Sex and the Not-So-Single Congressman

Scragged is not a blog and doesn't attempt to be; we are, instead, an online conservative opinion magazine.  As such, we deliver to our Gentle Readers high-quality, thoughtful, and insightful articles, rather than the first instant-reaction brainwave that comes to mind.

Usually this works well, but occasionally events happen so fast that they're over and done with before we can say anything about them.  Such was the case with ex-Congressman Christopher Lee, as the Baltimore Sun reports:

Rep. Christopher Lee, a second-term lawmaker representing Western New York state, is resigning from Congress after the release of e-mails the married Republican allegedly sent through an online personals site.

The abrupt announcement came just hours after the website Gawker published an exchange between Lee and an unnamed woman, which included a shirtless photo of the married 46-year-old. In the e-mails, apparently sent from Lee's personal e-mail using his real name, he claimed to be a 39-year-old divorced lobbyist.

It all happened with such lightning speed that the usual media suspects hardly had time to react, either; for once there was no symphony of "Republican culture of corruption!" crows.

Now that it's all over and done with, though, there are several most peculiar aspects to this very odd affair, with interesting portents for the future.

The Strange Affair of No Affair

First, consider the substance of the charges.  Mr. Lee posted a false description of himself to a singles website; when a woman found it appealing and contacted him, he sent her a photo of himself, thus conclusively proving his guilt.

But that's it.  He never met the woman, never talked to her on the phone, and certainly never had sex with her.  He was fishing, yes, which he ought not have been - but hadn't caught anything or committed a mortal sin, much less anything illegal.

And as far as fishing goes, did he really put his best game on?  He thought a lobbyist, of all things, would be more alluring than a Congressman?

The only sort of topless photo you'll ever see at Scragged.

Blink and You'll Miss It

As many a suspected husband has protested, "Nothing happened!"  Yet four hours after the story broke, he was out the door with John Boehner's bootmark on his behind.  He'd committed no crime, yet punishment was instant and harsh.

What an astounding contrast with corruptocrats like Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters, who sit tight for years on end despite committing felonies that would send a normal person or a Republican to Club Fed for years on end!  Mr. Lee might pay a price in divorce court, but he didn't even attempt, much less actually do, anything that's the concern of the law.

This is not without cost.  The departure of Mr. Lee is causing havoc in his New York district, not a place replete with experienced and qualified Republicans.  It's entirely possible that the New York state legislature will flip to the Dems as a direct result of filling in this hole.

Speaker Boehner didn't let these base political considerations impede his quest for moral probity.  No greater proof of his dedication to the cause of fighting corruption or malfeasance in his own party can be imagined - but let's see him aim the guns at his putrescently-venal opponents too.

Topless?  Or Brainless?

Despite the rather thin gruel of the actual story, those media outlets which were fast enough on the draw to report on the event as it unfolded nevertheless reached for the most lurid of descriptions.  That picture Mr. Lee sent to his prospective paramour?  Universally described as "topless" - which, while perfectly true, was nothing remotely as lascivious as it sounds given Lee's masculine gender.  A topless photo of Nancy Pelosi, now - but it would never be described that way, should such a photo be possible without the camera's lens shattering into a million bits.

By reading from the usual anti-Republican playbook, the media set the scene for the exact opposite: a textbook case of an honest party harshly enforcing discipline on offenders.  Just what the American people want to see, but the last thing the media would want to report on.

Perhaps we've been underestimating Mr. Boehner's skill in playing the liberals!  Let's see more of this fast-reaction blindsiding and kneecapping!

And any other Republican politicians who might be tempted to let their zippers rule their lives?  Let Mr. Lee be a cautionary tale, and don't.  Leave that to the Democrats: they, unlike you, will get away with it.