Dr. No Should Face Consequences

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2011/5/13/92251/2975

Dr. No Should Face Consequences

by BooMan
Fri May 13th, 2011 at 09:22:51 AM EST


John Ensign should have resigned in disgrace back when his affair was made public. It isn't that he cheated; it's who he cheated with and what he tried to do to keep it a secret. We didn't need an Ethics investigation to know that Ensign is a dirtbag unworthy of high public office. We will now get a demonstration on whether our system of justice is capable of treating the powerful with the same harshness it metes out to ordinary citizens. Fmr. Sen. John Ensign must be prosecuted. A jury can decide his guilt and his punishment (if any), but he must face a jury.

As for Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), it appears that he has lied about his role both in the press and to the Senate Ethics Committee investigators. I remember way back when this all started to leak out that Sen. Coburn tried to invoke doctor/patient confidentiality to keep his conversations with Ensign secret. Tom Coburn is a gynecologist. Not to be crude, but John Ensign doesn't have a vagina, uterus, ovaries, or fallopian tubes. I knew right then that Coburn had committed some kind of major ethical lapse.

To be fair, Coburn tried to be a good friend by making a strong effort to get Ensign to stop pursuing his staffer and close friend's wife. Coburn tried to help the cuckolded husband, too, as was only fair under the circumstances. There was probably an element of basic decency and friendship that motivated Coburn's actions. I recognize that. But, that doesn't change the fact that he actively negotiated a hush-money package for Doug and Cynthia Hampton and then lied about it to investigators. He should be facing potential perjury changes, and possibly obstruction of justice charges, too. But, even if prosecutors want to cut him some slack, the good people of Oklahoma should be disgusted and hold Coburn accountable the next time he faces reelection. Of course, that won't be until 2016, and Oklahoma is so conservative that they won't lightly consider a Democratic alternative. It's probable that Coburn will never face any consequences for his ethical lapses.

The citizens of this fair country are getting used to that kind of outcome. Petty drug-dealers face decades in prison. Corrupt senators get reelected. Wall Street banksters get a pass.

a uterus.

I would suggest that he be required to drop his pants on the Senate floor to show
the world that he does or does not have a penis.
The world has a right to know.

Why won't John Ensign PROVE he's a man? I DEMAND that he show proof!!!

Some of your comments were prescient.
I'm lovin' it.

:hi:

probably weigh more heavily with most people. I think most people will look at it as Coburn was put in the middle of a bad situation and his mistake was in lying about trying to work out a financial deal, but they will even be sympathetic about his role in the financial negotiations -- they'll perceive that he was just trying to get the situation resolved and get the parties to move on. They'll perceive him as getting no personal gain from this. They will see this as primarily a personal matter and that he didn't create the mess, so they could understand why he lied to keep it from getting worse, etc., etc.

I am not saying this is right or wrong. I just think that is how most people will react to Coburn's role in this - if they care at all about it.