Posted by Redmond
The New York Times is reporting that Senator John Ensign (R - NV) used his government and C Street connections to secure jobs for former aide Douglas Hampton to make amends for sleeping with his wife Cynthia. The senator also hoped this would keep the affair out of the press, but that plan went south in June when Hampton wasn't making enough money. On top of that, these jobs involved Hampton lobbying the senator for his employers which violated ethics laws and basically created a giant clusterfuck for everyone involved:
While the affair made national news in June, the role that Mr. Ensign played in assisting Mr. Hampton and helping his clients has not been previously disclosed. Several experts say those activities may have violated an ethics law that bars senior aides from lobbying the Senate for a year after leaving their posts.
In acknowledging the affair, Mr. Ensign cast it as a personal transgression, not a professional one. But an examination of his conduct shows that in trying to clean up the mess from the illicit relationship and distance himself from the Hamptons, he entangled political supporters, staff members and Senate colleagues, some of whom say they now feel he betrayed them.
It should be noted that Senator Ensign is in opposition of the public option because apparently the government shouldn't do something worthwhile like guarantee basic health coverage for its people, but instead act as a giant employment agency to cover up the extramarital affairs of C Street members. Which is almost exactly how Jesus would want it if I'm remembering my New Testament correctly. "Screw the sick, get rich dudes laid." Yeah, that sounds about right.