dajafi wrote:Allow me to suggest that scumbags are scumbags, and those who wish to advance their scumbaggery through politics likely will cling barnacle-like to whatever vessel for corruption is at hand. Were Menendez a South Carolinian, he'd play for Team R. Were he Russian forty years ago, he'd have been a Soviet apparatchik.

That said, if Menendez were a Republican I suspect jh would be making excuses for him, or at the least would be voicing much, much less outrage. One of my favorite posters, a BSG legend, but even legends have flaws and his is placing morality subsidiary to partisan loyalty.

dajafi wrote:Allow me to suggest that scumbags are scumbags, and those who wish to advance their scumbaggery through politics likely will cling barnacle-like to whatever vessel for corruption is at hand. Were Menendez a South Carolinian, he'd play for Team R. Were he Russian forty years ago, he'd have been a Soviet apparatchik.

That said, if Menendez were a Republican I suspect jh would be making excuses for him, or at the least would be voicing much, much less outrage. One of my favorite posters, a BSG legend, but even legends have flaws and his is placing morality subsidiary to partisan loyalty.

jerseyhoya wrote:The point that I wouldn't be posting about it as frequently if he was a Republican is fair (I'm sure a half dozen other posters here would be picking up the slack), but I'm also not saying his awfulness is representative of the national Democratic Party (though I think it IS representative of a powerful segment of the NJ Dem Party). Monkeyboy was the one who said these things tend to have a partisan tilt, which is absurd. For every Bob Ney and Duke Cunningham there's a William Jefferson and Rod Blagojevich.

jerseyhoya wrote:The point that I wouldn't be posting about it as frequently if he was a Republican is fair (I'm sure a half dozen other posters here would be picking up the slack), but I'm also not saying his awfulness is representative of the national Democratic Party (though I think it IS representative of a powerful segment of the NJ Dem Party). Monkeyboy was the one who said these things tend to have a partisan tilt, which is absurd. For every Bob Ney and Duke Cunningham there's a William Jefferson and Rod Blagojevich.

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:The point that I wouldn't be posting about it as frequently if he was a Republican is fair (I'm sure a half dozen other posters here would be picking up the slack), but I'm also not saying his awfulness is representative of the national Democratic Party (though I think it IS representative of a powerful segment of the NJ Dem Party). Monkeyboy was the one who said these things tend to have a partisan tilt, which is absurd. For every Bob Ney and Duke Cunningham there's a William Jefferson and Rod Blagojevich.

Neither Ney, nor Cunningham, nor a legion of their benighted ilk altogether, could carry the hem of Clinton's accomplishment and hanky-panky-bespattered blue dress

what does seem disproportionate is the number of sanctimonious republican moralizers who wind up wide-stanced and unpantsed, having accomplished basically nothing else in their public careers.

there are reasons why this is probably so; we can get to that later

Werthless wrote:

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:The point that I wouldn't be posting about it as frequently if he was a Republican is fair (I'm sure a half dozen other posters here would be picking up the slack), but I'm also not saying his awfulness is representative of the national Democratic Party (though I think it IS representative of a powerful segment of the NJ Dem Party). Monkeyboy was the one who said these things tend to have a partisan tilt, which is absurd. For every Bob Ney and Duke Cunningham there's a William Jefferson and Rod Blagojevich.

Neither Ney, nor Cunningham, nor a legion of their benighted ilk altogether, could carry the hem of Clinton's accomplishment and hanky-panky-bespattered blue dress

what does seem disproportionate is the number of sanctimonious republican moralizers who wind up wide-stanced and unpantsed, having accomplished basically nothing else in their public careers.

there are reasons why this is probably so; we can get to that later

He's talking about William Jefferson, the corrupt Louisiana politician who is in prison, not William Jefferson Clinton.

jerseyhoya wrote:Jim Edgar is a good guy. You're thinking of George Ryan or some other old, corrupt Illinois Republican pol.

Werthless wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

Monkeyboy wrote:he sounds like a republican

just kidding... there are scumbags in both parties, though most things like this seem to be republican.

Selective memory

I would say it's more confirmation bias. Even contradictory information makes him feel more secure in his evaluation.

Monkeyboy wrote:

Werthless wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

Monkeyboy wrote:he sounds like a republican

just kidding... there are scumbags in both parties, though most things like this seem to be republican.

Selective memory

I would say it's more confirmation bias. Even contradictory information makes him feel more secure in his evaluation.

It's kinda weird to talk about me like I can't read your post, don't you think?

I will bet you a month's salary that there have been more major scandals from republicans in the last 10-15 years than democrats, especially if you put aside sexual scandals.

jerseyhoya wrote:I don't think there's much to back up your assertion at all. You're either ignoring or forgetting all the times Democrats get caught up in crap (or artificially amplifying the frequency with which it happens to Republicans).

2010-12
Herman Cain (2012 Republican presidential candidate) was accused of sexual harassment by several women including Sharon Bialek, Karen Kraushaar, and having a 13 year affair with Ginger White. Donna Donella also reported possible inappropriate behavior. These accusations eventually caused him to suspend his run for the presidential nomination.

Robert Decheine Chief of Staff to Rep. Steve Rothman (D), was
sentenced to 18 months in prison for soliciting sex from a minor. (2011)

Tom Ganley (R-OH) and candidate for the US House of Representatives in 2010 was indicted on seven counts of sexual imposition with a woman he met at a Tea Party Rally. Charges were dropped when the woman refused to continue action.The married father of three has one other sex charge pending.

Chris Lee, Representative (R-NY) Resigned hours after a news report that the married Congressman had sent a shirtless picture of himself flexing his muscles to a woman via Craigslist, along with flirtatious emails. He did not use a pseudonym or a false email address, but relied on his congressional email for all communication. (2011)

Eric Massa (D-NY): Resigned to avoid an ethics investigation into his admitted groping and tickling of multiple male staffers. He later stated on Fox News that, "not only did I grope [a staffer], I tickled him until he couldn't breathe," (2010)

Robert Menendez, Senator (D-NJ): take it away, Jerz

Republican National Committee fired administrator Allison Meyers for her role in allowing $52,000 to be spent for a fund raiser at Club Voyeur which included bondage and topless dancers, (2011)

David Petraeus: Resigned as the Director of the CIA in November 2012 after an FBI investigation uncovered that he had an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

Secret Service sex scandal - hard to score it just on the sex, as the staff come in under many regimes. Happened under Obama's watch, so call it D if you like.

Mark Souder, (R-IN) a staunch advocate of abstinence and family values, resigned to avoid an ethics investigation into his admitted extramarital affair with a female staffer. Famously, he and she had made a public video in which they both extolled the virtues of sexual abstinence. (2010)

Thad Viers (R) the three term South Carolina state representative withdrew as a candidate for the US Congress in January 2012 after he had been arrested on charges of harassing a 28 year old woman described as an ex-girlfriend. He was released on a $5000 bond and subsequently withdrew from the race citing "personal reasons".

Anthony Weiner (D-NY) The newly married Congressman admitted to sending sexually suggestive photos of himself to several women through his Twitter account. He resigned on June 16.(2011)

David Wu (D-OR) announced he will resign from the House of Representatives after being accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward a fundraiser's daughter became public. July 26, 2011

2000–2009
Gary Condit, Representative (D-CA) His affair with 23-year-old intern Chandra Levy was exposed after Levy disappeared. Her body was found a year later and in 2008, an illegal immigrant with no relation to Condit was charged with her murder. (2001)

Larry Craig, Senator (R-ID) Pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct following his arrest in a Minneapolis airport men's room in June 2007, on a charge of lewd conduct.

Brian J. Doyle, Deputy Press Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security was indicted for seducing what he thought was a 14-year-old girl on the Internet; she was actually a sheriff's deputy. On November 17, 2006, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison, 10 years of probation, and was registered as a sex offender.

David Dreier, Representative (R-CA): Voted against a number of gay rights proposals, but was outed concerning his relationship with his chief of staff. (2004)

John Edwards, Senator (D-NC) His 2008 presidential campaign was seriously undercut when he admitted to an extramarital affair with actress and film producer Rielle Hunter, which produced a child.

John Ensign Senator (R-NV) Resigned his position as Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee on June 16, 2009, after admitting he had an affair with the wife of a close friend, both of whom were working on his campaign. Under investigation, he then resigned his seat in Congress 20 months early. (2011).

Mark Foley, Representative (R-FL) Resigned when accused of sending sexually explicit emails to underage male congressional pages. He was replaced by Tim Mahoney. (2006)

Vito Fossella, Representative (R-NY) Arrested for drunken driving. Under questioning, the married Congressman and father of three admitted to an affair with Laura Fay that produced a daughter. (2008)

Jeff Gannon a.k.a. James Dale Guckert, a.k.a. "Bulldog": Admitted to White House press conferences as a journalist without proper vetting.... Records show he was admitted to the White House numerous times even when there were no press conferences. He later admitted to being a $200-an-hour gay prostitute who had advertised himself on a series of websites with names such as hotmilitarystud.com." (2005)

Samuel B. Kent, Federal District Judge in Texas Appointed by George H.W. Bush in 1990. Accused of sexually harassing two female employees. He was impeached for abusing his authority and imprisoned for 33 months for obstruction of justice. (2009)

Steven C. LaTourette, Representative (R-OH): Elected in 1994 and had voted to impeach Bill Clinton for the Lewinsky scandal. He himself had a long-term affair with his chief of staff, Jennifer Laptook, while he was married. He married Laptook after his divorce. (2003)

Tim Mahoney, Representative (D-FL) was elected to the seat of Mark Foley, who had resigned following sexual harassment charges from his congressional interns. Mahoney ran on a campaign promise to make "a world that is safer, more moral." In October 2008, he admitted he placed his mistress on his staff and then fired her, saying, "You work at my pleasure." He then admitted to multiple other affairs.

Chip Pickering, (R-MS) On July 16, 2009 it was announced that his wife had filed an alienation of affection lawsuit against a woman with whom Chip allegedly had an affair. The lawsuit claimed the adulterous relationship ruined the Pickerings' marriage and his political career. (2009)

Jack Ryan, Senate candidate (R-IL) During sealed divorce proceedings in 2004, his wife Jeri Ryan accused him of forcing her to go to public sex clubs and described one as "a bizarre club with cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling." Ms. Ryan is better known as Seven of Nine from the TV show Star Trek: Voyager.

Mark Sanford (R-SC) Governor of SC censured following high-profile admission of an affair with a mysterious Argentinian woman (aren't they all?). Sanford announced he would resign as head of the Republican Governors Association (did he ever do that?)

Ed Schrock (R-VA) announced he would abort his 2004 attempt for a third term in Congress after allegedly being caught on tape soliciting sex from a male prostitute after having aggressively opposed various gay-rights issues in Congress, such as same-sex marriage and gays in the military.

Don Sherwood, Representative (R-PA) Failed to win re-election following revelations of a five-year extramarital affair with Cynthia Ore, who accused him of physically abusing her. (2004)

Eliot Spitzer, (D-NY), resigned as governor after he turned out to be Emperors' Club Client #9.

Strom Thurmond, Senator (R-SC): The noted segregationist fathered a child, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, with a 15-year-old African American who was employed by the Thurmond family. (1925; made public in 2003)

Randall L. Tobias, Deputy Secretary of State and former "AIDS Czar" appointed by George W. Bush: Stated that U.S. funds should be denied to countries that permitted prostitution. He resigned on April 27, 2007, after confirming that he had been a customer of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the DC Madam.

David Vitter, Senator (R-LA): Took over former Congressman Robert Livingston's House seat in 1999, who resigned following revelations of an extramarital affair. At the time, Vitter stated: "I think Livingston's stepping down makes a very powerful argument that (Bill) Clinton should resign as well ..." Vitters' name was then discovered in the address book of the DC Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey. (2007)

dajafi wrote:First of all, this whole subject of "which party tends more toward corruption" is really fucking dumb and represents politics on BSG at its partisan scat-throwing worst.