I can't think of a single female politician caught in a sex scandal.

[Demoiselle]

Please advise, I'm happy to stand corrected.
But it occurs to me that we would be well advised to put people in office who are not obsessed/ruled / tripped up (as it were) by their penises; that choosing representatives who do not have penises in the first place might end this carnival once and for all. I guess I should also stipulate that, in most cases, I don't give a crap what men do with their members as long as they neither harm, threaten,or bully any one else. I include right wing politicians in this too, by the way. But since our fearless press corps is devoted to penile politics, doesn't it make sense to elect women instead?
Let me know in a week or two, when the "coverage" of Mr. Weiner ends. Maybe I can watch tv again.

[Ian David]

1. Nikki Haley.

Why Nikki Haley’s Sex Scandal Matters (Updated)
http://jezebel.com/5548046/why-nikki-haleys-sex-scandal-matters-updated

[barbtries]

18. thought of her right away.

but your point is well taken. women know how to be discreet.

[sabrina 1]

2. There was at least one woman, a Republican airc, who was

caught in a sex scandal. Can't remember her name right now, maybe someone else can.

[Ian David]

4. Beverly Russell

Over the past several decades we Democrats have had to get used to repeated accusations that we are immoral and evil and responsible for everything bad in the world -- the Clinton impeachment was the culmination of this. I think that it's time to turn the guns around.

Back in 1994 on the eve of a midterm election, House Speaker Newt Gingrich used the horrifying case of Susan Smith, who had killed her two young children in hopes of being united with her lover, as evidence that the Democrats were ruining the country, saying: "How a mother can kill her two children,14 months and 3 years, in hopes that her boyfriend would like her is just a sign of how sick the system is, and I think people want to change. The only way you get change is to vote Republican."

Gingrich's charge that Smith's murder of her children had something to do with the Democratic Party was deluded and slanderous from the start, and most thought that capitalizing politically on such a horrible event was disgusting. This did not keep the media from publicizing his claim, however, and for all anyone knows Gingrich's smear tipped some votes the Republicans' way. In any case, the election was a big victory for Newt.

Only after the election did the real facts come out. Susan Smith's stepfather, Beverly Russell, was far from a Democrat: he was a figure of some importance in the South Carolina Republican Party and in Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition. This revelation alone invalidated Gingrich's ludicrous argument; but on top of this it turned out that Russell had been molesting Smith for years, starting when Smith was in her middle teens.*

Oddly enough, once the reality became known, the media mostly dropped the story. Imaginary and wildly false charges against Democrats are OK, but when actual facts show up implicating Republicans, then it is time to show restraint and good taste and consideration for the family's feelings. You can go figure this one out for yourself.**

More:
http://usndemvet.blogspot.com/usndemvet/zizka-list.htm

[Demoiselle]

7. Susan Smith's stepfather. Huh?)

[Ian David]

8. Sorry, I thought Beverly was a girl's name.

[3waygeek]

43. Helen Chenoweth from Idaho?

She was a darling of the militia wackos back in the Clinton years.

[sabrina 1]

49. Yes, I think that is who I am thinking of.

I forget the details though :-)

[devilgrrl]

3. Helen Chenowith

eom

[classof56]

37. Ah, yest--good old Black Helicopter Helen.

The RW nutcases loved her and her "I fixed them govmint types" meetings. Totally ignored her indiscretions, 'cause she was so danged purty and talked tuff to them evil environmentalists.

Ah, the memories.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Not caught, but revealed it later: Edwina Currie with John Major

Both were junior ministers in Thatcher's government at the time; he went on to succeed her as Prime Minister. Currie revealed the affair (both were married) several years later.

[firehorse]

6. I remember Hilary rumors. *not a politician, but Lady Di rumored to have a kid out of wedlock.

[bananas]

9. Sarah Palin. nt

[slackmaster]

10. Pamela Harriman

HTH

[Demoiselle]

14. Pamela Harriman was not a politician.

She made the most of her, er, opportunities, but she was not a politician!!

[whathehell]

11. Even one "credibly accused" would put you WAAAY back of the line after the menfolk,

Can't remember ANY calling press conferences, husband in tow,

talking about her "mistake".


Da little head make da big head dumb as dirt.:P

[Demoiselle]

15. Thank you, whatthehell. My point, I think.

[whathehell]

20. You're welcome...and yes, it is a good point.

[Whisp]

47. exactly. right on point.

it's unimaginable to reverse that imagine, isin't it?

and just think of the woman going on talk shows and kind of giggling and nudge nudge winking about it, like Clinton does/did.

not a freaking chance women would get away with that.

[bananas]

12. Ilona Staller

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilona_Staller

Ilona Staller (complete name Anna Elena Staller, 26 November 1951), also known by her stage name la Cicciolina, is a Hungarian-born Italian porn star, politician, and singer. She continued to make hard core pornographic films while in office.<2> She is famous for delivering political speeches with one breast exposed.<2><3>

<snip>

She renewed her offer to have sex with Saddam Hussein in October 2002, when Iraq was resisting international pressure to allow inspections for weapons of mass destruction, and in April 2006 made the same offer to Osama bin Laden.<2>

<snip>

Staller has recorded several songs, mostly from live performances, with explicit lyrics being sung to a children's melody. Her most famous song is "Muscolo Rosso," a song entirely dedicated to il cazzo, which means "the dick" in Italian. Because of its extensive use of swear words, the song could not be released in Italy, but became a hit in other countries, especially in France, where the listeners did not grasp the meaning of the lyrics. The song gained considerable popularity in the internet era, when many Italian speakers were able to hear it for the first time.

<snip>

[whathehell]

13. She sounds lovely, lol, but I believe we're talking about the US. n/t

[bananas]

22. The US has a stigma against sexually active women

making it harder for them to advance in politics.

[whathehell]

27. It's not just the US...It's the double standard and it exists pretty much

throughout the western world, I believe.

[bananas]

28. Mary Carey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Carey_%28pornographic_actress%29

<snip>

Carey studied ballet from the age of seven until she was 19 years old.<6> She graduated in 1998 from the Pine Crest School, a Fort Lauderdale private preparatory school. At 19, she joined the dance team at Florida Atlantic University, where she was a student in the theater department. After her grandfather's death, her grandmother's health worsened, Carey took a job as an exotic dancer to help support the family financially. Upon noticing that the "feature dancers" made much more money, she asked an agent how she could become one too. The agent recommended that she become a porn star (the large fan base that successful porn stars have gives them superior drawing power when they dance in-person at strip clubs). Carey traveled to Los Angeles and made the rounds of the adult-film producers and studios, eventually landing a job with Playboy TV.<5>

She was featured on VH1's reality series Celebrity Rehab, and has appeared in more than 80 adult films.<5> She has a product line with Doc Johnson adult toy company, she has authored a book, and she is currently developing a TV series with GoGo Luckey. She appeared in VH1's series Sober House which premiered in January 2009.

Politics

During the 2003 California recall election, Carey signed a contract with Kick Ass Pictures, and as a publicity stunt they came up with the idea that Carey should run for governor. She was an independent candidate, placing tenth in a field of 135 candidates. She ran on an eleven-point platform that included somewhat tongue-in-cheek promises of taxing breast implants, making lap dances tax-deductible, and creating a "Porn For Pistols" exchange program.

In June 2005, Carey announced her bid for Lieutenant Governor of California as an Independent in 2006. She has also said that she hopes to run for a major party nomination to be President of the United States upon her reaching the age of 35, per the minimum age requirement for United States presidents.<7> She dropped out of the race in October 2006 to take care of her mother who had jumped off a building while off her medications.<8>

During and immediately following her gubernatorial bid in 2003, Carey was occasionally featured as a guest on various political talk shows. Carey maintained on the Fox News Channel on March 16, 2006 that her pornographic films are not a negative to her political career, citing the political successes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronald Reagan. She also maintained that, unlike the films in which Schwarzenegger and Reagan starred, her films are about "love."

<snip>

[whathehell]

38. Still doesn't work....She didn't get elected. n/t

[bananas]

40. But she was a politician, and she may run - and be elected - in the future. nt

[whathehell]

42. Big fucking deal...anyone can call themselves a "politician"...We are talking about "electability".

[bananas]

34. Stormy Daniels, Mimi Miyagi, Milly D'Abbraccio

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/10/porn-stars-in-politics-wo_n_165730.html

Porn Stars In Politics: Women Who Paved The Way For Stormy Daniels (SLIDESHOW)
The Huffington Post | February 10, 2009 04:03 PM

If porn star Stormy Daniels decides to challenge David Vitter for his Senate seat in the Louisiana Republican primary, she won't be the first adult entertainer to turn her talents to politics. See some of the women who paved the way below.

(These websites are NSFW.) Porn star Mary Carey, born Mary Ellen Cook, ran for Governor of California after the Gray Davis recall (she later went on to make a pornographic film based on the experience called "Run Mary Run"), while Mimi Miyagi, born Melody Damayo, ran for Nevada Governor in 2006. Both lost their bids. Over in Italy, Milly D'Abbraccio, born Emilia Cucciniello, ran for a seat in Rome's City Hall and lost, while singer and entertainer Cicciolina, born Anna Ilona Staller, was elected to the Italian parliament in 1987.

[whathehell]

41. I'm sure it was a great for their porn careers, lol....But they all LOST.

Isn't that the point?:eyes:

[mike_c]

16. testosterone is a powerful motivator....

Most especially in males. We will do all kinds of crazy shit, or at least WANT to, under it's influence (and not all of it sexual, either). The Weiner case illustrates the tension that sometimes occurs between culture and physiology. Ironically, we usually define "character" as the ability to adhere to cultural norms in the face of biological imperatives. Everyone's success rate varies, and some will always do worse than others. Politics has absolutely nothing to do with it.

[whathehell]

24. Testosterone poisening.

I think you're onto something.:evilgrin:

[seabeyond]

44. women have as many affairs as men. guess the ole estrogen.... nt

[hobbit709]

17. Probability exists. But most women I know have a tendency to be more discreet.

[RBInMaine]

19. Can't think of politicians, but, sadly, a number of women teachers have had them with

male students. (Not that I'm in any way singling out teachers. It has happened in other professions too. But these have been the most covered in the media. ** The vast majority of teachers, as well as members of all professions, are indeed very ethical and professional on the job.)

[LeftishBrit]

21. Not sure whether it counts as a sex scandal...

but Nadine Dorries, one of the relatively few British politicians who could frankly be called Christian Right (she's obsessed with abortion, supports abstinence education, and has even expressed an admiration for Sarah Palin) was recently found to be having a relationship with a married man, recently separated from his wife. The most scandalous thing as far as I'm concerned is that she smeared the estranged wife on her political blog!

She is also said to have at one time to have had an affair with another Christian Rightie, Tory activist and owner of the Conservative Home website, Tim Montgomerie.

Another Tory MP, Caroline Nokes, elected in 2010 and signatory of the Christian Right Westminster Declaration, was found to be having a sexual relationship with a Tory activist 10 years younger than herself. She's married, not to him. It wasn't a big scandal, mainly because no one's really heard of her otherwise; but it did come up in the tabloids.

Then there's Elizabeth Truss, Tory MP for South West Norfolk since the 2010 election. About a year before the election, it was revealed that she'd been having an affair with married Tory MP Mark Field. This was a bit of a scandal in the papers, and there was an attempt by some members of her local party to deselect her, but it failed. This one did seem a bit unfair, especially as no one was trying to deselect the male MP for *his* part in the affair.

[firehorse]

23. Eleanor Roosevelt

[whathehell]

25. Not proven, let alone "admitted" like

so many of the penile brigade.

[firehorse]

32. I'm a chick, and I support Eleanor's "cheating" on her cheating husband

even if it was with other chicks

[whathehell]

35. Well, good on ya!

She was neglected.

[MikeMc]

26. You are quite mad. Not Madfloridian Mad, though. - 1.

[Uncle Joe]

29. I believe it's a matter of time as more females become politicians.

The total numbers of females in politics still don't come close to the males.

Having said that I believe that even if there were equal numbers, men would still outnumber women in re: to potential sex scandals, but the gap would narrow.

Thanks for the thread, Demoiselle.

[DeadEyeDyck]

30. I think there were rumors that Janet Reno was "forgiving"

hookers as a judge for sexual favors.

[whathehell]

36. Ewwww.....sounds like a rumor from Drudge. n/t

[TheKentuckian]

31. It would make far more sense to ignore the corporate media and stop feeding this shit.

If this crap didn't sell and have pearl clutchers fainting, the nitwits would have to be more creative with their numb ass distractions from matters of importance.

[Spirochete]

33. Wasn't there a governor

from some red state, like Idaho, who had some scandal come out a few years ago. Damned if I can remember the name, though.

[Countdown_3_2_1]

39. Come on, Ladies! Y'all are just not trying! nt

[Spike89]

45. There have been a few, but really, not many chances

I'm not going to try and dispute the notion that women might be less prone to political scandal--they simply haven't had as many chances. However, I do think that the problem is less gender-related than fame-related. The people that are interested in being politicians are much more likely to be attention-craving prima donnas than the rest of us, and I personally think the rest of us want too much fame!

One more point toward the female/male scandal issue...the double standard does sometimes go both ways. If you're going to say "guys just can't keep it in their pants" you're also saying when women do it, it is out of the ordinary (and probably the husband's fault in some way). This double standard probably inhibits men from talking about their wife's flings.

My point is, men may be flawed, but I'm not quite ready to declare women sex-scandal free. Politicians by their nature lie and seek attention--two of the prime traits leading them into sex scandals.

[unapatriciated]

46. Kathy Augustine comes to mind

Her story has political scandal, sex and murder. Some speculated that she started her affair with her fourth husband while her third husband lay dying in a hospital bed. Kathy's stepsons thought it was strange that she remarried three weeks after their fathers death and they also think she may have had a hand in his death. Her story ended tragically with her death at the hands of her fourth husband.

http://www.ktvn.com/story/6561225/kathy-augustines-family-outraged-about-48-hours-mystery-show?redirected=true

http://www.lasvegasvalley.com/story/5478964/kathy-augustine-timeline?redirected=true

[firehorse]

48. Women are just better at being discreet.