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John Ensign Affair: GOP Senator admits relationship with ex-campaign staffer

Shep Dawg

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John Ensign Affair: GOP Senator Admits Relationship With Ex-Campaign Staffer

Will their be as much outrage from the GOP and right wing as there was with John Edwards?

Didn't this guy take to the Senate floor defending the sanctity of marriage?

Why would he discriminate against gay marriage on one hand using the sanctity of marriage argument and the violate that same sanctity.

Apparently he was "friends" with the womans husband, whom also worked for him.
 
This falls under my belief that there are certain things that are just no ones business except those effected. It's none of my business if he had an affair.
 
John Edwards and his wife covered it up for political reasons.

This has nothing to do with Same Sex Marriages and having an affair does not invalidate the mans views on what marriage is.

If he had lied about it under oath in a legal matter it would matter.

He didn't and said he f'd up big time by doing it.
IOW he took responsibility for his actions.

Huffington will have to find someone else.


(..and I don't want to be an ass or anything but Huffington is not a news source. Its a hugely biased Far Left blog. If its news a news service will have the story..link it thru them)
 
LOL This is a bipartisan issue. People from both parties cheat. Neither party has ownership to this crap.

But I don't buy this horse**** about how regretful these people are. They are regretful because they were caught. Give me a break.

Ensign is a handsome man. Edwards, however, is not, IMHO. Ewwww.
 
This falls under my belief that there are certain things that are just no ones business except those effected. It's none of my business if he had an affair.
I bow to your sense of fairness. That said, Republicans must hold their public figures to a higher standard of behavior than the private citizen. It is part of the difference we should be offering to the voter.

Myself, I believe that the way a man behaves as a husband is a very good barometer of his character. Since we are not privy to all of the information, debates and inducements to which our elected officials are exposed in the course of their duties, we must rely on their character to protect us from corruption.


The best thing the gentleman in question could do, in my ever-so-humble opinion is to announce that he will spend the rest of his time in Earth in penance to his wife, and resign his seat with dignity.
 
Ensign acknowledges extramarital affair

Sen. John Ensign today acknowledged an extramarital affair with a member of his campaign staff.

The affair took place between December 2007 and August 2008 with a campaign staffer who was married to an employee in Ensign's Senate office.

Las Vegas Sun

Nice. More infidelity from the party of family “values.” And like others before him, Ensign has been one of the social conservatives in Congress who has been touting the importance of family values. In a 2004 memo regarding the Same Sex Marriage Amendment, Ensign stated the following:

Sadly, the effort to redefine marriage against the wishes of a majority of the people is, with help from activist judges, succeeding,” Ensign said. “In order to defend the institution of marriage, uphold the rights of individual states, and maintain the will of the people, I believe we are compelled to amend our country’s constitution.

Who is worried about gay marriage? It’s people like John Ensign, Diaper Dave Vitter, and others we need to defend the institution of marriage from. It’s hypocrisy and just one more reason why I’ve grown exhausted listening to socially conservative politicians preach to me about morality. The message is quite clearly do as I say, don’t do as I do.
 
Re: Ensign acknowledges extramarital affair

Only two questions:

1. Was she hot?

2. Why should I care?
 
Re: Ensign acknowledges extramarital affair

Nice. More infidelity from the party of family “values.” And like others before him, Ensign has been one of the social conservatives in Congress who has been touting the importance of family values. In a 2004 memo regarding the Same Sex Marriage Amendment, Ensign stated the following:



Who is worried about gay marriage? It’s people like John Ensign, Diaper Dave Vitter, and others we need to defend the institution of marriage from. It’s hypocrisy and just one more reason why I’ve grown exhausted listening to socially conservative politicians preach to me about morality. The message is quite clearly do as I say, don’t do as I do.

What's wrong with promoting a moral standard even if you are unable to consistently reach that same standard?
 
Re: Ensign acknowledges extramarital affair

Something to consider before building this non-scandal into something it isn't:

Ensign admits affair; sources say blackmail involved - Yahoo! News

Political insiders in the Senate and in Nevada told POLITICO that Ensign began the affair with the staffer several months after he separated from his wife, Darlene. When Ensign reconciled with his wife, the sources said, he gave the aide a severance package, and the two parted ways.
Consider the timeline:

Ensign and wife separate.
Ensign and staffer start bumping uglies.
Ensign and wife reconcile.
Ensign and staffer stop bumping uglies. Staffer is given severance.

Is it a mistake to bump uglies with a campaign worker? Definitely.

Was he "cheating" on his wife? Only in a technical sense, and if they were legally separated not even then (romantic liaisons while legally separated are generally not considered as adultery in a divorce proceeding).

Then the staffer's husband decides to squeeze Ensign for some cash, and he decides to go public to defang the SOB.

No scandal here, folk, nothing to see, move along.
 
Re: Ensign acknowledges extramarital affair

I am seriously tired of these stories. There is no frigging point. They accomplish nothing. And, I'm not interested in these people's personal lives.
 
This falls under my belief that there are certain things that are just no ones business except those effected. It's none of my business if he had an affair.

If he were my Senator though, I would definitely take it into account at the polls. Cheating on your wife says a lot about your character, and character is important in a politician.
 
Didn't this guy take to the Senate floor defending the sanctity of marriage?

Ensign admits affair; sources say blackmail involved - Yahoo! News
Political insiders in the Senate and in Nevada told POLITICO that Ensign began the affair with the staffer several months after he separated from his wife, Darlene. When Ensign reconciled with his wife, the sources said, he gave the aide a severance package, and the two parted ways.
Marriage should be sacred, but sometimes marriages just don't work out (this I know from painful personal experience). Ensign had already separated from his wife when he had the encounter, and ended the affair when he reconciled with his wife.

Yeah, he's a dumbass for diddling a campaign staffer, but other than that, he's more victim than victimizer here.
 
If he were my Senator though, I would definitely take it into account at the polls. Cheating on your wife says a lot about your character, and character is important in a politician.
He didn't cheat. He and his wife were separated at the time.
 
Re: Ensign acknowledges extramarital affair

Moral of the story:

Dont **** with coworkers...literally.

Many loving, long-term relationships start in the office. I don't think there's anything wrong with ****ing coworkers...but subordinates are a different matter.

With that said, I am amazed that this even qualifies as news during the same week that Iranians are openly protesting their government. Ensign can **** the **** out of her while his wife watches, for all I care.
 
Re: Ensign acknowledges extramarital affair

Something to consider before building this non-scandal into something it isn't:

Ensign admits affair; sources say blackmail involved - Yahoo! News

Consider the timeline:

Ensign and wife separate.
Ensign and staffer start bumping uglies.
Ensign and wife reconcile.
Ensign and staffer stop bumping uglies. Staffer is given severance.

Is it a mistake to bump uglies with a campaign worker? Definitely.

Was he "cheating" on his wife? Only in a technical sense, and if they were legally separated not even then (romantic liaisons while legally separated are generally not considered as adultery in a divorce proceeding).

Then the staffer's husband decides to squeeze Ensign for some cash, and he decides to go public to defang the SOB.

No scandal here, folk, nothing to see, move along.


Succinct, to the point, and unassailable.

You're right. No story here.
 
Ensign admits affair; sources say blackmail involved - Yahoo! News
Marriage should be sacred, but sometimes marriages just don't work out (this I know from painful personal experience). Ensign had already separated from his wife when he had the encounter, and ended the affair when he reconciled with his wife.

Yeah, he's a dumbass for diddling a campaign staffer, but other than that, he's more victim than victimizer here.

The woman was married as well. Her husband and Ensign were close friends. He also worked on Ensigns campaign staff.
 
The woman was married as well. Her husband and Ensign were close friends. He also worked on Ensigns campaign staff.
And?

If she's stepping out on her husband, that's for her and her husband to work out. Seems like the hubby was happy to be cucked as long as he could get paid for it.
 
And?

If she's stepping out on her husband, that's for her and her husband to work out. Seems like the hubby was happy to be cucked as long as he could get paid for it.

So Senators sleeping with married women is OK? Just so long as they are separated. Got it.

Would you feel the same way if he was a Democrat? Did you take the same stance on John Edwards affair?
 
If he were my Senator though, I would definitely take it into account at the polls. Cheating on your wife says a lot about your character, and character is important in a politician.

There is truth to this, but....I think I am more worried about how a senator is going to vote than with who (s)he sleeps with. When character starts interfering with performance, or you get corruption, then it's more of an issue to me.

Now, I do consider having an illicit affair with some one in a relationship, or having an illicit affair while in a relationship to be extremely lacking in character. I just don't think it is germain to his job performance, and I think our public officials need to have some sense of privacy.
 
There is truth to this, but....I think I am more worried about how a senator is going to vote than with who (s)he sleeps with. When character starts interfering with performance, or you get corruption, then it's more of an issue to me.

Now, I do consider having an illicit affair with some one in a relationship, or having an illicit affair while in a relationship to be extremely lacking in character. I just don't think it is germain to his job performance, and I think our public officials need to have some sense of privacy.

I assume you mean for this to apply to both Republicans and Democrats, and any other 3rd party official.
 
I assume you mean for this to apply to both Republicans and Democrats, and any other 3rd party official.

Yes. I have said this more than once, first time I think was about the outing of a republican in Florida. I thought it was a shameful thing to do to a politician. Not everything has to be partisan.
 
Yes. I have said this more than once, first time I think was about the outing of a republican in Florida. I thought it was a shameful thing to do to a politician. Not everything has to be partisan.

Good for you, and I agree.
 
So Senators sleeping with married women is OK? Just so long as they are separated. Got it.
I don't see the hubby whining like a schoolgirl that Ensign ruined his marriage. Instead, he sought to make some coin off his wife doing the Senator. Did Ensign make a bad choice? Absolutely. Is it newsworthy? Hardly.

Would you feel the same way if he was a Democrat? Did you take the same stance on John Edwards affair?
Edwards was a sleaze for playing for sympathy as the supportive husband of his cancer-stricken wife while he was putting one in the oven with his mistress, then using campaign contributions to buy her off.

Frankly, I don't care if politicians indulge in married women or married men, or alternate between the two; they could have weekly orgies on Capitol Hill as far as I'm concerned. Their sex lives don't interest me (unless the ladies are super hot and there's some good vid footage). If they're paying hush money and doing other sleazy things, then I get mildly interested, but not until then.

Ensign fished off the company pier, and is learning the hard way why you don't do that. Big deal. At least he gave the staffer severance; Slick Willie didn't even offer to pay for Monica's dry cleaning bill.
 
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