A good catch from our friend John Rennhack over at Peter King Watch:
Our local congressman Pete King, if memory serves, was quick out of the box and very heavily moralistic when Gov. Spitzer was revealed as a patronizer of prostitutes:
"He's going to have to resign...At one level, it has to do with his integrity and his personal morality, but I don't even want to go into that. Without even touching on that, he has to resign....To leave himself open to blackmail — putting himself and the state in a compromised position like that — it's just awful."
But now, suddenly, with his friend and fellow Republican Vito Fossella faced with calls for resignation, King has gone all wobbly on the morality front. From Newsday:
"Long Island congressman Peter King slammed fellow Republicans for 'posturing' by pressuring his close friend Rep. Vito Fossella about resigning amid revelations of Fossella's drunken-driving arrest and secret love child.
" 'To me, it's putting a knife in the back of a good guy who's made a mistake,' said King (R-Seaford)....
" 'He's entitled to an interval of decency without having this constant pressure coming from his own party,' King said of his friend charged with drunken driving in a Virginia suburb."
So, these appear to be King's rules: A Democrat who patronizes a prostitute is awful, has opened himself to blackmail, and has to resign immediately. A Republican who is Peter's friend has just made a mistake by endangering people's lives driving around with .17 BAC, has not opened himself up to blackmail by keeping a second family on the side that he hides from his wife, and deserves a decent interval to decide if he wants to resign.
Just the kind of principled stance we've come to expect.
Comments (4)
My question to John Riley and other members of the fourth estate. HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE DRIVEN DRUNK.
OR LIKE BARBARA WALTERS WENT TO BED WITH A MARRIED ELECTED OFFICIAL ??
OR HOW ABOUT HAVING SEX WITH A STAFF MEMBER OF AN ELECTED OFFICIAL.
THE FOURTH ESTATE SHOULD COME CLEAN.
ps I asked the same question to BEN SMITH, I am still waiting for his answer. SO BEN SMITH WHATS YOUR ANSWER OR ARE YOU HIDING BEHIND ROOM 8 DID YOU EVER HAVE SEX WITH AN ELECTED OFFICIAL OR STAFF MEMBER.
Writing in capitals does not make you right. Are you slamming those keys right now? Hypocrisy from your hero hurts, doesn't it? Instead of worshipping Pete King, try Jesus. He doesn't condone drunk driving, cheating on your wife or hiding a love child like Petey does.
And you're welcome for me setting you straight!
This is typical of most Republicans. They scream bloody murder when its a Democrat but when its one of their own all is forgiven. If Peter King had any honor he should be ashamed of himself. But he has none.
Spitzer was busted with a hooker and resigned. King screamed moral outrage! Vino was busted for drunk driving, cheated on his wife, lied to her AND HIS CHILDEN, fathered a child out of wedlocked then humiliated his whole family. You tell me which is the bigger travesty. Yet King see no wrong in this.
He is a hippocrite and a disgrace to his constituent for being such a brazen hippocrite!
DWI is so much more serious than paying for hookers. King is a hypocrite for calling for Spitzer's resignation while supporting Vito Fossella. Integrity just doesn't matter to Republicans.