what is in the water down there in FL-16 and florida in general when it comes to issues involving extra curricular sexual activities?

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/democrats-ditch--rep.-mahoney-amid-sex-scandal-2008-10-14.html

Quote :

"Democrats ditch Rep. Mahoney amid sex scandal By Susan Crabtree Posted: 10/14/08 07:46 PM [ET] Democratic Party operatives are cutting Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) loose in the wake of allegations of an extra-marital affair that has significantly hurt his reelection prospects. Before the controversy erupted, Mahoney’s party had already pulled resources from his district and decided against purchasing more television advertisements in the final three-weeks of the campaign. Democrats have no plans to reinvest after Mahoney’s comments in the past 24 hours failed to knock down an ABC News report that the Florida Democrat made a $121,000 payment to a former congressional staffer with whom he had an affair and subsequently fired from his campaign. “It was dark this week and plans are to be dark for the next two weeks,” said one Democratic strategist, referring to the absence of television advertisements. “When you have a choice between investing in an ethically challenged member in an expensive market and challengers in less expensive media markets, my guess is they’ll do the latter.” One Democratic poll had shown Mahoney with a big lead a few weeks ago, but it now appears Republicans could defeat the freshman lawmaker and retake the seat. Mahoney himself was elected in 2006 after a sex scandal involving inappropriate communications between underage congressional pages and former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.). Mahoney ran on a campaign to restore moral dignity to the office. The favorable political climate for Democrats makes abandoning him easier. Democrats hope to expand their House majority by dozens, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced Tuesday that it had added eight challengers to its Red to Blue program, expanding it to target nearly one-third of GOP-held seats. Some House Democratic aides said the party is glad to be rid of Mahoney, who is a difficult personality and whose alleged actions are hard to defend. Mahoney and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday both called for an ethics committee investigation into the matter. Pelosi said the ABC News report was the first time she had heard about the issue and called on the ethics panel to “immediately and thoroughly investigate” the matter. Mahoney attempted damage control at a Tuesday press conference, but did not deny the affair occurred or that he paid the woman involved, former aide Patricia Allen, $121,000 in a legal settlement. Instead, he called the sex scandal allegations against him “false” and argued that the alleged hush money he paid his former mistress is a “private matter.” In a statement delivered in his district with his wife, Terry, by his side, Mahoney said he takes “full responsibility” for his actions and the pain he has caused his family. He also offered vague statements about an arrangement he had with Allen, which allegedly included more than $120,000 and a job to ward off a threatened lawsuit after Mahoney apparently fired her. The lawmaker did not address all aspects of ABC’s allegations, but he did say that he has “not misused campaign funds, and I’m confident that, when all the facts come to light, I will be cleared of any wrongdoing.” Democrats skewered Republican leaders two years ago over claims that they knew about Foley. On Tuesday, Republicans were more than happy to give Democrats a dose of their own medicine. Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) lambasted the response of Democratic leaders, including Pelosi, Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) as “entirely inadequate.” Emanuel and Van Hollen both admitted to confronting Mahoney about rumors that he was having an affair and telling him to change his behavior if the rumors were true. It was unclear, however, to what degree they followed up with Mahoney. Republicans were particularly eager to hit Emanuel, who knew about the Foley scandal before it unfolded in the press. At least two GOP candidates — Tom Manion, who is running against Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) and Keith Fimian, who is running against Gerry Connelly for retiring Rep. Tom Davis’s (R-Va.) seat — called on their Democratic opponents to return campaign donations received from Emanuel and Van Hollen. Manion in a release pointed out Murphy had called on his opponent to return campaign funds he received from then-Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) during the Foley scandal. Boehner and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) accused Democrats of trying to forestall any more embarrassing revelations in the matter by calling for an ethics committee investigation. The ethics committee is notoriously slow to act and its deliberations and activity are secret. After Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio), who chaired the ethics panel, passed away suddenly in August, Pelosi failed to name a formal chairman, instead allowing Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), the next most senior member, to head the committee temporarily as the “acting chairman.” Some GOP aides and outside ethics experts argue that the decision not to name the next official chairman has slowed down the selection of the committee’s top aide (a position that has been vacant for months and does most of the heavy lifting in all investigations) because whoever is the next official chairman will want to name his or her own person to that key position. “The American people, beginning with the people of Florida’s 16th congressional district, deserve to know the facts immediately about Congressman Mahoney’s conduct,” Boehner said in a statement. “They are also entitled to know immediately what House Democratic leaders knew about it, when they knew it, and what they did with the information. “Congressman Mahoney and House Democratic leaders must provide these answers to the American people at once,” he continued. “They should not be permitted to hide behind the shield of a nonfunctioning House ethics committee or any convenient loopholes in House rules.” Republicans claimed that Democrats are especially vulnerable on ethics issues because they won their majority in part because they promised to run “the most honest, open and ethical Congress in history.” Cole held a press conference Tuesday with GOP candidate Tom Rooney, who is expected to catapult to victory in a district whose constituents are sex-scandal- fatigued. Cole used the time to accuse Mahoney of trying to stonewall on the specifics of the allegations and Democratic leaders of trying to stall any new disclosures until after the election by using the ethics committee as a fig leaf for decisive action. “It’s clear Speaker Pelosi would like to sweep this under the rug through a lengthy investigation rather than shine a light of truth on the facts,” Cole said in a statement. Democrats would not say whether they believed ethics committee members should return to Washington immediately to launch an investigative subcommittee to look into the Mahoney matter. A Pelosi spokesman, however, emphasized that Pelosi urged the ethics panel to investigate the allegations as soon as she learned of them. “She believes the investigation should proceed without delay,” said Nadeam Elshami, a Pelosi spokesman. "

10/14/2008 9:01:29 PM

man, I sure am glad to see we are focused on important things. like where that man's penis was

10/14/2008 9:07:28 PM

Quote :

"Mahoney ran on a campaign to restore moral dignity to the office."

10/14/2008 9:08:35 PM

which is a farce to begin with.

10/14/2008 9:09:59 PM

aaronburro the issue is not who was fucking who

it's who paid off (allegedly) whom to keep quiet using campaign contributions (allegedly)

the sex angle is ancillary

[Edited on October 14, 2008 at 9:16 PM. Reason : .]

10/14/2008 9:15:59 PM

I honestly couldn't care less about this story.

Sounds like politics as usual.

10/14/2008 9:17:41 PM

well, it really only gets legs if, like foley, it turns out the leadership knew about it and turned a blind eye a la 06 foley coverup

still

what the fuck florida?

10/14/2008 9:23:34 PM

Well, it's just like the Spitzer scandal followed by his replacement admitting to lies and infidelity. Nobody gave a fuck about the new guy.

It's only a big story if there are hookers or little boys involved. We've come to expect the sex, lies and cover-ups in politics.

10/14/2008 9:32:12 PM

lol, this guy knew how to take care of business

no messing around!

Quote :

"Fla. Congressman said to be involved in 2nd affair By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 59 minutes ago Hours after a married congressman addressed a report that he had an affair with a former aide and paid her to keep quiet about it, details of a purported tryst with a second woman surfaced. Though Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney did not directly mention allegations first reported by ABC News that he had been involved with the former aide, he issued a statement apologizing to his family but denying he'd done anything illegal. Later Tuesday, a person close to his campaign told The Associated Press that Mahoney also was having an affair with a second woman around the same time. Mahoney, 52, won his seat in 2006 while promising to return morals and family values to Washington in the aftermath of the resignation of former Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Foley. Foley stepped down when it was revealed he sent lurid Internet messages to male teenage pages who had worked on Capitol Hill. Foley was later cleared of criminal wrongdoing by state and federal authorities. Mahoney's seat was already considered to be one of the more competitive House races, and he has been facing a tough challenge in a district that traditionally leans slightly Republican. He faces former Army officer Tom Rooney, a lawyer whose family owns the Pittsburgh Steelers. During the news conference, before details of the second purported affair surfaced, Mahoney issued a statement taking "full responsibility for my actions and the pain I have caused my wife Terry and my daughter, Bailey." "No marriage is perfect," Mahoney said, "but our private life is our private life." He said he never misused campaign money and was confident he will be cleared of wrongdoing. Mahoney's statement came one day after ABC News reported that he had an affair with an aide and then paid her $121,000 to keep her quiet and avoid a sexual harassment lawsuit. After the report, Mahoney called for an investigation into his own conduct by the House Ethics Committee. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also called for an inquiry. ABC, citing unnamed current and former Mahoney staff members, said the congressman began his affair with Patricia Allen, 50, in 2006 while he was campaigning for Congress. Allen has not returned repeated telephone calls from The Associated Press. On Tuesday night, a person close to the Mahoney campaign told the AP that Mahoney also was having a relationship with a high-ranking official in Martin County in his Florida district around the same time of the purported affair with Allen. The person close to the campaign spoke only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to openly discuss Mahoney's private life. The person said Mahoney was having the relationship with the official in 2007 while he also was lobbying the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a $3.4 million reimbursement for Martin County for damage caused by hurricanes in 2004. FEMA approved the money late last year. Mahoney's congressional staff declined to comment on this alleged tryst, but noted Mahoney lobbies for FEMA funding throughout his district, and that Martin County has received $43 million from FEMA since 2004. Mahoney didn't take office until 2006. Meanwhile, a high-level Democratic operative who has been involved with the Mahoney campaign told the AP on Tuesday night that the FBI has begun reaching out to attorneys involved in the initial reported affair and accusations that he paid the woman to keep quiet. The person declined to be identified because of the FBI's involvement. A telephone message left late Tuesday night on Mahoney's cell phone was not returned. Republicans seized on the Allen scandal earlier in the day. "We're pleased that an ethics investigation has been called for but quite frankly, we're not going to know the answers in three weeks unless Congressman Mahoney literally sits down ... and answers some questions," said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "

10/15/2008 12:02:14 PM

Tim Mahoney (D-FL) and his alleged mistress caught on tape:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snZ_T8yAsmQ

Quote :

"What did Pelosi and other Democrat leadership in Congress know and when did they know it?"

--hooksaw

10/17/2008 6:56:46 AM

And by all means, let's give these politicians more power with a supermajority in November.

10/17/2008 11:13:21 AM