Ouch---betcha the pols getta thrill from this.
Posted on 05/05/2010 11:07:24 AM PDT by Steelfish
Gotcha! U.S. Lawmaker Caught Looking At Porn on Senate Floor [Pic in URL]
5th May 2010 Unfortunately for Florida Senator Mike Bennett, that's just not a good enough reason to be looking at pictures of topless women while on the Senate floor. Especially not while using his state-issued computer. And especially not while a colleague is arguing that the law currently being debated is 'disrespectful towards women'.
Even if you do get caught in such a situation, you really shouldn't threaten the reporter who ran the story - trust us, it is just going to make matters worse.
Scroll down for video Busted: Senator Mike Bennett looks at his computer screen - on which there is an image of topless women - while on the Senate floor during the debate of an abortion bill But all these factors have collided in a perfect storm of scandal for the Republican lawmaker. Sunshine State News reporter Lance Wright spotted video footage of the senator looking at the image of topless women on Thursday.
The footage shows the senator tilting his screen forward before closing down the image, tilting his screen back again.
(snip) Later, Mr Bennett is also filmed watching what appears to be YouTube footage of a dog. 'I was bored': Mike Bennett (file photo) claimed the image was in an email that he unwittingly opened from a colleague When approached by the reporter, Mr Bennett said he was sent the pornographic image in an email from a woman 'who happens to be a former court administrator'. 'I was just sitting there, bored as they were debating the abortion bill,' Mr Bennett said.
'I opened it up and said holy s***! What's on my screen? and clicked away from it right away,' he told the Sunshine State News.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Was the floor sticky?..............
I'll be the judge of "porn".
Now, if it was porn of a woman AND a dog, that would be news.
The most salient fact is that the Senate was debating *abortion*, and this guy wasn’t paying attention because he was “bored.” Thanks for ignoring your JOB, Mr. Salary-Paid-By-The-Citizens Senator.
>> The most salient fact is that the Senate was debating *abortion*, and this guy wasn’t paying attention because he was “bored.” Thanks for ignoring your JOB, Mr. Salary-Paid-By-The-Citizens Senator.
In fairness ... Senate ‘debate’ is an exercise in attention-grabbing, not an actual debate. I’d be extremely disappointed in a Republican Senator that needed to listen to debate to figure out his opinion on abortion laws.
Also ... it was a non-sexual picture of a couple of topless women, not “porn”. Clearly a lapse in judgment, but hardly a high crime.
SnakeDoc
Michael S. Bennett is a Republican member of the Florida Senate, representing the 21st District since 2003. Previously he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2001 through 2002.
What a dumba$$. Time to clean house, fumigate, and start all over again.
>>>”I’d be extremely disappointed in a Republican Senator that needed to listen to debate to figure out his opinion on abortion laws.”
Why have debates on the topic at all then? Propose the bill, call the question, and vote. If people are supposed to have their minds made up on certain topics before the debate, it’s a waste of time and money to have this fictitious grandstanding.
What other sorts of things should GOP legislators have made up their minds about already? Capital punishment? Tax cuts?
Ouch---betcha the pols getta thrill from this.
So it was actually a Florida lawmaker rather than a US lawmaker. Of course I guess that little fact is of little consequence to a brit.
The floor debate is simply an exercise in grandstanding and procedure. I guarantee that no minds are changed, and would bet that most people aren’t even listening.
I expect Senators to have done their homework before a floor ‘debate’. They should know what they think, and where their constituents are, well before Harry Reid starts talking ... particularly on something as stark and controversial as abortion. Do we really want Republican senators waiting to hear what Chuck Schumer has to say before making up their mind how to vote?
>> Why have debates on the topic at all then? Propose the bill, call the question, and vote. If people are supposed to have their minds made up on certain topics before the debate, it’s a waste of time and money to have this fictitious grandstanding.
Even if they aren’t SUPPOSED to have their mind made up ... the reality is, they do have their mind made up. Floor debates ARE a waste of time and money. They have a debate so they can get on TV making a rambunctious speech to empty seats. They have a debate to get noticed by Sunday-morning talk shows, and to make a name for themselves. They have a debate for their own aggrandizement, not to do the business of the people.
It is an inefficient, ineffective, and largely ceremonial publicity stunt ... all of which are tried-and-true Washington traditions.
SnakeDoc
I agree with your analysis. Of course, this incident in question took place in Florida, not DC.
Ah. I thought “US Lawmaker” indicated that it was a federal thing. Didn’t read carefully enough, I suppose.
SnakeDoc
Hey, at least he wasn’t looking at Free Republic; then he really WOULD have been in trouble...
You didn't mention he is a self-serving RINO who has strongly endorsed global warming theory. As well, Bennett introduced a bill that would require taxpayers to foot the bill for moving residents out of a mobile home park purchased by a developer. Simultaneously, he had a bid on a project to buy a mobile home park.
Jan. 27 2006 MANATEE -- State Sen. Mike Bennett, a lawmaker, electrical
contractor and developer, recently made an offer to buy Two Rivers
Mobile Home Park off Manatee Avenue East for $11 million in cash. On
Tuesday, Bennett, R-Bradenton, presided over the Senate Community
Affairs Committee when it unanimously approved his own legislation that
would give local governments more financial responsibility to help
displaced mobile-home residents relocate. Bennett said Thursday there is
no conflict of interest and that he stands to gain nothing from the
legislation.
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