From the party that unmercilessly dogged Clinton about blow jobs, comes the news that Republicans can't keep theirs in their pants in a big way, not that size matters, right? We knew Republicans were a bit kinky as Jack Ryan demonstrated his predilection for sex clubs, one "with cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling." But yesterday and today the Left Blogosphere began burning up with another GOP lobbyist sex scandal.
Daily Kos headlined, Republicans Involved In Lobbyist Sex Scandal At The Watergate Hotel?
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that there is enough evidence of a lobbyist-sponsored prostitution ring that investigators are scurrying across D.C., trying to figure out exactly which lawmakers were involved: In recent weeks, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have fanned out across Washington, interviewing women from escort services, potential witnesses and others who may have been involved in the arrangement.Daily Kos has gracious plenty of links with an amazing story from Harper's blog and lots more GOP naughtiness so click the link if you can stomach the hypocrisy of the "family values" party.
Billmon elaborates on the San Diego Union Tribune story with a CIA angle that may ensnare Porter Goss as did Laura Rozen and Daily Kos.
What is it about GOP lobbyists, Republican politicians, and sex, sex, sex? I said earlier this reminds me of another GOP lobbyist sex scandal because when the beloved GOP President Reagan and later Bush I were in power, a Republican lobbyist Craig Spence ran a prostie ring that made headlines. From Rigorous Intuition in February 2005:
Spence was a conservative lobbyist during the Reagan-Bush years. The New York Times called him "Washington's ultimate power broker." He was also running a gay prostitution ring which employed adolescent boys. As perks of the job, he treated his boys to after-hour tours of the White House. In The Washington Times of August 9, 1989, Spence "hinted the tours were arranged by top level" persons, including Vice President Bush's National Security Advisor Donald Gregg, whose name also figures prominently in the October Surprise story. The paper added that "Spence, according to friends, was also carrying out homosexual blackmail operations for the CIA."
David McGowan writes that one of the White House tours "occurred just after Spence stopped by the Nightline studio to see his friend, Ted Koppel. Spence reportedly introduced Koppel to a 15-year-old boy, whom Koppel later claimed Spence had introduced as his son. Koppel though had been a close friend for over 20 years and surely knew that Spence did not have a teenage son."
Any wonder why this scandal - a sex scandal, even - died one of the quickest and quietest of deaths? Only briefly, and not everywhere, was it was front page news. As when it broke, on June 29, 1989:More...Among the clients identified in hundreds of credit-card vouchers obtained by The Washington Times - and identified by male prostitutes and escort operators - are government officials, locally based US military officers, businessmen, lawyers, bankers, congressional aides, media representatives and other professionals.Mr. Spence's influence appeared unlimited, aptly demonstrated by his ability to arrange midnight tours of the White House, according to three persons who said they took part in those tours....After arriving in Washington in the late 1970s, Mr. Spence was hosting parties during the early Reagan years attended by, among others, journalists Eric Sevareid, Ted Koppel and William Safire; former CIA Director William Casey; the late John Mitchell, attorney general in the Nixon administration; conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly; Ambassador James Lilley; and Gen. Alfred M. Gray, the commandant of the Marine Corps....According to many current and former friends, Mr. Spence was a dangerous friend to cultivate. Several former associates said his house on Wyoming Avenue was bugged and had a secret two-way mirror, and that he attempted to ensnare visitors into compromising sexual encounters that he could then use as leverage....Several friends said Mr. Spence bragged that U.S. military personnel, for whom he had built a gymnasium in El Salvador, had smuggled cocaine back to him when they returned to the United States....U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials said this week they had no evidence of any such operation....[An acquaintance] described Mr. Spence as "strange," saying that he often boasted that he was working for the CIA and on one occasion said he was going to disappear for awhile "because he had an important CIA assignment."According to the businessman, Mr. Spence told him that the CIA might "doublecross him," however, and kill him instead "and then to make it look like a suicide."It should probably be noted here that it wasn't until November of that year that Spence's body was found in a Boston hotel room, his death ruled a suicide.
Sheesh, with all the pedophiles (h/t Taylor Marsh) in the GOP, who knows how deep into the heart of GOP darkness this latest sex scandal goes?
How does Jeff Gannon fit into the prostie ring picture if at all? I dunno yet but stay tuned. The Left is digging into the GOP dirt. I've long thought Jeff-Jim was a honey pot because who the hell in the GL community knows who he is? C'mon, we gays know who's gay even the closet cases but Jeff-Jim seems to be outside of the community. Odd, very odd. Jeff-Jim's military stud drag via his escort site that John Aravosis at AmericaBlog outed makes me wonder.
UPDATE: I just came across more info on the Craig Spence prostie ring while digging in Billmon's archive from February 2005 when the story broke about Jeff Gannon.
UPDATE 2: To make my position perfectly clear, I have nothing against gays (I'm gay) or gay escorts and adult consensual sex. It's the Republicans. It's the hypocrisy, stupid.
UPDATE 3: Boys will be boys and evidently Republican Duke Cunningham's had a few... besides getting bribes for defense contracts. Busy, busy. Digby has the details.
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