Posted on 05/04/2005 7:42:35 AM PDT by Born Conservative
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. representative was accused of choking a woman, 29, to whom he was giving a back rub in his Washington apartment.
WASHINGTON – Three days after it was reported he was involved in a domestic dispute that triggered a 911 call from a 29-year-old woman in his Washington apartment, U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood apologized for causing his family and supporters “pain and embarrassment.”
“I’m truly sorry. Now, I have work to do. I’m going to continue to work hard for the people of the 10th Congressional District, and to begin the healing process with my family.”
Sherwood, 64, did not explain his relationship with the woman or say why she was in his apartment. He has called her a “casual acquaintance.”
The woman, Cynthia Ore of Rockville, Md., says Sherwood has been her lover since 1999.
“When I met him he told me he was getting a divorce,” Ore has said.
Last week, the Times Leader exclusively reported her story about calling 911. She said she made the call on Sept. 15 after Sherwood “choked her for no apparent reason” while giving her a back rub at his apartment on D Street, according to a police report.
“He never did get a divorce,” Ore has said. “He said he has to stay married to get elected.
“For me to start to go back to that day is very painful to deal with all the suffering I went through.” Ore said Tuesday. “I loved him. He always told me he loved me and I believed him.”
Police did not file charges after responding to Ore’s 911 call. The responding officer did not arrest anyone, “based on interviews with both parties and no physical evidence of injury” to Ore, the police report said.
But the officer also noted “both parties have left out significant information or are not willing to discuss in detail what actually happened.”
Ore said she was assaulted and then “changed the subject and said nothing happened,” says the report, which contains a notation that Ore “did not seem to be of sound mind.”
Ore told the Times Leader she became intimidated by police at Sherwood’s apartment; she says she didn’t feel like police found her credible.
“Do you think they (police) are gonna protect me or protect him?” she said. “He’s a member of Congress.”
Sherwood says the failure by police to file charges shows they believed his account that he did not choke Ore.
Still, he apologized in general for the incident in a statement reported by The Associated Press.
He has declined to respond to calls from the Times Leader since Friday.
As a congressman, Sherwood has been a loyal supporter of conservative family values since he was first elected to the 10th Congressional District seat in 1998.
While the Tunkhannock Republican has hardly led the conservative charge on social issues, GOP leaders in the House have come to rely upon his vote when bills pertaining to “traditional family values” come to the floor.
The Christian Coalition of America, which touts itself as “the largest and most active conservative grassroots political organization in America,” gives Sherwood an 84 percent rating for voting with the coalition’s positions on legislative issues. The American Conservative Union rates him at 88 percent.
The American Family Association gives Sherwood a perfect 100-percent rating. The organization’s Web site claims to be “America’s largest pro-family action site” with nearly 2.2 million members.
The organization has state affiliates around the country, including one in Pennsylvania. The American Family Association of Pennsylvania’s Web site, www.afaofpa.org , includes this statement of purpose for the organization:
“To make a positive difference in our community by standing up for traditional Judeo-Christian values. To encourage the faith community to break the silence on controversial issues and be a voice for pro-family values. To provide leadership in defending the Biblical ethic of decency. To educate the public on the negative effects of pornography and violence in the media. To do what we can to encourage, promote and defend families. To protect children from those who would seek to commercialize or propagandize them.”
Among the votes that helped earn Sherwood his 100 percent rating with the family association was his support of the Marriage Protection Act of 2004, which would limit the federal courts’ jurisdiction over the issue of whether a ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional. Sherwood also voted in favor of a failed proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as an institution between a man and a woman.
Sherwood also has supported the elimination of the so-called “marriage penalty” tax, which costs some married couples more in taxes than if they were single taxpayers.
In a 2000 news release supporting the elimination of the “marriage penalty,” Sherwood said: “In this day and age, we ought to be doing more to support marriage instead of penalizing married couples.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sherwood denies choking woman (US Rep from PA)
Republicans rallying to help Sherwood get past report (Congressman,back rub,911)
If a 'rat politician is convicted of tax fraud is it mentioned that he/she always voted for tax increaes?
Excellent point!
Well, we dont support ANYONE just because he is a Republican- this rat fink should be shamed out of office for cheating on his wife.
Just like Bubba should have been
Indeed.
This is a safe Republican seat. We can do better.
Another member of Congress gets a pass by the police. I for one am outraged. The fact that this time it is a Republican makes no difference, he is a scumbag and need to resign.
Perhaps the imposition of triple penalties for all "lawmakers" who prove lawbreakers would be a good start.
Daydream over... Back to the brick pits for this slave.
Ok ladies... HOW FLIPPING DUMB ARE SOME OF YOU FOR FALLING FOR THIS LINE????????
Not only that, but 6 years later he's still NOT DIVORCED, and you're still cleaning his pipes!!
Jeez, this is what a society of women raised by single mothers or men who aren't their fathers gets ya.
I'm sorry I have more respect for the woman who knowingly accepts from the get go she's going to be the "other woman" than for the woman whos in a 6 year relationship and claims when it started he was "leaving her" BS.
Thanks, Bubba. Another verbal milestone for your legacy.
Just when you need the most discipline in congress there's always some one like this doing the dems work for them throwing away his seat. It really distresses me. And it sets back everything we're fighting for. Is he a drunk or crazy or what? He should step down.
If guilty upon investigation, Sherwood should be shown the door in a open, swift and final fashion. Doing so helps to keep other closeted kooks in the 'R' column on the straight and narrow and underlines the moral tone and 'righteousness' of the conservative movement. Of course, doing so to one of our number should also be used a an expeditious moment to target and destroy several opposition slimebags (no problem finding deviants in the 'D' caucus) with the exact same investigative and disciplinary functions. Make lemonade when life hands you a lemon and use it to pour on your enemies, grab them by the throat and drown them.
In other news, OJ Simpson says the failure by jurors to convict him shows that Americans believe that he did not murder his ex-wife.
-p. 357 Bill Clinton operations manual.
Just make sure they're not your mistress!
LOL!
Did he know Chandra Levy?
When I saw the headline I thought for sure it was Sherwood Schwartz finally apologizing for inflicting "The Brady Bunch" on our family years ago.
Sherwood couldn't see the forest for the trees?
This is an old DC story - old goat Congressman, posturing as a conservative for the folks back home and for the PAC money, is found to have had a long term relationship with some young thing, not his spouse, while in DC.
This is so commonplace that it is, in fact, a cliche. The only people who are surprised by it are the folks back home.
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