Free Republic

Remember Jimmy Swaggart? He was the TV preacher who wept before America after a tryst with a prostitute. "I have sinned against you, my Lord,” choked Swaggart through tears. “I would ask that your precious blood would wash and cleanse every stain until it is in the seas of God's forgiveness." The fall of televangelism in many ways foreshadowed the decline of the so-called moral majority. The Right is now reaping what it sowed. By making social conservatism central to its platform, it left no room in the GOP for sinners. Now we have the Sanford affair. Many on the...

South Carolina Rep. Bob Inglis made a name for himself in the late 1990s as one of Bill Clinton's most zealous pursuers, an impeachment "manager" who attacked the moral failings of the president with a gusto that earned him a devoted following in the staunchly conservative "Upstate" of conservative South Carolina. But with his governor now felled by similar temptations, Inglis sees an opening for the Republican Party, a chance to "lose the stinking rot of self-righteousness" and "to understand we are all in need of some grace." This is not "Bob Inglis 1.0," the one that was a "self-righteous"...

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's admission today that he had an extramarital affair strikes another blow to the GOP's brand as the party of family values, particularly in a region of the country—the Deep South—that has become ever more critical to Republicans, who've lost ground recently in the Northeast and the West. Outside South Carolina, "Sanford is most well known in states like North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, which are growing more competitive for Democrats," says Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster who worked for Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee during the 2008 campaign season. "This is devastating for...

A newspaper in South Carolina called Thursday for the resignation of the state's governor, who has admitted to having to an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman. Gov. Mark Sanford told The State newspaper he was surprised the story was attracting such attention. Republican Gov. Mark Sanford "cannot navigate a deep and painful personal crisis and lead the state through its economic crisis at the same time," an editorial in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal said. "He should resign." After disappearing from the public eye for nearly a week, Sanford, 49, admitted Wednesday that he had not hiked the Appalachian Trail --...

<p>E-mails, obtained by The State newspaper in December, between Gov. Mark Sanford and Maria, a woman in Buenos Aires, Argentina.</p> <p>At the time, efforts to authenticate the e-mails were unsuccessful. However, Sanford’s office Wednesday did not dispute their authenticity.</p> <p>The State has removed the woman’s full name and other personal details, including her street address, e-mail address and children’s names.</p>

Below are excerpts of e-mails, obtained by The State newspaper in December, between Gov. Mark Sanford's personal e-mail account and Maria, a woman in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The State has removed the woman's full name and other personal details, including her address, e-mail address and children's names. McClatchy special correspondent Angeles Mase visited the 14-story apartment building in Buenos Aires Wednesday where the woman lives, according to the emails, which included her address. The woman at the address answered to the name in the emails and, at first, agreed to speak to a visitor, but she declined after the visitor...

On Today's Show...   Inexplicable: Gov. Mark Sanford Admits to Affair with the Girl from Ipanema I guess they all think they'll get away with it. He could have been our JFK (without the mob ties).   Where's the Outrage? Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are in Fat City They ripped AIG's bonuses, but bonuses at Democrat-run Goldman are fine. Note the government didn't bail out Lehman Brothers, Goldman's main competitor. (Rush 24/7 Members:  Listen) » NY Times:  Citigroup to Fatten Salaries » WSJ:  All Aboard the Goldman Sachs Bonus Train   "Big payouts at Goldman Sachs and Citibank? I guarantee, folks, this...

Should Senator Ensign resign in the wake of an affair with a staffer? No. Is Ensign’s career harmed? Yes. What should be done? Let the voters decide, next election. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, on to the more interesting question: Why does the left take such delight in a Republican senator’s personal stumbles? (A more dramatic version is now playing out in South Carolina with Gov. Mark Sanford.) Part of it is just base, crass human nature. People like the mighty to fall — especially if the stricken is an enemy. If it was only that...

Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign was unfaithful to his wife; there's no excusing broken vows. But the steps he's taken since the story broke on Wednesday provide a reminder that there is a road to redemption in truth. And not just for one U.S. senator and his family, but for American politics. In his public confession and acts of atonement, Ensign has brought a refreshing change to the roster of recent Beltway loose-belt scandals that have hit both sides of the aisle. In a press conference, Ensign -- allegedly motivated by a blackmail threat - admitted to an affair with...

The Republican senator who went public a day earlier about an extramarital affair has resigned his GOP leadership post on Wednesday. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., stepped down as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth-ranking GOP position in the Senate, after holding a brief news conference Tuesday to come clean about his affair with a former aide. He is not expected to resign from the Senate. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., confirmed the move Wednesday afternoon. "He's accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized to his family and constituents. He offered, and I accepted, his resignation as chairman...

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) acknowledged Tuesday that he had “violated the vows” of marriage by having an affair with a campaign staffer. The admission — made in a televised appearance in Las Vegas — shocked Ensign’s Senate colleagues and delivered a serious blow to any hopes he might have had of seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. Political insiders in the Senate and in Nevada told POLITICO that Ensign began the affair with the staffer several months after he separated from his wife, Darlene. When Ensign reconciled with his wife, the sources said, he gave the aide a severance...

Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign has told colleagues that he plans to admit an extramarital affair, a senior Republican official tells POLITICO. Political insiders in the Senate and in Nevada told POLITICO that Ensign began an affair with a staffer several months after he separated from his wife. When Ensign reconciled with his wife, the sources said, he gave the aide a severance package and parted ways. Sometime later, a Nevada source said, Ensign met with the husband of the woman involved and had what this source described as a positive encounter. Sources said that the man subsequently asked Ensign...

UPDATE, 5:55 p.m.: Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has acknowledged an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer in a statement released by his office. "I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions," said Ensign....

<p>Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has acknowledged an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer in a statement released by his office. "I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions," said Ensign. He is expected to announce the affair at a press conference at 6:30 pm tonight. The affair, which was with a woman who worked for both Ensign's re-election campaign and his Battle Born leadership political action committee, began in December 2007 and ended in August 2008. Ensign's wife, Darlene, said that the couple's "marriage has become stronger" and added: "I love my husband."</p>

It's no secret that Citigroup board Chairman Richard Parsons has been working for months to repair the financial giant. But, until now, even his closest associates didn't know he also was wrestling with a personal crisis - how to tell his wife and three children he has fathered a child with another woman. Parsons and model-philanthropist MacDella Cooper are the parents of a baby girl named Ella.

Even a juicy political affair and an appearance on Oprah didn't help Elizabeth Edwards sell a lot of books. To say that her new memoir, Reflections, underperformed would be an understatement. The book trailed behind Michael J. Fox's memoir and Mark Levin's Liberty, only opening with a scan of 18,853 units. To put that into perspective: Fox's book scanned 36,321 units this past week, with a total of 138,128 since it's release. The battle of the books is on!

In addition to a sympathy tour on Oprah Winfrey’s show, Elizabeth Edwards was interviewed by National Public Radio on Thursday. But All Things Considered co-anchor Michele Norris deserves credit for channeling some of the resentment of voters – both Edwards voters and others – who feel defrauded not just by John, but by Elizabeth, who consented to completely fraudulent media stories celebrating her wedded bliss. Deep into the interview, Norris asked the toughie:

Despite John Edwards' denials that he fathered a baby with his onetime mistress, his betrayed wife Elizabeth said she has "no idea" whether the former presidential candidate is a new dad. In an exclusive interview set to air Thursday, Oprah Winfrey asks Elizabeth Edwards about rampant speculation that he is the father of campaign videographer Rielle Hunter's one-year-old daughter. "I've seen a picture of the baby. I have no idea. It doesn't look like my children but I don't have any idea," Edwards told Winfrey. Edwards talked about the state of her marriage, her husband's infidelity and her ongoing battle...

Elizabeth Edwards tells talk show host Oprah Winfrey that it's a "complicated question" if she still is in love with her husband, former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen John Edwards, after his admitted affair. In an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to air Thursday, Winfrey asks Edwards, "Are you still in love with him?" Edwards responds, "You know, that's a complicated question," in an excerpt provided in advance to The Associated Press by Harpo Productions. Winfrey also asks Edwards, "Is it a day by day thing?" And Edwards says, "Neither one of us is out the door so I...

MAN convicted of committing adultery has been stoned to death in a northern Iranian city, a top judiciary official said. The stoning was carried out in the city of Rasht during the Iranian month of Esfand which ended on March 20, judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said. He said the woman involved in the case has "repented and so has not been stoned". Under Iran's Islamic law, adultery is still punishable by stoning, which involves the public hurling of stones at a partially-buried convict. A man is buried up to his waist and a woman up to her shoulders. Convicts...

ROME — Less than a week after writing an open letter that criticized her husband for cavorting with much younger women, the second wife of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says she wants to file for divorce, Italian newspapers reported Sunday. “I’d like to close the curtain on our married life,” Veronica Lario, 52, said in an interview with La Repubblica that was published Sunday. A secretary for Ms. Lario confirmed the report.

Taliban gunmen have been filmed executing a surprised couple whom they repeatedly shot for the alleged crime of adultery.Their deaths were squalid, riddled with bullets in a field near their home by Taliban gunmen as the execution was captured on a mobile telephone. In footage which is being watched with horror by Pakistanis, the couple try to flee when they realise what is about to happen. But a gunman casually shoots the man and then the woman in the back with a burst of gunfire, leaving them bleeding in the dirt.

Gov. David Paterson introduced a bill Thursday to legalize same-sex marriage in New York, comparing the effort to the fight for the abolition of slavery. Paterson, whose job approval rating has plunged below 30 percent, is making a political gamble that he can ride the momentum of other states that have recently allowed the practice, and it's unclear how the legislation will play in New York. The proposal is the same bill the Democratic-controlled state Assembly passed in 2007 before it died in the Senate, where the Republican majority kept it from going to a vote. Democrats now control the...

Divorce papers filed in a New Jersey court claim rock and roll star Bruce Springsteen was having a long affair with another man's wife, says a report. Arthur Kelly alleges in papers filed in Monmouth County on March 27 that his wife, Ann, “committed adultery with one Bruce Springsteen, who resides in Rumson, N.J., and Colts Neck, N.J., at various times and places too numerous to mention," reports Star Magazine.

Divorce papers filed in a New Jersey court claim rock and roll star Bruce Springsteen was having a long affair with another man's wife, says a report. Arthur Kelly alleges in papers filed in Monmouth County on March 27 that his wife, Ann, “committed adultery with one Bruce Springsteen, who resides in Rumson, N.J., and Colts Neck, N.J., at various times and places too numerous to mention," reports Star Magazine. -snip-

As we come to the Ninth Commandment, we again arrive in disputed territory. As you will recall, the Ten Commandments can be and have been split up differently so as to yield ten and not eleven commandments. Some Protestants break apart the First Commandment (yielding what I call the 1.5 Commandment against graven images). The Catholic tradition, in contrast, leaves the First Commandment whole and breaks apart the following text:   You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that...

GRAHAM, Wash. - A sheriff's spokesman said investigators believe a father killed his five children and then himself after learning his wife was leaving him for another man. The five children, ages 7 to 16, were found shot to death in the family's mobile home 15 miles southeast of Tacoma, on Saturday. The father was found dead at the wheel of his still-running car near the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn.

North Carolina Judge, Ned Mangum, ordered Venessa Mills to send her children to public school starting next September. The ruling, part of a divorce case resolution, stunned observers. Mills’ home-schooled three children all tested at or above grade level and were deemed well-adjusted according to testimony from psychologists. This, however, bolstered the argument that they ought to attend public school “like normal kids,” in the judge’s eyes. “The home is a sheltered environment,” Mangum said. “It will not provide the kind of stimulus needed if these children are to learn what the world is really like. How will they come...

Angelina Jolie hit the roof after she found partner Brad Pitt massaging the children's nanny, if reports are anything to go by. The mum-of-six - who is currently on location in Washington D.C filming scenes for her upcoming movie Salt - is said to have slapped Brad sharply across the face after stumbling in on him giving the nanny a massage

John Edwards’ ex-lover, Rielle Hunter, is not writing a book or giving interviews. Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, however, is doing just the opposite. Here is a picture of Frances Quinn Hunter, whose last name should be Edwards, according to sources. It’s from her first birthday, on Feb. 27, just one week ago. With her is her mother, Rielle Hunter, the filmmaker and ex-lover of former Sen. John Edwards. Edwards has admitted the affair, but denied that the baby is his. There is no father’s name on Frances Quinn’s birth certificate. Hunter is said to be upset about a story in...

Story at link.

VETERAN journos Michael Wolff and Jeffrey Toobin may want to pull an "Odd Couple" number and share an apartment. As we reported yesterday, the very married Wolff, 55, has clammed up over reports he's been having an affair with gorgeous Victoria Floethe, 28, who works at his newser.com blog. Now, CNN legal correspondent and New Yorker writer Toobin, 48, who's married, is staying mum about a report that he and sexy lawyer Casey Greenfield, 35, the Yale-educated daughter of CBS newsman Jeff Greenfield, have a relationship that "crossed the line." Gawker.com pushed that claim further, saying that Casey is in...

CNN's Jeffrey Toobin reportedly "crossed the line" with Casey Greenfield, daughter of a CBS reporter. Columnists Rush & Molloy don't give details, but one can speculate from what they omit: Greenfield is pregnant. Toobin, 13 years Greenfield's senior, is still married (with children) to Amy McIntosh. Toobin declined to talk to the Daily News about his relationship with Greenfield, as did Greenfield herself. Their refusal to speak is sure to arch eyebrows. Given Greenfield's advanced pregnancy, which she tracks on her Facebook profile, Rush & Molloy surely knew what their item was implying: Toobin is the father of Greenfield's child....

No, wait, that's not it."I am a pro-spousal abuse Catholic because my Catholic faith tells me I can be."Uh, hold on."I am a pro-murder Catholic because my Catholic faith tells me I can be."Ugh. Sorry, there must be a technical glitch here. One second. Oh, here it is:Finally, I am a prochoice Catholic because my Catholic faith tells me I can be. The Catechism reads, “[Conscience] is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.” Even St. Thomas Aquinas said it would be better to be excommunicated than to...

Caroline Kennedy Romance Affair Caroline Kennedy rumored affair and Arthur Pinch Sulzberger? Caroline Kennedy’s rumored affair was with New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. (born Sept 22 1951) is the son of Arthur Ochs Sulzberger aka Punch Sulzberger. The son is sometimes called Arthur Pinch Sulzberger as a variation of his father’s nickname. “Obama recently named Caroline Kennedy to his vice presidential search committee - and she’s been telling friends that if he’s elected to the White House, she wants to move to Washington, D.C., and take a role in his Democratic administration,” a friend revealed....

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard says in a new documentary that he still struggles with his sexuality yet is committed to his marriage for the sake of his children. Haggard, 52, resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and was fired as senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs in November 2006 after a former male prostitute went public with allegations that Haggard paid him for sex and used methamphetamine. A father of five, Haggard had said he bought the drugs but never used them. He confessed to undisclosed "sexual immorality" and...

DONNY Deutsch shouldn't expect much from Santa Claus this Christmas, if St. Nick really knows who's been naughty or nice. The advertising mogul, whose CNBC show "The Big Idea" was put on hiatus last week, has allegedly been fooling around with a married woman - and they got caught. Sources say hedge-fund manager Andrew Sandler, whose father, Harvey, founded Sandler Capital Management in 1980, grew suspicious of his wife, Lisa, with whom he has two children, and hired a private detective a few weeks ago. The private eye shadowed the attractive blonde until he was able to take surveillance photos...

The Missing Dirt On Arianna Huffington The New Yorker published its profile of Arianna Huffington. Though disappointingly far from the juicy takedown we hoped for, it does contain a few interesting nuggets. We learn, for example, that the Republican-divorcée-turned-internet-publisher bizarrely "hides" all three of her BlackBerrys in her bathroom at night, even though she lives only with a housekeeper and her two daughters. Her gay ex-husband Michael Huffington elaborates on how she knew of his interest in men before their marriage, saying, "in my Houston town house I sat down with her and told her that I had dated women...

ALBANY - Caroline Kennedy's interest in the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton could reignite tensions between two political powerhouse families: the Kennedys and Cuomos, political insiders say. Kennedy's cousin is the ex-wife of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is considered a front-runner for Gov. Paterson's appointment to replace Clinton. The sudden interest by Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy and niece to the late Robert F. Kennedy, who once held the seat, throws a titillating wrench into the works, insiders say. "It's awkward," said one well-known Democrat. "If she's serious, there could be...

New York, December 1 – Two new radio advertisements for condom use began to target Catholics in the U.S. Hispanic community here today, World AIDS Day, with the message that “good Catholics use condoms” to protect the people they love. The 60-second Spanish-language ads, which will air nationwide in 2009, “take on myths about condom use in Catholic and Latino communities,” said a statement from the sponsors, the Washington-based nonprofit organization Catholics for Choice and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. “Catholics use condoms because we know it is the responsible, loving and caring thing to do,” said Jon...

That is probably the best news from an otherwise difficult election for conservatives and Republicans. In very large part, we Evangelicals must thank our Mormon cousins for that fact. They, along with our Catholic brethren, were better organized than us and that provided a base from which we could ALL work together to get this job done. What more, as we have chronicled here, Mormons took the brunt of the abuse, derision, and even threats of physical harm that came with this effort. And like us, they have given thanks to the Almighty that is ultimately in control, even if...

(NECN: Jennifer Eagan, Worcester, Mass.) - A new ad campaign on the airwaves in Massachusetts is generating controversy. The commercials promote a Web site that will help you cheat on your spouse. You may soon be seeing or hearing an ad for www.ashleymadison.com. It's an online dating service. The only thing is, the match making is for married people. The company is already running radio ads in Massachusetts and soon they will be showing a TV ad. The racy Web site promises anyone who joins an affair in 90 days or your money back. Company president Noel Biderman says he's...

We decided to have a little fun Saturday night by posting this item on an alleged girlfriend of Barack Obama being exiled to the Caribbean by the gracious and charming Michelle Obama. Well, it sure sounds as if there's a whole lot more than we thought originally. I put that link up as mostly just a bit of baiting of Andrew Sullivan. I didn't expect much to come from it. Having now spoken to someone tracking the story, I can say: 1) It's not just a silly little rumor. 2) It will break in some form shortly. The question is...

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, embroiled in an adultery scandal and a tight race for re-election, admitted Friday to having at least two affairs but insisted he broke no laws and will not resign. The first-term Democrat conceded that one of the affairs began as he was running on a family values platform to replace Mark Foley, a Republican who resigned amid revelations that he sent lurid Internet messages to male pages who had worked on Capitol Hill as teenagers. Mahoney, 52, apologized to his wife, his daughter and his constituents, even as he maintained he...

West Palm Beach Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL), whose predecessor resigned in the wake of a sex scandal, agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him, according to current and former members of his staff who have been briefed on the settlement, which involved Mahoney and his campaign committee. Mahoney, who is married, also promised the woman, Patricia Allen, a $50,000 a year job for two years at the agency that handles his campaign advertising, the staffers said. A Mahoney spokesperson would not answer questions about the alleged affair...

Congressman's $121,000 Payoff to Alleged Mistress Tim Mahoney Elected to Remove 'Ethical Cloud' of His Disgraced Predecessor, Mark Foley By EMMA SCHWARTZ, RHONDA SCHWARTZ, and VIC WALTER Oct. 13, 2008— West Palm Beach Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL), whose predecessor resigned in the wake of a sex scandal, agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him, according to current and former members of his staff who have been briefed on the settlement, which involved Mahoney and his campaign committee. Mahoney, who is married, also promised the woman, Patricia Allen,...

<p>Threatening legal action will not be enough to stop a national gossip magazine from featuring its exclusive on Sarah Palin’s alleged extramarital affair.</p> <p>According to The NATIONAL ENQUIRER, three members of the man’s family, including one by sworn affidavit, have claimed that Palin engaged in an affair with husband Todd’s former business partner, Brad Hanson.</p>

He almost wrecked Barack Obama's presidential dreams, and now firebrand pastor Jeremiah Wright has helped destroy a Dallas church worker's marriage - and her job, The Post has learned. Elizabeth Payne, 37, said she had a steamy sexual affair with the controversial, racially divisive man of the cloth while she was an executive assistant at a church headed by a popular Wright protégé. When word of the unholy alliance got out, Payne's husband dumped her, and she was canned from the plum job at Friendship-West Baptist Church, she told The Post. "I was involved with Rev. Wright, and that's why...

Barack Obama’s former pastor has been cavorting with another man’s wife, whom he romanced while she worked at a church in Dallas run by one of his disciples, according to a report in the New York Post. Elizabeth Payne, 37, told the Post that she and Rev. Jeremiah Wright, 67, had a sexual relationship this year and that she was fired from her job when the affair was made public. Payne had been working at Friendship-West Baptist Church as a secretary to the Rev. Frederick Haynes III, a longtime Wright protege.