Republican campaign staff crime wave! (latest 2/21)

[SuperHiro]

It's IDAHO, not Iowa.

[Anonymous Bosch]

What is it with restrooms and Republicans? I've been in a fair number of restrooms, and personally they are pretty much the last place I would like to conduct "lewd conduct". I mean like, ew, and shit. Not to unduly disparage the fine state of Minnesota's public facilities.

For non-link clickers, apparently Republican Senator Larry Craig of Iowa pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct based on an attempt to get an undercover Minnesota police officer to do lewd things to/with him in an airport restroom. He calls it a "misunderstanding".

Let's not rush to judgement -- he simply "has a wide stance when going to the bathroom" and selflessly picks up paper detritus from the floors of public toilets.

[hepcat]

WTF?

news crew reenacts the "crime"



edit: if this was meant as a serious item, then the "wtf" remains in play.

however, if this was meant purely as a joke, then these guys run the best news team ever.

[Jag]

Rubbing his foot? Making hand gestures under the stall partition?

I can't keep up with gay code. I'm just going to visit public restrooms and yell out random phrases until I get an offer. Than I'll remember to avoid those phrases.

Me: (standing at urinal) "Lafayette, I have arrived!"

Guy standing next to me: "Oh, you want a Cleveland steamer, eh?"

Me: "Hell no, just testin' the waters." (leaves in a hurry)

2 minutes pass

Me: (reappearing at urinal next to previous guy) "Ummm...what's the 'steamer' part entail?"

The Mayor of Ft. Lauderdale is making news for pushing robotic toilets (their term, not mine) that somehow will prevent gay bathroom sex. Having a huge gay community down here, you can imagine, he's not the most popular person right now.

Mayor of one of the most gay-friendly cities in America, Naugle touched off a ferocious dispute in July, when the Sun-Sentinel published his comments that the city has a problem with gay men cruising public restrooms for sex. He was quoted as saying, "I don't use the word gay. I use the word homosexual. Most of them aren't gay. They're unhappy."

Naugle's comments didn't start as a campaign; he was opining about a one-stall, super-toilet requested by the beach community because the oceanfront lacks public restrooms. Naugle liked the $250,000 self-cleaning robo-toilet, in part because he said it would deter the "homosexual activity" a traditional bathroom attracts.

[Mr. Sparkle]

It's IDAHO, not Iowa.

I actually suspected I mixed those up when I was considering the submit button, but was too lazy to check... under the assumption that as New England Liberal Elitist, I'm not required to be able to distinguish states in the middle-ish area.

[ChrisGwinn]

It's IDAHO, not Iowa.

No, he wasn't a ho. I don't think anyone was getting paid.

[Holman]

A tawdry thread must never die.

Prominent fundy preacher dies at home. Body cavity search reveals...

[Smoove_B]

Joey DiFatta withdraws from Bayou State senate race, caught in gay sex sting.

The detective asked DiFatta, 'What do you want?' according to the report, and he replied, 'I want to play with you.' "

Got-damn that gives me the creeps.

[Mr Random]

I was waiting for more information before posting this one, but two months later it's been blanketed with silence.

A prominent Republican Party consultant is one of three men found dead in a Central Florida home Thursday in an apparent double murder-suicide possibly sparked by a lovers' quarrel, according to detectives.

A woman's out-of-state phone call requesting a well-being check on a friend led Orange County sheriff's deputies to the bodies of Ralph Gonzalez, David Abrami and Robert Drake Thursday.

When deputies arrived at the home after receiving the call at 9:13 a.m., the front door was open, and officers said they found the victims inside and signs of a struggle.

"We are working it as a homicide, but there is some early evidence to suggest that this may in fact be a murder-suicide," Orange County sheriff's Sgt. Allen Lee said.

Detectives said one of the victims was an ex-member of the military and was found wearing a backpack. Bomb squad members were called out to the scene after bags were found in his parked vehicle.

Investigators also found several weapons in the house.

The three men may have been dead since Tuesday.

The home's address is listed as the office of The Strategum Group, a firm founded by political strategist Ralph Gonzalez.

Gonzalez's clients have included U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, State Rep. Dean Cannon and U.S. Rep Tom Price, according to the firm's Web site. Gonzalez is the former executive director of the Georgia Republican Party, the Web site stated.

And one of the victims owned a gay escort service...

[Mr. Fed]

A tawdry thread must never die.

Prominent fundy preacher dies at home. Body cavity search reveals...

Dildatory!

[Tareeq]

Prominent Republican official dismisses criminal charges as quid pro quo to get physical with hardbodied male defendant.

[Mr. Fed]

GOP Chairmen, underage boys, fondling, booze, and weed, oh my!

[Tareeq]

New Jersey "garbage executive" indicted for contributions to Republican politicians.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Wonkette's Take:

[ChrisGwinn]

You don't need Wonkette's take - the RNC incorporated it right into their 2008 convention logo

[SuperHiro]

Man, I just rode in an elevator with a republican and I was so scared I was going to get raped or robbed. I hung onto my wallet and zipper the whole time.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Man, I just rode in an elevator with a republican and I was so scared I was going to get raped or robbed. I hung onto my wallet and zipper the whole time.

If I see some guys decked out in L.L. Bean I just cross to the other side of the street.

[ChrisGwinn]

You do not want to get a flat tire on the Ronald Reagan Expressway.

[Mr. Fed]

It turns out that the "shining city on a hill" is Sodom, apparently. And the thousand points of light are all glow in the dark condoms.

[Enough]

Cross-dressing Rep. state lawmaker blackmailed following late night tryst... but I'm not gay!

"I committed no crime," Curtis said Monday afternoon. "I did not solicit sex. I was trying to help somebody out."

Edit for an update that he has already resigned. Which is sort of sad because he was the one who suffered the extortion attempt, at worst he could get popped for solicitation.

[Mr Random]

Iowa House member tried to "harvest eggs" from his foster daughters

Four young women told jurors Thursday in the Ted Klaudt rape case that the former legislator and foster parent performed breast or vaginal exams in a phony scheme to harvest reproductive eggs.

Only one of the witnesses, however, said she told him to stop. She was one of the two former foster daughters whose allegations sparked four counts of second-degree rape against the Walker farmer and former state House member.

"I said stop three times because it hurt," the girl, now 20 and living in Sioux Falls, said.

...She said that happened in a Pierre motel room, part of a suite where Klaudt stayed while attending the annual lawmaking session. Klaudt served eight years in the House. He lost a Senate race in 2006.

But apparently, it wasn't rape because they didn't report it?

[ChrisGrenard]

Do not let Dr. Klaudt touch you! He is not a real doctor!

Also, Jesus H. Christ some people are stupid. "We didn't know that a random guy in a hotel room using a dildo on us wasn't actually harvesting our eggs for donation!"

LOLWUT?

[Holman]

Do not let Dr. Klaudt touch you! He is not a real doctor!

Also, Jesus H. Christ some people are stupid. "We didn't know that a random guy in a hotel room using a dildo on us wasn't actually harvesting our eggs for donation!"

LOLWUT?

This isn't a case of "random guy" sex acts. This is a parent abusing a child.

[Bob]

Who the fuck is running this country?

[ChrisGrenard]

Do not let Dr. Klaudt touch you! He is not a real doctor!

Also, Jesus H. Christ some people are stupid. "We didn't know that a random guy in a hotel room using a dildo on us wasn't actually harvesting our eggs for donation!"

LOLWUT?

This isn't a case of "random guy" sex acts. This is a parent abusing a child.

Apparantly children who were all over 18. Not excusing it, but you have to be seriously dumb to fall for that. Well, like parent like child, I guess.

[Mr Random]

Can't find an article offhand giving exact dates or ages, but according to one:

Court papers indicate the attacks happened between late 2004 and the summer of 2006, when the victims were as young as 16 years old.

[Mr. Fed]

Chair of Thompson fundraising organization resigns when criminal record revealed.

[ChrisGrenard]

Can't find an article offhand giving exact dates or ages, but according to one:

Court papers indicate the attacks happened between late 2004 and the summer of 2006, when the victims were as young as 16 years old.

The article linked above said,

Each of the young women was older than the legal age of consent and allowed the procedures, he said.

Which I assume meant 18.

[AWS260]

Each of the young women was older than the legal age of consent and allowed the procedures, he said.

Which I assume meant 18.

Age of consent in Iowa is 16.

[ChrisGrenard]

Each of the young women was older than the legal age of consent and allowed the procedures, he said.

Which I assume meant 18.

Age of consent in Iowa is 16.

Those crazy bastards.

[Smoove_B]

Looks like 2008 has a new high-water mark:

Ex-Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy.

A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.

The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.

A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying—money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

And good news for Sen. Craig - the ACLU has issued a statement indicating that if you're having sex in men's bathroom (with or without a wide stance) you ""have a reasonable expectation of privacy."

[Mr. Fed]

And the hits, they keep on rolling: Richard Renzi (recently R-AZ), on McCain's "leadership team", hit with federal indictment for extortion, wire fraud, and money laundering.


The only problem is that my Republican clients are starting to whine about some sort of volume discount.

[Mr Random]

GOP's McKee Resigns After Home Is Searched

Robert A. McKee, a long-serving Republican delegate from Western Maryland, announced his resignation yesterday after authorities, who say they are conducting a child pornography investigation, seized two computers, videotapes and printed materials from his Hagerstown home.

First elected to the House of Delegates in 1994, McKee was chairman of the Western Maryland delegation and sponsored legislation to protect minors from sexual predators. McKee, 58, also resigned yesterday from his post as executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County, a child mentorship program where he has worked for 29 years.

"For me, this is deeply embarrassing," McKee said in a statement. "It reflects poorly on my service to the community."

[AWS260]

I dug this one up to post in the "Dem Crime Wave" thread, only to discover that someone let a Republican onto the NY City Council. You learn something new every day.

New York City Councilman Considers Plea Deal for Sexual Assault:

Gallagher (R - Middle Village), a married father of two teenaged boys, was indicted following an investigation of a 52-year-old Middle Village grandmother’s claim that Gallagher sexually assaulted and physically abused her on a Sunday night in early July in a second-floor room at his district office on Metropolitan Avenue.

Gallagher admitted to the affair, but has said it was consensual.

[$iljanus]

That'll sure pay for alot of hookers...


NRCC Suspects 'Several Hundred Thousand Dollars' Stolen

National Republican Congressional Committee officials acknowledged publicly today that they have found discrepancies in their books of more than a million dollars and evidence that the NRCC's former treasurer, Christopher Ward, made "several hundred thousand dollars" worth of unauthorized wire transfers out of the committee that appear to have ended up in Ward's own bank accounts.

[Mr. Fed]

NRCC says treasurer diverted up to a million.

For at least four years, Christopher J. Ward, who is under investigation by the FBI, allegedly used wire transfers to funnel money out of NRCC coffers and into other political committee accounts he controlled as treasurer, NRCC leaders and lawyers said in their first public statement since they turned the matter over to the FBI six weeks ago.

"The evidence we have today indicated we have been deceived and betrayed for a number of years by a highly respected and trusted individual," said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the NRCC chairman.

[Smoove_B]

Republican lawmaker at gay club before DUI arrest.

When the officer stopped the state-issued vehicle, the driver identified himself as Senator Ashburn. He was arrested without incident and charged with two misdemeanors: driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol level higher than .08% or higher.

A male passenger, who was not identified as a lawmaker, was also in the car but was not detained.

You seriously have to have giant testicles to go out drinking while using a state-issued vehicle. He allegedly has a history of opposing gay rights, but I can't seem to find that information on his site. He is the head of the Little Hoover Commission though. Not sure what that means.

[Mr. Fed]

A male passenger, who was not identified as a lawmaker, was also in the car but was not detained.

Understatement WIN.

[Defiant]

Nevada Sen. John Ensign announced Thursday he will resign amid an ethics investigation, insisting he's done nothing wrong but saying he could no longer subject his family and constituents to further investigation.

link

[Mr. Fed]

Nevada Sen. John Ensign announced Thursday he will resign amid an ethics investigation, insisting he's done nothing wrong but saying he could no longer subject his family and constituents to further investigation.

link

His away mission ended . . . badly.