David Rodeback's Blog

Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Possible Larger Meaning of Massa

Some people think that private misbehavior should not disqualify a person for public office.

Just a quick thought.

Remember Congressman Eric Massa (Democrat-NY), who recently resigned from the US House of Representatives, after allegations that he sexually harassed staffers became public? He said this was retaliation for his opposition to ObamaCare, the Democratic leadership's way of removing an opponent before a close vote.

Let's assume that Democratic leaders have known about this thing related to a member of their party for months; there have been reports to this effect. Let's assume the timing was motivated as Massa says it was. Let's avoid for a moment our very reasonable wondering how much more of this sort of thing was threatened to buy Democrats' yes votes on the health care takeover bills.

Think about it for a minute, then tell me: Will you still claim that private behavior is irrelevant to public service?

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