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July 12, 2007

La. Sen. Vitter's fall began before the D.C. madam

AP
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., left, and Republican presidential hopeful and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani visit the site of one of the levee breeches that caused severe flooding during Hurricane Katrina, in New Orleans, Saturday, June 30, 2007.

They harder they come...: Louisiana blogs Your Right Hand Thief ("Laughing off hard truths in New Orleans") and Adrastos are all over the pedestal tumble of conservative Rep. Sen. David Vitter of Metairie, whose "family values" persona crumbled when his name turned up on the D.C. madam's phone log; his political future followed suit as more details of his New Orleans lifestyle went national, headed for Leno and Letterman monologues. (Vitter, who co-authored the 2004 Federal Marriage Amendment while a member of the House, is chair of Rudolph Giuliani's Southern campaign, and had been touted as a VP candidate who would balance Rudy's socially liberal history.)

Musical interlude: John Lennon:

You can shine your shoes and wear a suit
You can comb your hair and look quite cute
You can hide your face behind a smile
One thing you can't hide
Is when you're crippled inside...
-- "Crippled Inside," from Imagine
Audio at the Internet Archive | Video: The stereo music video

Fallout: Now, of course, the GOP is between a rock and a hard place. If they pressure Vitter to resign, Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco gets to name the replacement to his Senate seat. The Shreveport Times reports today (Republicans are pondering their next move over Vitter scandal),

BATON ROUGE -- Some top Louisiana Republicans are discussing whether to ask U.S. Sen. David Vitter to resign and packaging a deal with Democratic Gov.
Kathleen Blanco to appoint a place-holding Republican to take his spot.

Politically, it might be tempting for the Democrat -- whose frustration with the administration after Hurricane Katrina was broadcast daily -- to add to her party's one-vote majority in the Senate. Alternatively, Vitter stuck in the Senate, shunned but unable to resign, would be a GOP nightmare. The downside might be that the Connecticut for Lieberman party's Sen. Joe Lieberman would retaliate by switching to the GOP; if the eventual special election for Vitter's seat resulted in a Republican win, the Senate would be tied.

Primary sources:

Josh Marshall's videocast above, lets you take your own measure of the senator: The author of Talking Points Memo pulls together a Vitter family-values campaign commercial and excerpt from a 2006 speech in support of the Marriage Protection Amendment, and cable news anchors' reporting on a 2000 campaign interview come back to haunt Mrs. Vitter.

Sidebar: Background

How David Vitter Got Nabbed in Madam Scandal. WaPo, yesterday.

-- Louisiana Weekly, June 3, 2002: Congressman is accused of having an alleged affair with prostitute
-- Louisiana Weekly, March 29, 2004: Congressman Denies Affair With Prostitute

The author of both, Louisiana reporter Christopher Tidmore, who is now running as a Republican candidate for the state legislature, issued a statement Tuesday: Tidmore Vindicated, Responds to Vitter Revelations

More, including yesterday's Tidmore: The Tragic Situation that Surrounds David Vitter, at his campaign site.

-- Salon, October 29, 2004: There is a house in New Orleans: "Rumors involving a prostitute and a secret alliance with neo-Nazi David Duke trail the Republican Senate candidate in Louisiana."

-- Sen. Vitter's official site

-- Wikipedia site for Sen. Vitter

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 11:53 AM | Permalink

Comments

Posted by: B. Fotnics on July 12, 2007 3:09 PM