Cindy Hampton can confirm that they are the individuals referenced by Senator Ensign during his press conference."

"It is unfortunate the senator chose to air this very personal matter, especially after the Hamptons did everything possible to keep this matter private," the lawyer said. "It is equally unfortunate that he did so without concern for the effect such an announcement would have on the Hampton family. In time the Hamptons will be ready and willing to tell their side of the story."

The lawyer declined to answer questions.

Ensign, in his second term, has said he intends to remain in the Senate.

He offered to resign as head of the Republican Policy Committee in a midday phone call with Sen. Mitch McConnell, the party leader.

"He's accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized to his family and constituents. He offered, and I accepted, his resignation as chairman of the Policy Committee," said McConnell, R-Ky.

Ensign is a member of the Christian ministry Promise Keepers and has championed causes pushed by the GOP's conservative religious base while seeking to raise his political profile for a possible presidential campaign.

The senator's fall from grace was a further blow for Republicans struggling to recover from recent election reversals as well as the political defection of moderate Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Ensign's announcement also added to an appearance of disarray for the party in Nevada, where GOP Gov. Jim Gibbons has been embroiled in nearly nonstop controversy throughout his term.

Ensign's position within the leadership was a reflection of his popularity among the rank and file, but not a single Republican senator came to his public defense in the first hours after his announcement.

At his news briefing Tuesday, Ensign said the affair he had last year was "the worst thing I have ever done in my life. If there was ever anything in my life that I could take back, this would be it."

In a statement on Tuesday, Ensign's office said he had carried out a consensual affair from December 2007 through August 2008 with a "campaign staffer who worked at Ensign for Senate and Battleborn PAC from Dec. 2006 to May 2008. The campaign employee was married to an official Senate staffer who worked for Senator Ensign. As of May 2008 neither employee worked for Senator Ensign."

Neither Ensign nor his aides would name the woman or her husband, but the statement from the Hamptons' lawyer removed any mystery about her identity.

Federal records show Cynthia Hampton was on the payroll of Ensign's Battle Born Political Action Committee at $1,385.24 a month until she was appointed treasurer and her salary was doubled to $2,771.50 starting in February 2008.

Her salary also doubled at Ensign's campaign committee, where she was treasurer, beginning around the time the affair began. It went from $500 a month to $1,000 a month.

Records also show Doug Hampton received a monthly salary of $13,555 as an administrative assistant in Ensign's Senate office. He received a payment of $19,679 for his final month of employment and was off the payroll on May 1, 2008, according to Senate records.

Additionally, the National Republican Senatorial Committee made twice-monthly payments, generally $500 apiece, to Brandon Hampton, who Republican officials said was the couple's son. The payments began in March of last year and ended in August, when Ensign's office says the affair ended.

"This really doesn't help a Republican Party that has tried to run as a party of family values," said Chuck Muth, a self-described conservative-libertarian activist. "It absolutely makes the party look hugely hypocritical."

Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada-Reno, called Ensign's announcement "another shot in the gut to Nevada Republicans."

"The party is in disarray, and Ensign was at least a bright spot," Herzik said. "He was respected."

Ensign declined during his announcement Tuesday to mention the name of the campaign aide involved in the affair but described her and her husband as good friends.

"Our families were close," a weary-looking Ensign said. "That closeness put me into situations which led to my inappropriate behavior. We caused deep pain to both families and for that I am sorry."


In case you're wondering what the heck "Promise Keepers" is... from the "Promise Keepers: Men of Integrity" website:

PROMISE 1
A Promise Keeper is committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God's Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.

PROMISE 2
A Promise Keeper is committed to pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises.

PROMISE 3
A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity.

PROMISE 4
A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values.

PROMISE 5
A Promise Keeper is committed to supporting the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources.

PROMISE 6
A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.

PROMISE 7
A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (see Mark 12:30-31) and the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:19-20).

PROMISE 8
A Promise Keeper is committed to setting up his mistress with a sweet-ass job so that she, too, may seek to grow in the ways of Christ.

OK, so I may have made the last one up...
"Default on aug 3rd just like clown lips said."
-- Racist Maddie, finally revealing himself as the hateful racist that he really is


"The rest of your post is something my pathetic little mind can't even remotely fathom."
-- Racist Maddie: uncut, uncensored, unedited and unhinged


"when is JG gonna figure out that since i OWN HIM, there is no need to respond to him"
-- tellitlikeheiwishesitwas, stumbling into a new way to handle being publicly called out for lying: a clumsy duck and weave with a dollop of self-delusion


"blah blah Okemo is awesome blah"
-- SkippyShill, in an accidental moment of misplaced clarity


"Go f*** yourself."
-- StreetSkippy, who be hatin' on tha haters
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