When do these people actually govern?
164
Grietens takes the state motto of "The Show Me State" to new levels.
169
Given the recent track records of various Republican politicians, I think the phrase "former Navy Seal" ought to give any voter pause.
69
Silly me when I read: "Johnson, who was also the bishop of an evangelical church, killed himself in December ... "
At first I thought it meant politically ... not literally!
After all that's been done so many ... it still remains difficult to grasp the cravenness of what it means to be a Republican.
71
Great piece, your best yet! Of course, your material was sure-fire. The hypocrisy of the Republican Party, the ridiculousness of their fake morality, their sheer monstrous political greed—it would be jaw-dropping if we hadn't seen them develop it so assiduously over these last twenty five years. I think of Newt Gingrich now as the Mother of Monsters from Greek mythology, who after her defeat by the Olympians hid in a cave near Hades and birthed the many-headed Hydra—in our time Limbuagh, Hannity, Cruz, so many wicked spoilers...but only the ghastly Donald could have given us little Donny Jr.
115
A Navy Seal with a hairstylist. Even without the bondage and declarations of fealty to his wife and family, plus, of course, the threats, the image is one that startles.
60
I live here. Our forward thinking, republican legislature established guidelines for this kind of thing. As long as the adulterer and the adulteree are not blood relatives, it's play on!
52
How is it Republicans always have more interesting sex?
47
I truly hope that the good people of Missouri will hold up a minimum standard of behavior for our elected officials. They ought to keep McCaskill because she is a reliable moderate who is a good representative of Missouri.
We get the government we deserve.
77
I woke up this morning grumpy, you made me laugh, thanks. It would seem that the more holier than thou types are often the ones involved in bizarre sex scandals. I waiting for Mike Pence.
116
Ms. Collins should discuss Mayor Megan Barry's current scandal who, as a Democratic mayor, seduced her male bodyguard who was a metro employee, to engage in a long sexual relationship while on government time and using government money. Ms. Barry will not resign and is claiming that she's a victim of the TBI's and attorney general's investigation of her. It seems to me that the only difference between Republicans and Democrats on this issue is that Republicans are held to a higher standard. In other words, its okay for the Bill Clintons and Megan Barrys of the world to use their power to obtain sexual favors.
8
Last I looked, no one is lauding Bill Clinton. In fact, Democrats don't want him anywhere near the campaign trail. Oh, and he was impeached.
90
So, he uses a hair stylist.
Sad.
In the old days, when men were men, etc., Navy SEALS didn't do their hair.
63
Taking the pictures makes sense. Missouri is the "show me" state.
42
I’m sorry, I would have a comment if I weren’t recovering from the scandal of Obama wearing a tan suit.
192
Unless people are fully done venting their frustrations, they will continue to elect GOP. This group has validated a certain faction all over America who are really miffed. They may have legitimate gripes but a lot of what the GOP is handing out is not addressing these but addressing all the rest of their worst instincts.
I'm surprised they have gotten away with this for so long. They have no problem admitting openly they don't care whatsoever for the American people. They are 100% an arm of corporations.
But I'm starting to get really angry at the GOP and Trumps administration. I want a working government who respects the majority and keeps us safe.
35
Salacious rumors sell copy. I find it disheartening that these stories are so proudly discussed and displayed for my children to consume. Can we get more details...?....why hasn't this picture been published? These are gross shameful discussions that have no place on the public airways. Just like trans-rights....I don't care but also don't want to be hearing about it all the damn time....
4
Are your children reading the op ed page of the NY Times? Impressive!
95
All our attention was on curling at the Olympics this week and the modest men from Duluth, MN won the Gold medal while defeating Canada for the first time and then the very fit blonde Swedish team in the finals. Perhaps more Scandinavians will now want to immigrate to the US. Love the Winter Olympics where women in their mid-30's win medals in events requiring strength!
Fortunately, Ms. Collins, you found humour in Republican misconduct in Missouri, Ms. Collins. One thing about Republican office holders is they all have difficulty hiring the best people to do cover-up work. It seems to me that Greitens gave up his credibility as governor when he had to resort to blackmail to keep his mistress silent when other Republican office holders just pay them off. Who would hire this this man to be a pool boy much less governor of a state?
Greiten's close pal Hawley who is trying to run against Sen. McCaskill by claiming she is too easy on Democrats facing accusations of "misconduct" has evidently hired an inept campaign manager if he thinks attacking a woman senator is a winning strategy in the age of #Metoo. Is there something in the water in Missouri that encourages Republican male politicians to put both feet in their mouths during campaign seasons?
Let's hope the humour continues, Ms. Collins. In many parts of the US, it is still a cold and dark winter despite record heat here in FL; we all need some scandals by the "Too clueless to be elected" crowd to keep us laughing.
54
Thank you, Ms. Collins, for being able to talk about pain with both compassion and sarcasm. That is, indeed, a rare and commendable talent.
30
I think the word you are searching for is SCHADENFREUDE. It does make for great comedy writing.
27
I think it safe to say that the present Republican Party has come a long way from the days of President Eisenhower and not in a good direction. What is wrong with these morally impoverished GOP apparatchiks that has lead them to abandon fundamental decency, even to the point of shameless hypocrisy and the selfish undermining of our democracy, leading to foreign ties that are tantamount to treason?
68
So, can we compare the Missouri governor’s wife to Hillary because she’s sticking up for her man, and standing by his side?
14
Whatever floats your boat. Some people are obsessed with Hillary. You are clearly one of them.
36
Why not? I don't think we should ever criticize a spouse's decision in this kind of case; do you?
33
Sure, why not. But, let's see what she does when she isn't living in the governor's mansion any more.
21
Well, Gail, you've certainly energized my Saturday morning with *this* news. But I think that it all comes down to our Christian culture that we are titillated by these outré political characters.
And evidently it also comes down to our preoccupation with exercise. It looks like Greitens has found another use for exercise equipment. And why are these people always SEALs? Okay, they're not always SEALs. I was a Marine and was annoyed with the headlines, "Marine Steals Child's Candy". Greitens is no emblem of the SEALs.
And why are their wives always sticking up for them? The guy just probably lost his earning potential, unless, of course, he gets a spot on Fox News, which is what he might be aiming for.
We should note that felonious behavior might just be the ticket to the White House. Everything around Trump smells of treason, but our heartlanders just love him, even some in the blue states, right here in NYC. Committing a felony is evidently a badge of honor indicating that one is capable of taking down the so-called "deep state'.
It's kind of like the great movie "The Dirty Dozen" where a group of miscreants is assembled by the great Lee Marvin to undertake a difficult military operation. Republicans believe that about their party's candidates. Maybe that's where the SEAL relationship enters into it. Greitens could sublimate his deviant sexual behavior into a presidency that "makes America great again". Oh, it's already been done.
69
Don't forget former SEAL Ryan Zinke who, as Secretary of the Interior, seems to think his new "mission" is Total Energy Dominance - the Administration's catchall phrase for tirelessly trying to slow the inevitable change from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources - even if it means drilling under every caribou, elk and mule deer on our protected lands.
58
Senator Claire McCaskill is always one of the most vulnerable Democrats running for re-election. But she always wins. Remember that last guy.
Perhaps Republicans are just unlucky.
38
What is going on here? I see stories about powerful men losing their positions over sex scandals all over the news.
On the one hand, it's easy and correct to say the women aren't taking it anymore. They've had enough, and they won't put up with harassing, fondling, or any of that other nonsense,.
When I dig a little deeper, I wonder what was going on before. No one ever put up with any of that from me. I'm moderately attractive, and I've been working for 40 years. About 30 years ago, I'd gotten somewhat friendly with a co-worker, but when I called her "honey" she immediately snapped back "I'm not your honey". The message was clear; that behavior wouldn't fly.
And yet to read the news, you'd think it was ubiquitous. Every day you read about some powerful man who is going down due to "inappropriate behavior".
Is it related to rank? 30 years ago, if I had been that woman's boss, would she just have endured it if I escalated, and maybe invited her to my office after hours?
Is it always men? Even though more leaders are men, women are gaining, and there are many women in powerful positions. Do the men need something that the women don't? The women that I know who are single seem eager to link up. And when it comes to unfaithful partners. for every man that cheats, there's a woman either cheating, enabling a cheater, or both.
So why is it just the men who are getting busted over this? What part of this puzzle am I missing?
11
Surely people will wake up and vote Democratic this fall and in 2020.
39
We live at a time when entertainment drives politics, whether it's on radio, TV, the internet, Hollywood, or the White House. A society that currently cannot tell the virtual from the real is ill-positioned to do much other than insist it has instant access to the latest everything, accuracy taking a far, far back seat to immediacy, gossip, and 24/7 reinforcement of what one already believes. That's why Rush Limbaugh is paid $50 million/year and Russian trolls can have an effect on our elections.
Sexual (or most other) hypocrisy is no longer an issue as it once was for Republican voters. The difference between accusations and proof is no longer an issue as it once was for the Democrats, who are busily doing the Republicans work for them by forming a circular firing squad when it comes to sexual issues. The Republicans will embrace anyone who claims to have suddenly seen the light regarding their transgressions, evidence to the contrary notwithstanding. The Democrats won't embrace anyone who is accused of bothering anyone, lack of evidence notwithstanding. Both parties complain about "false science", yet both cherry-pick not merely the evidence but what constitutes evidence. And that is why a Republican Congresswoman from New York, Claudia Tenney, can claim most mass murderers are Democrats, and Al Franken is no longer a Senator.
25
Gail, very entertaining. Looking at historical trends in political leadership, Governor Greitens', Navy SEAL, Rhodes Scholar, Governor, seems to be a perfect Presidential candidate to assume the mantle created by President Trump.
9
Excellent as always, Gail. Molly Ivens is smiling, as am I. You are her rightful heir, no question!
26
Sex and politics are now equally boring.
7
Greiten's wife is standing by him (in the long tradition of wronged political wives!). Kinda makes you wonder if there aren't also naked photos of her taken by the devoted spouse/governor, residing somewhere in a computer as well. Just speculating.
Of course, maybe she just really, really likes the Governor's Mansion and all the perks.
25
For far too many Republican men, ethics, laws, and abstinence from adultery and sex are for other people. Who better to ban women from obtaining both abortions AND contraception than these double-dealing, holier-than-thou GOP guys!
But if these hypocritical Republican men (no better example than Mr. Trump) can cheat and lie to their families in their private lives, think what hypocrisies they can (and do) pull off in their in their political lives.
“The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink”
(George Orwell, 1984)
"War is Peace"
"Slavery is Freedom"
"Ignorance is Strength"
Welcome to the GOP Trump administration 2016-???
34
In a culture where sex sells everything on TV from laundry detergent to automobiles,are we surprised at the magnetism of the message? And are we shocked that the same people that buy a car thinking they'll start dating supermodels, will vote for charlatans? I suppose sincerity is a difficult value for the masses to perceive. Maybe they don't want to.
14
Yes, men (and some women) in power can and have abuse that to prey on women. For many, that is reason they become powerful in the 1st place. And Trump? Well, if he wasn't protected as the president he would be in the same situation as Steve Wynn, he did the same things. Once again, Trump gets to slide by. And, as will come out, he is meeting his girlfriends at Mar-a-lago. Come on, people don't change just becuase they become president. Currently, his bodyguard is being paid off @ $15k/month by the RNC to keep quiet. But, eventually, there will not be enough money to keep him or Trump's girlfriend's quiet. A $million+ book deal will be enough for them to squeal.
14
It seems the higher you go up the in the GOP the lower the family values are.
Not surprising that the evangelical right thinks this is nothing.
Entitled much? Entitled to polygamy is more like it.
Being on top means your family values include a wife and a concubine.
22
"...take control of the Senate..." is what caught my attention. The sex part, coming from a loud-mouthed, self-righteous Republican was expected.
35
If this story were a novella, a reader would assume the society producing these characters is dysfunctional. It would be no surprise to read that society in financial difficulty. No further surprise to find it with a list of international enemies; a list that is growing, not shrinking. But, it is not a fiction. With bright spots as a distinction from s society of a novella. That is, our President is trying to shrink the enemies list. Has proposed dealing with the 'financial difficulty'. However, both of those proposals are wallowing in dysfunction.
6
In IL, our current Republican governor running for re-election (he of term limits of which we hear littlef these days) was airing a weird ad featuring our neighboring Republican governors (WI, IN, MO) where these governors were sarcastically thanking Dem House Speaker, Mike Madigan, (who is definitely not a lovable person and certainly too powerful in our state, but that's another story) for making their states great. Sending jobs their way, firing up their economies, etc.
Since this ad started airing last November, I was a bit puzzled as to what the point was. Was Rauner running against primary challengers or his yet undetermined Dem opponent? Was he trying to show that under his very own watch the last 4 years, IL has been losing out to neighboring states?
I'd love to see someone do an ironic parody of that ad now that Greitens has revealed himself to be a sleaze ball. Are you listening Chris Kennedy? Dan Biss? JB Pritzker?
10
Sadly, not the same Missouri where I grew up, and went to school. Many citizens of the “Show Me State” are friends of mine. Everyone in Missouri is not reflective of the awful politicians who are so prominent in the news in recent years.
12
This applies to many of us. I didn't vote for so much as one of the rubes that represents me at the federal level.
5
Stormy and Karen would be a wise, morally superior team to lead a commission on these issues.
6
Every new scandal I read about Republican I read, especially those who have lorded over us with the "holier than thou" attitude and then get busted for un-Christian activities, such as cheating on their wives, I try to think back with nostalgia when the Republicans had true moral leaders, leaders we new could lead us to higher moral ground: Newt Gingrich and Dennis Hastert.
It's time for those two to lead the GOP back to higher moral ground!
12
Satire, right? Not clear...
11
I suppose I’m the only one tired of being impressed by the crossover of SEALs into politics.
I’m not sure that success in one endeavor (...and there’s enough “noise”—really—to question how much success Greitens, et al. [e.g., Zinke] enjoy in the former) has demonstrated success in the other....
19
Gail, what does all this say about the vocation of politics that there are so many sexual deviants and such attracted to be politicians and making a career in many cases going around proactively professing to the world that everyone should love them, because they are such fine upstanding individuals? Additionally, many of these people like, Governor Greitens, are self appointed morality scolds who often go after their opponents as being morally loose or permissive as well. My point is that the field of politics sure seems to attract a disproportionate number of sick, twisted people as compared to the general population.
23
Has anybody noticed that Republican sex scandals often consist of domination by men? They're not having loving relationships, they have to dominate and humiliate. Trump with his shoving women he doesn't know or barely knows against walls in Trump Tower and kissing them without permission and his bragging about genital grabbing. Greiten taping his girlfriend to an exercise machine, blindfolding her and threatening her with blackmail. There was even an Oklahoma state representative arrested for child trafficking. These men aren't just having sex. They have to dominate and terrorize.
41
For some, mock domination, humiliation, and sadomasochism, is not terrorism, but part and parcel of sexual pleasure. There are many women who find pleasure in and partake of this as well. For example, "Fifty Shades of Grey," was written by a woman.
4
Perhaps there should be a Hypocritic political party. Lots of potential candidates.
13
We have it now.
14
Tie your girl friend to an exercise machine. Now there's a concept.
Then turn on the machine to get her heart rate up. At least she won't fall off. But she might have a heart attack.
3
As a Missourian, I alternately laugh and cry at the shenanigans of Eric Greitens. Five years ago, this scandal would have ended his career. Now he has the national attention he craves and quite probably a shot at the White House. Sad.
21
You ask “What kind of person is this.” For an answer to that you might wish to take a peek at Roger Cohen’s piece on John Kelly. These guys have great resumes. But after many years, the ugly part of them that lay dormant, is finally released and their true persona is made visible. Sadly, for them at that point it’s all over but the shoutin’.
14
Who would be a politician except the man or woman who looks into the mirror and sees the most wonderful human on earth right there? Who would deem himself or herself -- without very much, really, to go on -- one heck of a swell person who should be leader of everyone else around?
The kind of person who thinks he or she is the cat's meow -- no matter what anyone says -- is obviously going to want to be a politician. There's nothing we can do about this. Except perhaps catch it early when the baby shows signs of wanting to be voted for.
6
I'd really like to point out that for every Female politician (see Mayor, Nashville) embroiled in a sex scandal, there are a thousand Males. And that's just the ones that were caught. Ladies, we need to step up our game. Obviously, THIS is the way to get elected. Forget the Botox, get a
" mister ". Just saying.
25
The Show Me State used to be a bellweather state for presidential elections. As went Missouri, so went the country. Guess we are back again in the forefront with political sex scandals.
Yet, this is not the worst thing about this Trump wanna be. He won't release tax returns. He is funded with dark money. He uses an app to communicate with staff that makes the text disappear. He governs by bullying. He communicates by social media only, except now when he call this indictment political from a liberal prosecutor. Breaking the law is ok if you are a republican, and prosecution is a left wing plot.
Yet he twists in the wind right now because he has no friends in this republican led legislature, who he has bullied and belittled and mocked. This man governs by attacking people. The republicans are desperate for him to resign so this will not be an issue in November 2018, and if you don't think Sen. McCaskill won't exploit this, just watch. Todd Akin was nothing.
Greitens loves publicity. Now he has it. Be careful what you ask for.
Welcome to the show me state, or as some of us here call it, the state of Misery.
32
As a child in the south my mother would sometimes deposit my sister and I near the church so she could have a day off, she was a single working mother, and my sister and I would go thru the doors of the church then out the doors of the back and play in the woods for a few hours. Then we would dutifully wait to be picked up again. No questions about the sermon so we were never in danger of being caught.
Then I got sent back for a year from California while she went to Italy with same sister. I was stuck in Memphis.
My grandmother fixed it so I had to go to the Catholic school where I could get an A in math by going to the sermon. After listening to the sermon once I stayed in class. Sermons are boring!
That was 9th grade. The thing that got me about Catholic school was the sex. Catholic kids were being told "it's bad" about this time in parochial school. Boy, does that make it interesting! If it's bad it must be fun too.
I know now that my classmates in Santa Monica were smoking pot, having sex, and some even did heroin, but they didn't talk about it. It wasn't that much fun. They didn't talk about it out of their circle.
While in Memphis this "sex is bad" thing was really something. Like beer is bad. Except for most teenagers beer was fun so if sex is bad then I gotta try it. Memphis oozes guilt.
The church is just the focal point for levering kids into being manipulated. Get 'em hooked on guilt and they'll tithe for you forever. Next stop the Republican Party.
12
"So people, how do you think the sex scandal in Missouri will affect the Democrats’ attempt to take control of the Senate?" I hadn't thought about either one but nothing less than sex with a goat of the same gender is a scandal for Trump and Republicans.
20
What motivated the dark money to support this guy? Could it be that he was willing to do their bidding, just like the GOP Congress?
26
When I see a headline like this from Gail, then I tell myself that I’m going to read the whole Op-Ed piece for the journalistic value and make every possible effort to keep from laughing. Thus far I’ve not been successful at all.
10
Might be because it's not a laughing matter?
2
I live in Missouri and I can answer your question: “What kind of person is this?”. He is a phony. I am happy to see that his phoniness will take him down.
17
I finally, after all these years, understand what is meant by Missouri being "The Show Me State"!!!
14
Maybe--just maybe--Mitt Romney travelling at high speeds for 12 hours from Boston to Canada with a dog kennel containing his dog strapped to the roof of his car is looking a little better? And to boot, we may get Gail to start writing about it again when Mitt gets back in the game. These high school activists would do a far better job in Congress and the Senate and in government in general that the skeevy louts who are running our country now with backing from lobbyists with the worst of intentions. #NRA
16
Kinda reminds me of someone's emails v. the other someone's lies, sexual abuse, ties to a foreign power, etc. Let's be shocked about the former, forget about the latter.
9
Sad even to think, but for many Republicans Greitens' efforts to push on in grand Trump Style, pretending he is still high and mighty, might keep him in office.
At one time hypocrisy was the one unforgivable sin to Republicans. Now it is a requirement for remaining in high office. When only his hairdresser knew, Greitens was riding high. Now that the entire state of Missouri knows, there may be a collective shrug of Republican shoulders. However, if it comes out there was a sauna in his exercise room, Greitens' goose is cooked. Adultery, kinky sex, bondage, blackmail, and hypocrisy might get a wink of the eye; but rich decadence in a state with so much poverty is a bridge too far.
9
Romney put his dog atop his car before a road trip and he's running again, this time for US senator from Utah. But a Missouri governor taping a naked woman atop exercise rings is the most remarkably foolish thing so far.
Keep us informed, Gail, we readers love the shenanigans of politicians.
12
At least he didn't tape her to the roof-rack of his car and then go on vacation!
10
So many sex scandals involve religious types and so many conclude from that that they are hypocrites. My conclusion is different. I think they have sexual compulsions they can’t resist and their behavior is due to a sexual aberration, not a failure of character. Democrats who attack the offenders morally are political opportunists. Real liberals feel compassion for the weak and psychologically sick and are more interested in rehabilitation than in exploiting sexual aberrants to gain seats in the House.
2
I long for the likes of Elizabeth Edwards who told her cheatin' husband to take a walk.
Sheena, get use to it --- once a cheater, always a cheater.
10
Based on whom Americans have willingly elected to office from the White House on down, I'd say that we are definitely living in non-Christian times. What would Jesus say?
8
Be wary of male politicians who use hair-stylists. Remember N. Carolina's John Edwards (forced to drop out after sex-scandal) and his $200 haircuts? Or was it Bill Clinton with the $200 haircuts? ... I forget which - maybe both of them. Does Trump use a hair-stylist?
100
"Does Trump use a hair-stylist?"
Trump uses a crack team of materials scientists, civil engineers and medical biologists to cover his "bald spot."
("Head," Donald. You have a bald HEAD.)
20
@ Pete
But of course.
2
If he does, he should fire them.
10
Good ole GOP. The Great Optics Party
7
As we saw in the Roy Moore case, the Republicans don't really care what kind of perverts their candidates are, as long as they're Republicans.
OTOH, The Base is going to have to swallow real hard before they vote for any guy who has a "hair stylist".
16
Maybe Republicans shouldn't have been so quick to dump Bo Gritz (pronounced "grites" -- rhymes with writes) back in 1992 -- after all, he was running on the Populist Party ticket as a once and future Green Beret, and around here the Gright was supporting his run with bumper stickers that read "Lets Bo for It".
In fact, to the best of my knowledge, Bo has never been photographed with Eric Greitens, so even though Wikipedia says he's currently living in Nebraska with his fourth wife, and is rumored to be approaching 80, it seems that this could be his second act in American politics.
2
It (sex. or more specifically, the sexual peccadillos of Republican office holders) won't make any difference at all to the overwhelming majority of GOP voters. They love the entertainment aspects of politics. Although they never would use this word in public, they find the Trumps and Greitens and Murphys titillating.
7
I live in Missouri. Eric Greitens will be history by November and this whole sordid episode will be forgotten at the ballot box. Hawley will win since
hypocrisy doesn't lose elections these days. He will join Roy Blunt, Golden Child of the NRA, in the Senate. Ugh!
5
Sounds like there's a made for TV movie here. How about "From Hair Gel to Seal Rings" .......
6
To my mind, the shocking thing was that an ex-Navy Seal from Missouri had a "hair stylist," not a barber. What is the world coming to?
17
Wow. I guess Missouri really is the Show Me state.
6
Well put, who cares about who you have sex with. However, I do care when one tries to hide an affair through payoffs or blackmail.
11
Let's say you're a Republican and you want to support Eric Greitens. First thing you do is be sure that Trump doesn't show up and campaign for him. Second thing is to remind everyone that he is white. Third thing is to be sure it's known that his Navy physical showed no signs of bone spurs.
The thing about tying up his sexual partner/hair stylist will be a little tougher, but remember Missouri did vote for Trump who did worse things.
And his wife stands by him just like Roy Moore's wife did. Parade her around. On second thought maybe not, that didn't work out too well for Roy.
It's going to be tough sell, but with a little help from a few Russian bots anything is possible.
12
The AP reported this afternoon that the lady running in PA. threatened to kill her husband she is divorcing with a steak knife or ny hiring a hit man. Yikes! Don’t think we can use that race as a bell weather either!
7
“So far we have a photos-of-naked-woman-taped-to-exercise-rings sex scandal on the Republican side and a meeting to talk about adoption issues for the Democrat.”
True, and there are few exercises more delicious for liberals like me, and for many of the commenters who’ve already posted here, than reading news of preachy, self-righteous, anti-abortion, evangelical, sexually predatory, randy Republican hypocrites.
If any politician gets really steamed up ranting against a particular sort of secret “perversion,” always check under his bed. He probably knows what he’s talking about.
Oh ... but when I’m most content hearing that yet another two-faced Republican has been exposed, an awkward word comes to mind ...
Chappaquidick.
That’s an old story now, but still a horrible story, all about a Democrat. A Kennedy.
Looks like we’re going to have to keep checking under the blankets of powerful, hungry men on both sides of the aisle.
3
“Can’t wait to see what happens next. Maybe another state can come up with sadomasochism in the sauna.”
Just one? I’m disappointed in you, Gail!
3
Yeah, but what about Hillary's emails?
11
Besides being a former Navy SEAL--- he's a Rhodes scholar.
The most revealing thing about these sex "scandals" is that no one is really that much better than you. And you too can be rotten. Just like the rest of us.
73
I hope this is ironical. However, you bring up one of the worst parts of Trumpianism.
He's discovered the path to success - the easy way to hell mentioned in some of the classics - evil, be thou my good (Virgil's Aeneid and Milton's Paradise Lost).
Encouraging people to reach for the worst in themselves is not the way of a good leader, but of a wannabe godkingemperor.
We humans need help, and that means reaching for the best of which we are capable. The way of Buddha, Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., or Mandela, for example.
11
America: stop falling in love with Navy seals.
10
I'm hoping Greitens drags this out as long as possible - the more it's in the news the worse the GOP looks, and the mid-term elections get closer and closer...
10
Anyone in 2018 who claims to be a conservative, and votes Republican is a flat out liar.
21
Yay! Missouri makes it in the NYT again! But once again, nothing to brag about.
14
I love Gail's columns--including this one. However, upon reflection, my take-away here is that if Greitens did what he is accused of doing to this woman, he is a monster. Really. Think about that scene in the exercise room. Entrapment, Betrayal. Is that any better than a Harvey Weinstein move?
14
"Everything’s a tea leaf, simmering in sex."
For the sake of the metaphor, tea leaves don't simmer, they steep. Except perhaps in potboilers.
4
I simply can't imagine a better year to play golf with America's Evangelical leaders. So many mulligans will be handed out. I would like to say this practice is becoming par for the course for these supposed men of God, but that would be a really bad pun. Instead, lets just say that being in the spectator stands has never been more enjoyable.
19
Your readers, Gail, really miss those long-ago days of Seamus.
21
Our culture has figured out a way to liven sex up for those whose personal experiences continually fall short: Imaginary celebrity sex!
Check out of any supermarket, and you will be assailed with hilarious if solemn headlines promising to reveal the secret intimacies of people who would never deign to meet you.
A powerful combo, titillation and condemnation. Each shopper becomes Torquemada waiting for the cashier to weigh the grapes and bananas. So far, innocent fun. But then, someone cashes in on it by chanting to these sleepwalkers that one party will keep such fascinating sex illicit. Vote for Christian Shari'a!
Many of us on the left also find enjoyment along the Appalachian Trail as men with wide stances deny all-too-human behavior because it doesn't comport with their campaign slogans equating a normal human response with the Devil's work.
Perhaps we can get the Double Standard written into Christian liturgies: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. [A verbatim translation from a Hebrew version of The National Enquirer, circa 977 B.C.]." Or maybe we don't have to.
Looking back, I trace much of my disappointment with the immaturity of the American voter to grade school civics class, where we were taught that comity and amity and issues matter. Elections these days seem to rely more on who has done what in his or her private life, and, more importantly, who has been caught.
We should grow up already.
13
“I trace much of my disappointment with the immaturity of the American voter to grade school civics class, where we were taught that comity and amity and issues matter.”
Alas, I think civics classes in public schools disappeared soon after I left - a half-century ago. And perhaps that’s the problem ...
6
Used to be those supermarket tabloid headlines were simply funny, as in "Escaped Leopard Believed Spotted." Now we have someone leaving Brad Pitt and reconciling with him in side-by-side tabloids at the checkout counter.
3
"Gov. Eric Greitens, a Republican, is a 43-year-old up-and-comer who was rumored to nurture presidential aspirations..."
The story continues:
Taking a cue from the current occupant of the White House, Greitens then did what any other GOP presidential aspirant would do.
16
As Ecclesiastes writ large - there is nothing new under the sun. In our scurrilous American world of politics, sex scandals, and easy availability of weapons of mass shootings, same old same old. Either Trump will be elected by his loyal hordes of unlettered and ignorant voters - his evangelical supporters despite his base and abominably low and vulgar behavioujr - or he won't be re-elected because the Democrats and Independents will inspire more millions to vote for whomever is his opponent in 2020 (if not before). There's not a lot, dear Gail Collins, that's funny or bright about the tar pit of Trumpism we have all fallen into. If the Democrats win in this Mid-Term Election in November, won't we all be eating our hats?
4
VOTE!!!!!!!! And facilitate the most neglected, but disinclined to get to the polls.
9
Power and money clearly corrupt. The other lesson is that some states are one issue states. Greitens could probably kill a bunch of people as long as he says he is anti-abortion.
14
Gail, how about a story of woman concealed in a candidate's car-top carrier and driven from rally to rally. Or would that have been a dog atop a station wagon? Just thinking.
2
Founding Father Thomas Jefferson had the wisdom to have procreative sex with his enslaved African property and his wife's half- sister thus deftly avoiding any political sex scandals.
Founding Father Alexander Hamilton smartly admitted to his affair and survived his political sex scandal.
Bill Clinton and Donald Trump were both shrewd enough to run for and get elected President of United States to avoid the tainted tint of any political sex scandals as a consequence of their serial sexual adultery, harassment and assault.
Neither Dan Johnson nor Eric Greitens will ever be excused and explained as being humble humane honorable empathetic as Thomas Jefferson. Nor will there likely be a musical play about either man. Johnson is too dead to run for President. But Grietens has hope. A Fox News gig or a reality TV show are golden paths to occupying the White House.
2
For me, the DJT sex scandal began when he said: “I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
Never forget.
12
From a dog in a cage strapped to the top of a car to a naked woman taped to an exercise machine—I keep searching for what it is that garners Gail Collins’ attention. So far it seems to have something to do with strapping or tape, or perhaps unclothed living creatures, or machines of some kind—was it a stationary bicycle?
2
Gail, once and for all, we are not your "people"!
At least those of us who can still think and form a sensible conclusion on our own.
Cease with the patronizing and desist with the "people" label.
I disagree. I am one of Gail's people. We desperately need some humor. Please continue.
15
She didn't say the people were "hers" anyway. But some of us are, by choice. And I assume most of us reading the column are humans. Would you prefer she said "So, You guys" --or "Yo"? "My fellow Americans" ...?
5
We are well aware, Lake Woebegoner, that you are not one of Gail's people.
And we who are are glad of that.
9
If this had been Trump who was caught in such behavior his fans would probably have been giving each other high fives. Although our President* would not have been seen anywhere near an exercise machine.
15
I guarantee you that Greitens' lawyer will fall back on the old defense that comic books -- specifically Wonder Woman -- made him do it.
4
I have to wonder...
Are there more low-lifes in politics than in other fields? Or does it just seem that way?
9
Yes. Where else can you get paid $174,000 a year with free health care for doing absolutely nothing, have a staff of flunkies paid for by taxpayers, travel with a taxpayer-funded expense account and end up with a lifetime pension if you last more than 5 years in Congress? You don't even have to be very smart. Just look at Louie Gohmert, Blake Farenhold and David Schweikert, who once famously proclaimed: “You have the right as an American to be dumb.” Alternet provides a list of 10 members of Congress rated as speaking at 7th-to-8th-grade levels. See: https://www.alternet.org/story/155545/10_dumbest_members_of_congress
4
Democrats learned how to cajole. It's not as effective as blackmail and certainly less thrilling.
A year ago I considered myself a rather cynical, jaded, not easily shocked individual. The blistering cultural confrontation playing out on Facebook has shown me that I been, all my life, blissfully ignorant babe in the woods. The most impassioned Trump supporters that I know are prim, late middle-aged church lady types who are willing to overlook anything, anything going on in the Republican Party just so long as Republicans oppose abortion. I've seen Facebook postings excoriating liberals as hypocrites for calling for a ban on assault weapons while supporting abortions. To them, abortion is on a level with the Holocaust. The most lurid sexual transgressions are forgivable as long as the transgressor opposes legalized abortion. We saw this with Roy Moore couldn't really believe it. I've thought, for a long time, that many people are suffering from a religiously induced form of moral blindness. I've never had the misfortune to plumb the depths of it before.
23
There have always been people having "kinky sex", extra marital affairs, and inappropriate romantic liaisons-republicans, Democrats, evangelicals, and atheists. The problems arise when the participants damage their family through their actions, leave themselves open to blackmail or are blackmailers themselves, or hypocritically punish others for their own behavior. Those are the real sinners.
8
I know it's not always a Republican. But it is NEARLY always a Republican.
The stench of their hypocrisy should be overwhelming to anyone with a shred of decency. Which, come to think of it, is a good definition of what today's Republicans are not.
16
Remember the Obama years with great fondness. A couple who truly loved and supported each other. Who had solid moral compasses. Who raised two daughters to make any parent proud. Who represented the best in our country. If only we could turn back the clock.
16
You missed the part that the felony is also the blackmail. Many of the commenters here seem confused about it.
Also, that the Governor is attacking the district attorney because she had received campaign contributions from George Soros-linked organizations.
"Soros" being easier to write than "the Elders of Zion."
That's the active defense of Greitens right now, and he may win public opinion with it.
6
Isn't Missouri the "Show Me" state. Just living up to the nickname. I see a mulligan in this guy's future. But anyone who things this was his first time doing this should recognize that the first extra marital tryst doesn't usually involve strapping people to gym equipment, blindfolding them, taking their picture, and blackmailing them. That comes with experience.
347
Gail, thanks for reminding us truth is stranger than fiction.
2
Just when you think it can't get worse, the tabloid style has become the news.
2
Gail, just where do they find the energy for these antics? I'm tired just reading about them. But, what can we expect, with our very own Presidential Apprentice. It's all about the ratings, and sex sells. Even among the " religious " types, it's just proof of Male "stamina" and the old boys will be boys excuse. Besides, GOD will forgive, and they get a do-over. Until the next transgression or the next Wife. Or both.
Thanks, GOP/NRA Party. And, stay classy.
11
It is no doubt a sick and disingenuous situation our self identified oh so holier than though party finds themselves in. No need to worry though it turns out that in the modern day right wing party of hypocrisy winning is much more important than compromised principles. After all as long as one is republican and proclaimed christian all they need do is ask forgiveness in order to move on. The ability to ask for and receive forgiveness validates for conservatives what for liberals would be considered by the hypocrite conservatives as unacceptable..
7
Ah, for the good old days, when Republican presidential aspirants tied dogs to the roofs of cars instead of hairdressers to exercise equipment. Innocent times.
475
The Missouri senate campaign will be exciting to follow; the election night, electrifying entertainment. Have your popcorn ready! (And a bottle of spirits to ease the pain.)
I think it is time to stop badmouthing Republicans and begin treating them with compassion. We know that addicts do not recover from imprisonment, but need medical treatment. We must recognize Republicanism cannot be cured by shaming them; they are morally ill.
Morality is not a choice for them, it seems likely they are addicted to immoral behavior, suffering from a previously unrecognized medical condition of brain cell deficiency. Instead of ridiculing them let us recognize they need medical care.
The next time you come in contact with a Republican (relax, Republicanism is not contagious to people with healthy brains) offer them a sympathetic understanding. Nod to their rants, knowing they are afflicted with a condition that requires intensive medical treatment...which they obviously are not getting.
It we want to win back the Senate and House we need to get the American Psychiatric Association to recognize Republicanism as a treatable condition. The NIH, the American Medical Association, medical research labs and pharmaceutical companies should undertake emergency research into treatment for Republicanism (diagnoses is easy as everyone knows: Republicans are the holier than thou, more patriotic than thou, very clean cut, very fast talking, very loud, very white people, most with graying hair).
12
When is this country or our political class going to get back to governing--to solving problems. Day after day we see governors, senators, congressmen/women, and our President scrambling to explain some form of moral lapse--honestly, Fifty Shades of Grey can't keep up with what is going in the White House and State Houses.
5
Loved the column, Gail. Hate Trump and most GOPs. But I don't think "standing by her man" is a particular political party's problem. Exhibit A would be HRC herself, the most striking example of all. Bill's dalliance with Monica seems almost avuncular in today's climate!
2
I know, right? And it’s soooooo relevant to the discussion.
2
Being serious - women stay with men for many many reasons, most personal, and it isn't because they think their husbands are paragons of virtue.
2
The White House has an impressive gym. Greitens would love it.
I wonder if Trump has ever seen it?
8
Doesn't appear so...
5
The light S&M seems very republican. Remember the party the RNC had at that LA bondage club when Michael Steel was chairman. I'm not a bible guy, so I'll all of you: Is there a bible verse extolling the wonders of S&M that the republican evangelicals follow?
9
Gail is correct in thinking that a reader's first "take" about the first sentence in this piece says a lot about that reader's character. Let me suggest something about the second to the last paragraph: "So far we have a photos-of-naked-woman-taped-to-exercise-rings sex scandal on the Republican side and a meeting to talk about adoption issues for the Democrat." Preceding every adoption, there is a removal of some mother's infant from that mother's body and then that mother's life. Natural mothers are always natural women and we are all born of women and so, prior to the emergence of adoption issues and/or "photos-of-naked-woman-taped-to-exercise-rings" issues, there exists a strong history of sexualizing and not valuing women as individuals. There is much work to do.
Elected officials -- and those seeking public office -- are under a lot of pressure from colleagues and constituents to perform. It's exhausting. So it's not surprising that the ability of politicians to achieve peak sexual performance tends to require extra playful stimulation, sometimes extramarital. In accordance with the Trump administration's sweeping war against intrusive government regulation, we need to deregulate what might in other contexts be considered questionable or even perverse: namely, consensual or non-consensual sex-related conduct by politicians that does not result in permanent physical injury to those with whom such conduct is engaged. Moreover, such exemption should be made retroactive to avoid any further allegations against any elected official. After all, isn't sex by politicians a form of "free speech" that should be protected by the First Amendment?
1
Eric Greitens' Navy SEAL experience has given him a brute force approach to ideological governance of the state. He literally wants to copy Sam Brownback and make Missouri as miserable a state as Kansas is/was, by proposing to cut income taxes to the bone. Yet we know that if he succeeds we'll then see a virtually complete shutdown of most state programs. He's anti-environment and wants to kill our clean water laws. He runs his operations in secret, to avoid public scrutiny. He takes millions from unknown money sources. For a Rhodes scholar, he sure doesn't exhibit much good sense or knowledge of how and why government exists. And he obviously either has never had or has now lost his moral compass. He says his affair was a private matter, and it may be considered that. But it tells me far more about his poor character than anything else he does. Finally, he doesn't seem to understand that this indictment came from a grand jury, therefore it isn't the political retribution he thinks it is. Why would anyone in Missouri want to keep him as governor?
12
It's usually at about this stage in the scandal that the perp says, "I'm not perfect, just forgiven."
Similarly, Trump's supporters overlook his deep flaws and announce that, "God is using him for a purpose."
I imagine God saying, "Please leave me out of this."
12
One more "drain the swamp" Republican who turned out to be a walking talking cesspool. Funded by dark money, his primary goal is to take Missouri down the the same disastrous tax cutting path taken by Kansas. His secret backers were betting on him to be a future contender for president. If his arrogance and indiscretions have thwarted his ambitions Missouri and the nation should be thankful.
14
This sort of situation fits in well with the narrative of "Evangelicalism and the Demise of American Politics" - a recent book by Jan Linn. He's a minister who grew up in Lynchburg (in the same Baptist church as Jerry Falwell, Sr.) and does a tremendous service in dispassionately deconstructing the nexus of the Evangelical Right. The extent of the hypocrisy is a reflection of the lack of integrity that pervades that slice of the bodypolitic, and he quotes Barry Goldwater's useful warning about the group and its penchant for malfeasance.
Is it too ironic to plead that "Heaven help us"?
6
That there are sex scandals in politics takes no one by surprise. And they are certainly no more prevalent than in any other profession. But what makes them unique is that we have probably heard the offending politician talk about family values or take strong stances against the LGBT community or same sex marriage.
The louder a politician proclaims their purity the more likely it is that you should hide your spouse, children or livestock when near them.
11
Sex scandals have no value in predicting party politics. They may end or derail an individual's career, but they don't alter voting preferences, which are mostly based upon issues. If they did, neither Donald Trump nor Bill Clinton would have ever been elected.
2
Before we pronounce Governor Greitens guilty, as his trial has not yet even started, is there evidence that he blackmailed his former lover? Sometimes, when a married person is caught having an affair, and the hair stylist was married, they will attempt to cast themselves as a victim in order to regain favor with the spouse that they chose to cheat on.
Remember, a married woman chose to visit a married man's home. She voluntarily removed her clothes. allowed herself to be taped naked to an exercise machine, and permitted herself to be blindfolded.
There is no evidence that Greitens publicly released the photo of this consensual affair.
Her "confession" was to her husband, who secretly taped her. She may have never wanted to publicly accuse Greitens of blackmail, but may have just done it to placate her husband and have her husband focus his anger on Greitens and away from her.
1
The simple answer to why news about sex scandals plays so well, and primarily with republicans front and center is this: evangelicals, who make up a lot of the republican party, repress sex from an early age. That repression comes out in ways that are embarrassing to this repressed group of evangelical republicans. They, as a group, should just admit that sex is a big part of all of us. Then they could go about enjoying it rather than becoming spectacles while losing their jobs.
8
Thanks for bringing up this subject. I'm from Missouri and we have been hearing about this scandal for a couple of weeks. It could not happen to a more deserving man. From day one of his campaign I thought Greitens was a sanctimonious fraud. You know, one of those people that advertised his goody goody life style and time as a Seal.
He sold a lot of weak minded Ozark residents of Missouri with his ability to break down and reassemble a M-15 on a TV commercial. As if that was any reason to elect him to be governor. I for one will be glad to see this fraud get his comeuppance. Of course the Alt-right evangelicals tend to look the other way when it comes to their own conservative lawmakers.
Funny thing; We did not have this problem with our last Governor, a Democrat.
Hang in there Clare. We need you in the Senate. You have my support.
20
With law enforcement under the control of an individual as cynical and manipulative as AG Hawley the heartland of America is either in need of a new moniker, or a transplant.
4
Isn’t Missouri the “Show Me” State?
Not the “Show Me Everything “ State.
56
lived there. You cannot show those people anything. Closed minds.
8
If comment printed, please use this correct version.
Robert Stewart Chantilly, Virginia Pending Approval
My take is that Republicans will absolve a candidate of sexual misconduct and adultery if the candidate professes loyalty to the dopey interpretation of the Second Amendment that permits the purchase of any gun available for sale and the right to carry that gun anywhere. In addition, opposition to abortion as well as same sex marriage merits absolution, if gun rights loyalty should ever fail to push the candidate over the finish line.
After all, pious evangelical voters certainly found no problem in supporting the Republican "grab 'em by the ....." guy now sitting in the oval office.
96
Puzzling how Republican women stand by their man, even when exposed to the truth about their fidelity. Do they suffer from collective Stockholm Syndrome?
66
It's not just Republican wives. What about Hillary? I voted for her but I would have more respect for her had she tossed Bill out on his can.
1
Or Stepford Wife Syndrome
5
Money. Thats why they stand by their man.
9
South Carolina is hot as a sauna and we are not ones to let Missouri take the lead in outrageous misbehavior. We know how to hike the Appalachian Trail and love our horses. The Palmetto State will surely prevail.
48
Hiking the AT was good clean fun in comparison.
2
Marital fidelity is overrated in Trump's America.
33
Now take a peek at Nashville. Whew!
11
Typical "what about?"ism whenever a Republican is caught in truly outrageous behavior. This hypocrite didn't just cheat, he threatened his "lover" with felony blackmail.
2
So confused on these details. Hair stylist's husband taped the whole thing? But she was brought to the gov's house. How did hubbie get in to gov's house to tape? Was he acting in cahoots with wife or does poor wife have two male louts desecrating her? And then there's Sheena, apparent Queen of the Jungle, standing by her King.
At this point in our country's history I don't register surprise about this guy tying her up to photo her. If Trump can claim to shoot someone on Fifth Ave and still get elected...and did...I hold little hope that anything relevant will happen to hold Greiten accountable. UNLESS...there's now the 'Me Too' movement which seems real. So we may see some consequences. I'm so tired of justice being blind. It's time to see what's going on and act.
10
The recording was audio from phone calls made to the now ex-husband. Not clear if he was ex then or not. The FBI has been investigating since Fall. The grand jury found enough evidence to indict, but we don't of course know what that evidence is, beyond the phone call or calls.
3
Just curious. Was Greiten endorsed by Todd Akin?
14
And all of this is what passes for, represents, our leadership caste in this country? I don't know what's worse, the representatives themselves or the people who allow them to continue to hold their office. Jeeezus....can I move to the moon?
John~
American Net'Zen
46
There is no bottom when it comes to Republican sex scandals.
Trump, Porter, Murphy, Barton, Johnson, Greitens. Ad infinitum.
Doing God's work in the party of conservative Christian family values.
104
Years ago entering a freeway in San Diego County, the vehicle in front of me had a sign affixed to the inside bottom of the rear window. In bold Old English font it read, "CHRISTIANS AREN'T PERFECT. WE'RE FORGIVEN."
Of course, so-called "Christian family values" also do not include anyone who is not heterosexual... .
7
Yes. It is only republicans who are involved in sex scandals. Members of my party, the democratic party, would never be involved in sex outside of marriage or any other questionable sexual activity. They are morally superior.
Bill Clinton, , Al Gore, John Conyers, Dan Schoen, Raul Bocanegra, Ira Silverstein, Bob Filner, Eliot Spitzer, Gary Condit, Barney Frank, and who could ever forget---Anthony Weiner.
There is no bottom when it comes to democratic sex scandals. Or republican sex scandals. Glass houses, my friend. Glass houses.
1
What's next? Let's not forget the president and the p-tape is still out there.
26
It’s much easier to understand the Republicans’ hypocrisy if you remember that there are various stages of moral development in humans and these are the basis for ethical behavior. The psychologist Kohlberg put forth this theory and it goes a long way in figuring out why we’re where we are.
The first stage, exemplified by the Bible thumpers, depends on an obedience and punishment orientation—no gray areas and not much room for empathy. Unfortunately there is not much self-reflection built in so embarrassing things happen when they fail to see and acknowledge that humans have a dark and light side. As long as one can see that human beings are complex? one can self-correct and not point the finger at others. If one cannot, well you know-hairdressers tied to machines.
There are six or more higher stages, culminating in people who have a social contract orientation and understand we’re all in this together and that there are universal ethical principles you adhere to whether or not anyone is watching.
If you use this model you can see why people are so intractable in their beliefs, even in the face of carnage involving children. They are at a low stage of moral development that they cannot presently reach beyond.
43
A bar I worked at in Memphis while in college would often get in the news for drugs getting found on drunken customers, picked up for DUIs after closing time. It was good for business!
This was often followed by the bar getting picketed by the largest baptist congregation in the country which is (or was at that time) based in Memphis.
One waitress used quip "just wait, half of them will be in later having a beer and hoping to join in on the action".
Sure enough, the crowd of regulars (who had to be thrown out at 2 AM by making the sound system play feedback) would be diluted by strangers for a few weeks afterwards.
The best strategy for not getting a DUI after closing time was to wait until 4 AM when the cops had their quotas. By then they'd be in the coffee shops arresting donuts.
4
Sex is only bad if people we don't like are doing it. If the people we need to elect to assure that we don't give any of our hard earned paycheck to support babies made as a result of unaffordable contraceptives legally excluded by employers from insurance just happen to blackmail a lover illegally, well, I mean, TAXES!
Don't go looking for logic. A modern Diogenes wouldn't be searching for an honest man, he'd be looking for one who can think logically.
I would accuse the voters of hypocrisy, but I have come to the conclusion that they have not thought out their positions enough to be hypocritical. Reflexive politics. You tap a knee joint, and the leg kicks out. You tap a conservative and he votes for the GOP candidate.
So to answer the question: no, I don't see sexual peccadillos and hypocritical candidates spouting off about contraceptives and abortion and the disaster of gay marriage, family values, finding their careers derailed because they had an affair, broke the law, strong armed a frighteningly young lover into an abortion, or visited gay bars. Not if the other guy in the election is a Democrat. Reflexive voting.
36
My take is that Republicans will absolve a candidate of sexual misconduct and adultery if the candidate professes loyalty to the dopey interpretation of the Second Amendment that permits the purchase of any gun available for sale and the right to carry that gun anywhere. In addition, opposition to abortion as well as same sex marriage guarantees merit absolution if gun rights loyalty should ever fail to push the candidate over the finish line.
After all, pious evangelical voters certainly found no problem in supporting the Republican "grab 'em by the ....." guy now sitting in the oval office.
27
Don't forget, Robert Stewart, that it's also necessary to believe in Supply Side economics to be accepted into the conservative fold. SS amounts to "comforting the comfortable and afflicting the afflicted". This is what rich donors really want--all the other beliefs are just dog whistles.
6
It is so easy for a person's behavior to be tracked these days. The account of Gov. Greitens' attempt to silence his lover is creepy and indicative of a criminal mind. This from a man who won the governor's office on the themes of guns, family and self righteousness. It is true that so many past leaders would have been ruined by news of their bad personal behavior. But now we are confronting our (mostly male) history of sexual abuse, harassment and discrimination. The victims of these bad behaviors are sensing that they can come forward and not be tread like, for example, Anita Hill. So this is why we can't just overlook a person's personal behavior when they are so apparently bright, attractive and helpful. It is sad that the very abilities and qualities that it takes to get elected to office (narcissism, inflated ego, etc.) can be the qualities that ruin someone while in office. Should a person be able to pass a background check to get on the ballot for some offices? There would be constitutional prohibitions to that, but the thought does come to mind. Too bad competence and character aren't sexy to the electorate! To be honest, they never have been. Things could be so great if people weren't just so--human.
9
When people claim to be "evangelical", they're not. Pious people need not prove to others. Same with everything else - if you have to tell others you have strong, care about fetuses or understand the economy - it's likely you don't. Confident people don't need to share, insecure people do.
33
"So people, how do you think the sex scandal in Missouri will affect the Democrats’ attempt to take control of the Senate?"
Sorry Gail, neither sex nor fate of the November elections caught my attention as vividly as a phrase that came later in this column: holier-than-thou on matters relating to sex.
My belief has always been, and this story only reaffirmed my faith in that belief, that a "holier-than-thou" attitude is usually the single most important sign that the bearer of that attitude has violated his own dictum and is definitely less holier than he wishes to be portrayed.
As long as they have wives who will "stand by her man" and voters who shrug at his behavior, many men (it is mostly men) wear that attitude as a badge of honor on their path to getting many Americans' support for high office. Should I blame the men, or their wives, or their supporters?
17
Outrage and shock aside, it still seems we have much lower expectations for Republican behavior than Democratic Behavior.
Contrast the Missouri situation with that of Al Franken, for example. Al is gone from office, and Greitens . . .isn't.
Many are clamoring for Greitens' removal, of course, but not as many, as it seems, clamored for Franken's. Is it because we had higher expectations for Franken? Thought him upright and honest and moral? And we don't think of most Republicans that way? In fact, we EXPECT most Republicans to be hypocrites in most realms, so it's hardly a shock when it is revealed that they actually are?
I'd love to see the psychologists and sociologists study this.
41
My Dad always said you need split government. They are all ner- do wells but at least they each know the tricks so they can watch each other. I guess now memes help.
2
If the voters can overlook Trumps history, they can overlook holier than thou evangelicals with sex pictures.
We need voters that look for candidates that are capable and reasonably honest. That eliminates most Republicans .
48
Having lived in Missouri for as short a period of time as necessary, electing Greitens in the first place is not unusual. After all, they elected Blount, Ashcroft and any number of conservatives that are just as delusional and hypocritical as Greitens. Missouri truly is the pit of misery and we will never visit or live there again. It was one of the reasons when we were deciding retirement, every state south of the mason dixon line was removed from the list of possibilities.
119
The only money I will spend in a red state is the money to get out of it.
5
About that Kentucky race:
"Belcher defeated his widow, who is refusing to concede, claiming 'widespread voter fraud.'"
I hope Gail is right that this one was unique and thus not a bellwether, but what caught my attention was "widespread voter fraud." We're going to hear that one a lot. If the people are disgusted enough with the Republican stew of corruption, hatefulness, and hypocrisy that they turn out in numbers sufficient to vote it away, the Republicans will just claim "voter fraud," since they think it's their divine right to win elections regardless of what the people actually want them to do as a governing party. The rest of us need to watch elections like hawks. In addition to supporting "get out the vote" campaigns, that's something else we all need to ensure locally.
142
So, given the behavior of the current denizen of the White House, behavior which Evangelical "Christians" and other conservatives are willing to overlook, why is anyone saying that the governor's behavior will kill his chances of being president? It seems that this country is seriously off the rails morally; that we have stopped expecting even basic decency from our leadership (at least some of the time), and that the so-called "Christian right" has moral outrage only when the candidate or official has policy positions with which they disagree.
253
The Christian Right's policy positions, and their forceful backing of them, are in violation of the 'Separation of Church and State'. There is no moral story as they are amoral. The likes of Robert Jeffress and Michelle Bachman who 'talk to their God' and support 'closed borders' and nuclear war, along with other amoral positions are in the quasi religious business only.
32
So, If I saw the name Linda Belcher on a ballot, I'd vote for her too, or any other character from Bob's Burgers.
13
I generally agree with Ms.Collins on issues and find her witty columns just about the best things in the ny times. however,I was surprised that she aimed her fire at a Republican governor, as much as he deserved it,and conveniently left out Mayor
Megan Barry of Nashville, who admitted to
an affair with her security director and is the
subject of an investigation into whether she
spent public money on trips to Athens and
other cities in order to be alone with him.
I hope it is not because Mayor Barry is a
democrat and Ms.Collins doesn't want to
make trouble for one if her own.frankly,I have
come to expect better than that from her.
6
Maybe because a governor with presidential aspiration falling into such a bizarre scenario is more interesting than a run of the mill affair. They’ll both probably lose their jobs.
13
Because it's really no where near as entertaining as tying your lover up and threatening her.
18
No, I think the issue is that the GOV committed a felony act that included Blackmail.
6
I'm confident that Republicans will figure out a way to defend this governor's fetches for exercise equipment under the second amendment.
36
"The governor is going around talking about his tax plan, which does not seem to be the first thing on most people’s minds." Actually, Gail, that is the first thing on conservatives' minds, which they consider Trump's greatest achievement, along with appointing reactionary, turn-back-the clock on human rights Justices.
78
Gail deserves every award she gets for a unique combination of humor and gravitas.
163
Gail makes me chuckle out loud. Then I think about it and feel depressed. We deserve better public servants. Let's vote in those kids from FL. They can't be any worse.
20
Marge, my guess is those kids would be head and shoulders above anyone from either party, morally, intelligently and ethically.
7
What sells better in America than Sex and Politics, and toss in some Bitcoins? A rich brew of salacious intrigue for some of us to enjoy at breakfast; feeling that it is unpleasant but in the spirit of patriotism, our responsible civic duty to fine-comb these latest scandals. Paris once asked about Sex in our Country, and forwarding to her, a copy of 'The Scarlet Letter', I replied that we are not yet able to distinguish sex from love.
Ms. Collins, this admirer of your column skimmed through this latest scandal that you have taken the trouble to expose to the readers, and leaving stormy weather behind, you are to expect at least 45 comments or more on the above.
If you had chosen to write of song-birds and voles, Mother Nature and Climate Change affected by Politics, we would have given you a round of applause, feeling slightly damp and plunged our dormice heads into our tea-cups.
Wishing you a pink weekend with roses, it is time to address the sauna upstairs, which reminds this user on occasion of a pool of tears.
19
I need assistance, Gail, in identifying the worst part of the scandal here:
1. The Governor's affair with his hair stylist?
2. Taping her to his exercise equipment?
3. Taking the photos?
4. Threatening to expose the photos?
5. The whole "family man" evangelical hypocrisy, again?
6. That Trump has allegedly done worse than this but he suffers no consequences?
I'm afraid my outrage meter has been hitting 11 for so long that I am almost numb.
409
You forgot the wife standing by him. Forgiving an “indiscretion” is one thing; tying someone up and trying to blackmail her is quite another.
17
I live in SW Missouri, and I watch the local news. The news that I watch is one of the most liberal news stations in this corner of the state, and that's not saying much. So of course, the anchor-woman did not mention most of the more salacious details regarding Greiten's arrest and I'm not even sure that the anchor-men from the other more conservative stations even mentioned it. Anti-McCaskill ads are still playing, as are gun store ads. So my guess is that this scandal won't make much of a splash here and will be shrugged off by the majority as "fake news."
75
Mild stuff compared to our early Presidents, several of whom owned people and, in the case of Jefferson, raped his property. Governors, senators, most elected officials back in the day wouldn't blink at these current antics. But I don't think their sins interfered with party dominance or drove them to suicide. There's a paradox in how we hold our Constitution and our history in such high esteem and at the same time so easily use personal failings as political weapons today.
8
I would be a tad bit easier to "overlook" if these people didn't present themselves as family oriented "Christians"! It is the hypocrisy, combined with the actions that is so stomach turning. And the fact that the so-called christians of the evangelical right wing seem quite okay with all of this is beyond the pale.
24
"...personal failings...political weapons..."? Personal failings matter when you position yourself as a God-fearing family man and it turns out you're anything but. He can't serve. He doesn't respect his family so what chance do the folks from his state have with him at the helm? None. They can expect, however, to be lied to and cheated on. Those seem to be his expertise, not governing.
16
Shall we have a list, then, Sherry, of "personal failings" that we all agree on shouldn't count against whoever is expecting to lead us to greatness, happiness and glory?
Who will begin the list? Will we vote on it? Who will have the decision about whether or not the failing is personal or semi-general?
Is it really so impossible to find a handful of decent, personal-failing-light folks in hundreds of millions of us to lead us without making us throw up?
5
I don't think that's what they mean by the "Show Me" state, Governor.
221
OK. I just choked on my coffee on that one!
4
Will someone please explain the Missouri law that made it a potential felony for this guy, the gov., to post the nude photo on his computer while it wasn't against the law, apparently, to have taken the picture without her permission in the first place? It seems there must be a whole bunch of unknown felonies out there just waiting to trap someone who steps out of line.
Virginia has a law that includes felony charges for "throwing a missile at a moving car". A woman was charged under that statute not long ago when she became angry at something another motorist had done and threw a paper cup filled with a soft drink at the other driver's car. Felony. Convicted. This is a state that until recent times, like Texas, allowed drivers to actually consume alcohol while behind the wheel, driving. (Now, only passengers are permitted this indulgence.)
The governor of Missouri would have apparently escaped without serious consequences, and kept his presidential dreams afloat, if he had not moved the photo from his smartphone to his computer. This is a complex and confusing world we live in. Please stop the world for a moment, I want to jump off.
34
Private vs. public use. He can keep them under his pillow, but he can't post! (The only difference I can spy!)
7
@Walter Rhett
However, did he post the photo? Or, did he just copy the photo from one of his devices to another, but kept it private?
2
Oh my. It is all so sordid and beyond ugly. Why wouldn't a person in a gubernatorial step down, voluntarily step out of office if indicted for this kind of beyond belief behavior? This kind of national exposure and humiliation. Or, maybe they are not humiliated and they will try to beat this? If that is the case, where are more Missourians who will mount pressure to convince Greitens that he has gone beyond the pale, that this is intolerable, and his political career is over? And his wife, Sheena, is standing by him. Oh my.
43
As a lifelong Democrat, I actually commented to a Republican co-worker that Bill Clinton should resign the Presidency over the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Did I get any credit for my declaration from this fellow? No, he said that he couldn't believe that I was a Democrat and if he could spend a few hours with me some afternoon, he could convince me to change parties. Whew!
6
One of the things we learned during the same-sex marriage debate is that people who are married benefit from over 1000 special privileges and statuses in the law that aren't made available to non-married people.
Marriage is a contract, which includes a vow to "forsake all others". Obviously this man has violated that contract, and, if he is continuing to benefit by virtue of his marriage, is a fraud and should be considered completely unsuitable for public office.
25
What our politicians do behind closed doors with the opposite or same sex, on their own time, using their own money, and which doesn’t involve blackmail, coercion, payoffs or bringing their office into disrepute, is none of my business-until they set themselves up as judge and jury and legislators of the sexual mores of others.
From what I can tell, politicians and others who pay lip service ad nauseum to “family values” are generally those who exemplify them the least.
163
Did none of them ever read The Scarlet Letter in high school?
2
It's perversely entertaining to watch these politicians (primarily Republicans as of late) contort themselves into pretzels in an effort to rationalize their behavior with women. Equally entertaining is listening to their supporters justify somehow supporting candidates who do not walk on the moral high ground. I'm thinking primarily of Christian conservatives who would otherwise use sexual misconduct as the only reason for voting against a Democrat. Sexual misconduct and ignored by religious conservatives creates a witches brew of hypocrisy.
84
Sexual (or most other) hypocrisy is no longer an issue as it once was for Republican voters. Meanwhile, the Democrats are busily doing the Republicans work for them by forming a circular firing squad, when it comes to sexual issues (the difference between accusations and proof no longer being an issue for them.)
We live at a time when entertainment drives politics, whether it's on radio, TV, the internet, Hollywood, or the White House. A society that currently cannot tell the virtual from reality is ill-positioned to do much other than insist it has instant access to the latest everything, accuracy taking a far, far back seat to immediacy, gossip, and 24/7 reinforcement of what one already believes.
10
This is all Continuing Education for me. I thought I'd been around -- dorms, barracks -- but I had never heard tell of so much low-end hanky-panky, especially among leading citizens.
It really begins to seem that when men run for public office or otherwise step forward to serve as leaders and models, there's a worrisome probability that they're running away from the truth about themselves. Or am I assuming too much in assuming that they find the truth shameful?
It may be unrealistic to object to politicians' consensual extramarital affairs, but when I hear of one who has exploited a minor or blackmailed a playmate or abused a wife and who lacks even the decency to be openly disreputable like Donald Trump, it does come as a wake-up call.
29
I don't know, closed-door meetings about adoption issues have gotten others in trouble (we hope). McCaskill had better hope that Mueller isn't looking at her assignations in or out of the gym
6
Claire McCaskill leads a charmed existence. She is vulnerable only until one looks at her opponents.
14
"Greitens’s wife, Sheena, is standing by him."
Political housewives sole identity is achieving power through their mates. They rarely bite the hands that feed and wander.
Not role models.
55
It is ironic that Sheena Greitens is a political science professor with a recent well-reviewed book on China. Her identity really needn't be tied to that of a governor who (despite his Rhodes scholarship) is actively anti-intellectual and is trying to drastically cut funding for higher education (again) in his state.
19
I would venture a guess that very few women are shocked or titilllated by this scandal. I would also venture a guess that most women are more interested in the coming election than the coming Missouri governor. As Stormy would say, “yawn.”
It is unfortunate for republicans that they seem to learn the lesson so slowly that the Trump Effect only works for donald. Anyone else caught behaving in such a conspicuously boorish or crass manner is immediately shown the door, tossed to the curb.
Personally, I hope they never learn. I hope every woman who has been sexually degraded by a man in this country shows up at the polls to vote against the Greitens, Trumps, and holier than thou Hawleys of the land.
Times up, boys.
160
'until the point when the governor tied his naked lover to a piece of exercise equipment and took her picture.'
If I could get a hold of a picture of the despicable incident, I can probably see how bad he looks and then decide if I should vote for him in the coming elections. May be there are others who are also in this 'should I vote for him' phase and need a picture to help make a decision.
5
Sex is one thing, a tempting seductress, but why is anyone tempted to abuse America's children--on behalf of the guns that are killing them so others can bask in a blind "right"?
If you check social media, Weiner-style stalking and trolling is going on by notable personalities, some rich, many famous, a few buked and scorned for trysts, many mean, who simply can't see what they project onto others!
Take that Laura woman/she's riled about how this students "speak to and abt adults," not a toad's worth of sympathy for the fact that the adults are willing to let children witness violent deaths by bullets described by a doctor in an Atlantic article as:
"traveling at higher velocity and far more lethal. A AR-15 bullet leaves the barrel traveling almost three times faster than a 9mm bullet. Its injury from the bullet leaves displaced tissue damaged or killed several inches from its path and causes catastrophic bleeding. Exit wounds can be the size of an orange."
So children, clear thinking, droll, filled with wit, impervious to the usual memes, are now the object of a conspiracy campaign the likes of Harvey's massive PR and intimidation plan. Including death threats! Adults Americans are attacking the surviving children with death threats! (Is that the way we speak to children, Laura?)
Trump says love is a death wish; if you love me you will bring your gun to school. That hasn't worked out well, but he never paid anybody off and only his wife was nude in the papers.
47
Above, Trump had others do the pay offs! Even to the point of admission!
23
Never mind, Mr. Rhett, what poor Trump has to say. He and I were at school, without guns, but in possession of metal coins to keep our pockets safe. In reality, I had a second-class Paris metro ticket to travel on freedom weekends, and this was just fine.
You mention children and their safety when trying to learn at school. Planning to revisit here the role of our Supreme Court and whether it has one to address these essential things.
The Right to Vote should be 'mandatory'. When a tycoon on Wall Street attended Jury Duty, he met later with my supervisor at an event, mentioned that this secretary was also serving, and my boss told him in turn, with his sense of wit that he was surprised that either of us had shown. Perhaps the Tycoon and I should have gone to Central Park and fed the pigeons.
I leave you to discuss guns with others, because my knowledge is limited to a water pistol. The installation of metal detectors at the entrance of schools may be in the future, with highly sophisticated camera technology.
A call at work from a friend and colleague in 2006 where my godson was in trouble. She couldn't bring herself to reveal his criminal behavior on the phone. Her son in adolescence had a bit of 'Othello' in his eyes. News revealed, he had taken a metal buzzer to school to give a few mild and jazzy handshakes to his peers.
Trump is out of it. This is a sorry time for The Nation. where his interest in bare ladies is the least of some of our worries.
6
His lawyers and friends paid them off for him!
2
I feel sad for Mr. Greiten's wife Sheena and his children -- and of course sad and outrage for the other woman who he overpowered, threatened, and humiliated. Sounds like a pretty sick guy. I hope the Republican legislators stand by their duty--and I also hope both of the women do a lot of for themselves by reading Chump Lady's pithy advice on "Leaving a Cheater, Gaining a Life" @ www.chumplady.com
105
His wife has already stated that she has forgiven him and has asked for privacy. The sex with the other woman was 100% consensual. There was no "overpowering." She has stated that from the first moment I met Eric, I felt an immediate attachment to him.
Greitens is a pig. But this is more of a Clinton-Lewinsky seduction story than it is any type of he forced her story.
Speaking of Clinton, the serial adulterer---did you offer the same suggestion to his wife that you now offer to Greiten's wife? For the record, the husband of the other woman divorced her.
1
Sex and power, sex and power.....Ike even cheated on Mamie Eisenhower.
Instead of all this distraction of sex scandal, which has existed almost continuously since the days of Warren G Harding (though usually not reported in real time), If it falls short of criminality, we would be better off to dismiss it from our attention and focus on issues that actually matter.
The media over time has amplified and attenuated the sex life angle to politics as it sees fit. JFK would have had to resign if the media had reported what was known about him in real time. And in now reporting all of this, perspective is entirely lost. When the past pranks, while a comedian, of an Al Franken lead to similar consequences as the gross behavior of power broker Harvey Weinstein, something is wrong.
55
The actions of Gov. Eric Greitens do not "fall short of criminality." He took a lewd photo of his paramour and threatened to make the photo public if she told of their affair. That threat and the fact that the photo was on his computer are felonies. So the actions of the Missouri governor are criminal.
26
Well, the sex in question IS a crime. Taking nude pictures and threatening to publish them is a crime, in fact a felony. I tend to agree that infidelity is overplayed in the media, although when it is done by these holier than thou republicans it seems more serious, or at least more hypocritical, than the same performed by less ostantaceously moralistic people. But blackmail is a different thing.
8
@ RM
How true, something is wrong.
That "something" has been wrong for the length of human history and women
and many others are no longer going to put with patriarchal dominance
over others in the 21st C.
Gleefully, these sick men are meeting their karma.
Hopefully, for their families, they meet a good psychiatrist very soon.
4
I somehow feel this very strange need to defend Republicans - because other stories suggest that the ones in MO actually want Greitens out. Now. And as Gail adds, they are looking at impeachment if he is as clueless as he seems about others' estimation of his great gifts. Maybe there's a faint possibility that they are getting disgusted with Trump as well?
49
Every day I watch the news, or read the news, I feel like I have to take a shower when I'm done.
What a strange time we live in.
Republican Representative Blake Farenthold used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim brought by his former aide - the only known sitting member of Congress to have used the congressional account to pay an accuser, according to Politico.
When this came to light, he didn't resign and Speaker Ryan didn't demand that he step down, immediately.
Instead he's allowed to finish his term.
The Republicans have lost their moral compass, but I always thought they were no more moral than anyone else. Remember Senator Larry Craig who signed a plea agreement with prosecutors after trying to solicit an undercover agent in a men's room? He changed his mind and argued he had a "wide stance" when going to the toilet.
Then there's Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the House, and pedophile.
And Roy Moore, Republican candidate for Senate.
And Representative Pat Meehan who used tax payer funds to settle a sexual harassment claim. At least they removed him from the Ethics Committee, but he's still in office.
Now Republicans have moved the lines in their new religion of giving President Trump mulligans after one tawdry affair after another, and the payoffs, money proffered to porn stars, Playboy bunnies, are revealed.
But, leave it to you, Ms. Collins, to still make us laugh through all this tawdriness.
You're like a lifeline to sanity -- thank you!
347
Wow - these reminders of creepy treatment of women, gives a whole new perspective on Republicans chanting "lock her up." We should be afraid, very afraid!
8
Here is what Greitens did to Kansas City. Now this guy is supposed to have all kinds of advanced degrees, a scholarly type in addition to his military training. So you would think he would support higher education. Nope!
The University of Missouri wants to build a huge state of the art performing arts school downtown. This would be a really big deal, a regional center that would draw the best talent and instructors across the land. The facility would cost about $100 million and half was raised through private donations. The State would come up with remaining half. The super red legislature actually approved the funds. Then Mr. Tough Guy Navy Seal vetoed the appropriation. He killed the project.
It was more important for him to maintain his tough guy no more spending Republican facade then let something get built that everyone wanted except the most ultra conservative types. He killed one of the most important projects in many years.
I want this guy gone so bad. The facility would have been built at 1/2 cost because of the public's donations. A very wealthy donor has since withdrawn their $20 million contribution since he killed the project.
What a horrible person he is. If he is so mean and hateful to kill such a wonderful project that would have improved the lives of so many people, this writer certainly believes that he would pull the stunt he is being charged with. To make it worse for me, he is Jewish, but only by birth, not by spirit.
675
Having far flung readers like yourself certainly comes in handy to complete this picture of a self aggrandizing boor: what a shameless creep.
192
republicans can't build anything; not good government, not roads or bridges, not art centers or futures.
They complain bitterly about leaving our children with some debt but think nothing about leaving them a planet in smoking ruins and a future as bleak as anything our imaginations can imagine.
15
Well, let's remember: Missouri is, after all, the "Show Me State." It could be that the more you show 'em the more votes you're likely to get. In any event, let's also remember who it was that Republicans elected as our president in 2016. Is there any anyone in this country whose relationship to conventional morality is more tenuous than that of Donald J. Trump? If for no other reason we should now be able to look forward to Democratic candidates never again being disparaged on the political stage by the so-called "moral majority." Or should we? It may now be hard to argue that gay sex between consenting males is more immoral than adultery, rape or incest. Still (and unlike "hot" lesbian sex) it sure is...icky.
59
Eric Greitens takes his Republican hypocrisy seriously, as any serious Republican would who was seeking higher hypocrisy.
Greitens campaigned in 2016 on a platform centered around ethics reform (and family values), shortly after blindfolding, photographing and blackmailing his naked hairstylist with her hands taped to exercise rings above her head and having sex with her while the wife and kiddies were out of the house in 2015.
He's obviously a man who's deeply committed to always doing the right thing, even when no one's looking...or blindfolded.
Greitens is opposed to accepting a federal Medicaid expansion in Missouri, because, you know...poor working people don't deserve any mercy.
Greitens was a huge beneficiary of dark money last year — more than $6 million in dark money was spent on his behalf during the campaign. His nonprofit, called A New Missouri Inc., can take unlimited 'contributions' and never has to disclose where its money comes from...public interest and disclosure be damned.
In December 2017, the Kansas City Star reported that Greitens and senior members of his staff used Confide, a phone messaging app popular among teenagers and criminal minds that erases texts after they have been read.
You see, it's all about ethics, transparency, respect for others and good government to the Good Governor Greitens.
Grietens showed his gorgeous hypocrisy to the Show-Me-state, and Missourians are happy to show this Republican lowlife the door.
Grand Old Phonies 2018
738
Perhaps we should now refer to Missouri as the "show it to me" state.
153
While the hypocrisy burns, I have a lot more trouble with the worse bit.
It's the bullying, stupid. Actually, stupid doesn't begin to describe it. The use of another human being, a reportedly willing sexual partner, to threaten and support one's crass drive to power is nauseating.
Did she willingly let herself be tied up? Blindfolded? Did she go along with it because he demanded it, or was some other form of coercion involved?
In any case, I'm glad he got caught. This business of getting your wah-wahs by coercing another person needs to stop. It's not quite rape, this story, but it certainly wasn't love that made him threaten her.
There's not enough love in this world, and there's way too much violence. I don't like AR-15s either. At least she's still alive, unlike the victims of the "sacred" right to buy ever more ever increasing firepower. Christian this is not, neither sexual violence nor the urge to maim and kill.
It's typical of Republicans to ignore their own crimes against humanity while blaming Democrats for actually trying to help people. It's typical of their victims and dupes to think this is just fine. When and how will they wake up and realize who's fouling their world.
Coercion! Corruption!
Ugh!
407
Personally, if he - or any other - was reported as having an affair, with a consensual adult woman, someone who had a life of her own, and if both of them refused to dish on the other, I wouldn't care - it wouldn't be our business. They make their own scandals, through conniving and bullying, with the omnipresent scent of hypocrisy. And with some - like Greitens - there is a huge dose of disdain for women.
11
They just haven't got the right Base,
Who juicy details all erase
Not a fecund liar
Whose pants are on fire?
No one will remember your face.
144
More of Larry's best verse, in sortable fashion, at nytimes-comments.github.io/
Updated yesterday.
1
"In his campaign announcement he introduced himself as “a Navy SEAL, native Missourian and most importantly, a proud husband and father.”"
Make that, "...and most importantly, a proud husband and father and adulterer-extortionist."
Ah, Governor--fifty shades of Greitens? Sounds rather similar with the, well, 'exercise room' capers.
Remember the good old days when a budding presidential candidate Gary Hart was forced to exit after being photographed (real camera!) on the pleasure boat "Monkey Business"?
Back then sex was simpler if more career ending. Now, in the Age of Trump, a few notches in one's extramarital belt don't seem to cause anyone much concern.
Especially Evangelicals who never met a Trump (whose extracurricular outings are legend) who couldn't be absolved with a religious mulligan.
Or two or three or four. I've heard Trump takes plenty on the golf course, so why not in the other games he plays?
381
The only person who receives mulligans is donald. Shhhh....I wouldn’t want the Republican Party to notice!
4
The better metaphor would have been “Everything’s a tea leaf, STEEPING in sex”. But such are the demands of deadlines that one can’t afford that FIFTH edit. Gail deals with this twice during most weeks, but I need to deal with it every … single … night.
Kentucky’s Dan Johnson was a winner, wasn’t he? But obviously not a keeper: he committed suicide in December of last year, putatively because of a charge of the sexual abuse of a former minor parishioner, but probably in fact as a consequence of recognizing that so MUCH in this world “sucks”. Hope he gets his 72 virgins.
As to Missouri, I believe it really has to do more with the piece of equipment used by Greitens to showcase his sex partner for a private photo. He used rings, which should have been acceptable. Now, if he’d used one of those universal gyms … well, that would have been outrageous. And her husband secretly taped her guilty confession! I laughed for ten seconds when I read Gail’s comment that “Really, I think it’s possible to feel sorry for the hair stylist.”
Missouri’s Claire McCaskill certainly is somehow charmed. Every time she faces re-election and EVERYONE predicts an epic clobbering, somehow the Republicans put up someone even stranger. We’ll have to see how vague connections to Greitens and the suggestion of a taste for blindfolded photos performs against a set of ideological convictions more appropriate to California than Missouri.
I’m with Gail on this: Politics in Amurka can be a set of rings.
30
I understand your wish for steeping, but sex doesn't steep. It simmers. Gail conflated tea leaf action with sex action. Cool. Maybe stuff like that is why she got an award.
I'm inured to all this now. My main reaction to this article was that I haven't gone to the gym in a week. I was also impressed that Greitens' gym includes rings. Rings are the first thing to go with middle age. But, ex-Navy SEAL? It's possible he does use them for something other than hanging towels and restraining women.
3
Richard Luettgen,
Most Missourians couldn't care less about the Governor's sexual proclivities, it's his alleged threat of blackmail that concerns us.
And if you think Claire McCaskill's ideology is more suited to CA than MO, you're unfamiliar with her voting record which is that of a conservative democrat (what used to be considered a moderate republican).
She treads lightly to keep a majority of the divided interests of rural, suburban & urban Missourians. Her championed causes appeal to everyone - investigations of veteran's affairs and of sexual trafficking. She's largely silent on gun issues and factory farming practices.
8
Sex scandals have been with us for most of recorded history. The sex we are talking about is sexual behavior, not gender, and it is endemic in the animal world. There are some cases of certain animals such as swans only having one mate, but anthropoids which we are, are not among them.
What makes situations like this interesting is the hypocrisy involved. It looks like those who preach sexual fidelity, disparage any sexual contact other than the most conventional, are the very same ones who get caught doing what they have been inveighing against.
The more they demean it, the better the odds they are doing it. It is however a dog whistle to their supporters, look at me, I am pure and faithful to my wife, I do not approve of per-marital and under aged sex. These are the same people who do not want young women to have access to birth control, are totally anti abortion no matter the circumstances, are the first to fall for any opportunity to have sex with those well endowed women they cross paths with.
Women attribute this to an exercise of power, but it is driven by ego. Seducing a very desirable sex object inflates the ego. It gives a feeling of power, it is almost irresistible to those with low self esteem. Liberal or conservative, it can take control of the senses, those with weak ethics are easily defeated by it.
So who wants a governor that is an obvious hypocrite? In Missouri it appears the conservatives do. All good god fearing people or so they say.
181
The hypocrisy of the supposed "family values" party is galling enough. But the fact that Republicans claim to be "defenders of traditional marriage," and the self-appointed arbiters of who can wed, makes this insufferably infuriating.
594
Republicans are only outraged about sex scandals if they can affix Bill Clinton's name to them. Otherwise, we will hear about 'mulligans,' a national 'sin problem,' 'the devil bagging a good one,' and so on. Republicans apply sexual morals only to Democrats.
515
You're right, N.M., and we'll still hear of Bill Clinton's sex scandals of about 20 years, and three Presidents, ago.
16
Sorry not just democrats. Women of all races, gays and lesbians and black men too. Only white heterosexual males are allowed to have sex in, out of or during marriage.
16
Or the "so what, Trump likes women" line they've been spouting whenever a new story about Trump cheating on his wife comes out.
It's just on the morals side, it's everything else.
I remember Paul Ryan ranting and raving about deficits in the Obama years.
The same Ryan who voted for trillions in deficit spending in the Bush years - and he's just getting started in the Trump years!
22
It is cathartic to see a bully entrap himself. Missouri's Governor thought he could use an ill-obtained, suggestive photo to blackmail his girlfriend into silence. Now his tool of shaming has hit him. How sweet when the tables turn!
513
Thanks, NM. As the saying goes; Kharma has everyone's address.
11
You’ve gotta love Republicans. Because if you don’t, they’ll strap you naked to the wall and put your picture on the Internet. Whatever happened to flowers and candy?
Republican hypocrisy is now measured on the Richter scale. They still thump the Bible, but some do it with a whip while wearing black leather and a mask. You’d think their evangelical base would march on Washington with pitchforks and torches, but their silence has been deafening.
Meanwhile, we’ve got a Groper in Chief in the Oval Office, pedophiles running for the Senate, sadomasochists blackmailing their illicit lovers and rabid anti-abortionists recommending abortions. If Democrats don’t win a majority in the House, we should just close up the country and put a Gone Fishin’ sign on the front door.
What’s with all these Republicans making sexy time with such flagrant disregard for decorum? It’s possible that they’ve always been a randy bunch, but managed to keep the lid on their proclivities lest they be tossed out pronto. But when a dimwitted doofus was elected president after broadcasting that he groped unwilling lady crotches, it might have given the green light to all those wannabes who thought their time had finally come.
Romney lost the presidency because he was overheard saying the country was full of moochers and takers. Boy, times have changed. If he’d been found with an underage hooker, he’d probably have been elected president.
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I'm putting the polishing touches on the 30 page teaser for my new book "50 Shades of Black and Blue" in hopes of getting a huge advance. It's a history of the sordid and profane dalliances of politicians of all stripes, and every possible variant of sleaze and depravity they've indulged in. Though Democrats are not lacking in this area, though it seems the GOP are more inclined to use costumes, implements and cameras. If their hypocrisy seems higher on that richter scale it may partially be due to their corner on righteous indignation and sanctimony. The middle section will, of course, have pictures. I'm not saying they'll be 8x10 color glossies with circles and arrows and paragraph on the back of each one, but I can tell you there's a few grainy black and whites taken in a luxury suite in a Moscow hotel that may make you run for a roll of Bounty. Readers will learn a new definition of blasphemy when they see what Roy Moore has in common with cloned sheep.
When they make the movie, I'm hoping they can cut and paste Conrad Veidt as Major Strasse from "Casablanca" into a scene in the oval office telling a certain weasley cheeto-voldemort "vee haff a complete dossier on you". Perhaps they could resurrect Peter Lorre to play Devin Nunes and Sidney Greenstreet as Mitch "Turtleman" McConnell. We'd also borrow heavily from "The Producers" and "The Cain Mutiny". Not to let a golden opportunity go to waste I'll be marketing movie themed apparel, starting with sleeveless wife beaters.
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"Republican hypocrisy is now measured on the Richter scale."
-- 5 out of 5 stars
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It all puts me in mind of the Southern sheriff who averred, "Only way they can keep me from gettin' re-elected is if they catch me in bed with a dead girl or a live bowie."
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