John Ensign, citing 'consequences to sin,' announces retirement
3/7/11 3:46 PM EST
Burdened by what he called “consequences to sin,” Nevada Sen. John Ensign announced Monday afternoon he would not seek a third term, creating the eighth open Senate seat of the 2012 cycle.
Once a rising star in the Republican Party, the 52-year-old Ensign has been saddled with scandal since it was revealed in 2009 he carried on an affair with the wife of one of his top staffers.
Despite repeated pledges to run again, Ensign said he decided over the last week that he did not want to put his family through what would surely be a brutal campaign.
“There are consequences to sin and when you’re in a leadership role, those consequences can affect a lot of other people,” Ensign said, standing alongside his wife and children at a Las Vegas press conference. “I have come to the most difficult decision I have ever made in my life … But at this point in my life I have to put my family first.”
(Original here.)
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3 Comments:
This was a long time in coming, goodbye "hush money" Senator John Ensign (R-NV). The party of "Family Values" my ass, more like the "Party of hypocrites". Poor Christopher Lee, at least he resigned! What about the "diaper boy" and big mouth Senator David Vitter (R-LA)! Too Funny!
Montana, i don't disagree with you, but we don't elect angels to office. For some, being doted on by the media and the local radio station and the locals at the coffee shops and - yes - even the pretty ladies (or men as the case may be!) can be too overpowering for many to resist in positions of power like the House or the Senate or even the President.
And it happens to people in both parties and it's sad. My only beef with guys like Ensign is engage in this crap while they are NOT in office. I don't care if it's Bill Clinton (Democrat) or Mark Sanford (Republican) or John Edwards (Democrat) or John Ensign (Republican) or Eliot Spitzer (Democrat) or Larry Craig (Republican) or Mel Reynolds (Democrat) or Mark Foley (Republican)....I could go on...
to lay blame by party is folly, but you are free to yuck it up of course.
QUERY : IF Senator Ensign deems the "consequences to sin” to be so significant then why not immediately resign ?
Oh, yeah ... what else does the story say ... "Private and public polling showed GOP Rep. Dean Heller easily trouncing Ensign in prospective primary match-ups."
It's all about the political realities .... if anything the Republicans may hold a higher standard for their standard-bearers as they court the religious right.
How important is the religious right ? Consider that Ted Strickland was a minister and endorsed by the NRA which was enough for him to win election as Governor of Ohio four years ago … So how does John Kasich counter that … he writes a book about “his Bible guys” and then targets the Pro-Life voters with letters.
Kasich wanted to talk about his religious principles, while refusing to disclose income tax information especially about the bonuses that he received from Lehmann Brothers.
Kasich won … like Minnesota, Ohio had low voter turnout … the religious right turned out just as they did for Bush in 2004.
And where were Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Buddy Roemer and Newt Gingrich on Monday … Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition forum . I wonder what the Faith folks wanted to hear ???? maybe Gingrich explaining why he converted to become a Roman Catholic … or Pawlenty explaining why he rejected his Roman Catholic upbringing to become an evangelical ?
Pawlenty did not seem to fool at least one reporter :
Pawlenty seems to be adopting a southern accent as he talks about his record as governor of Minnesota. “It ain’t gonna be easy,” Pawlenty said as he wound down. “…This is about plowing ahead and getting the job done.”
(BTW, resigned Congressman Lee had a 100% rating from the Faith & Freedom folks.)
IF Senator Ensign really wanted to confront the "consequences to sin”, he should have resigned a year ago.
The POLITICO headline should have stated that he will not Run Again ... he did not Resign.
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