Posted on 07/10/2007 7:07:58 AM PDT by TitansAFC
(CNSNews.com) - A Republican senator has been caught in the "D.C. madam" snare.
Sen. David Vitter's telephone number was listed in the records kept by Deborah Jeane Palfrey - the woman accused of running a prostitution ring. Palfrey insists it was a legitimate escort service. On Monday, she posted her clients' telephone numbers - but no names -- online.
"This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter said in a statement released to the Associated Press on Monday.
"Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there -- with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way."
Vitter, 46, was elected to the Senate in 2004 - the first Louisiana Republican to serve in the Senate since Reconstruction. He previously served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Vitter recently helped lead the conservative effort to kill the immigration "reform" bill. He also supports the Marriage Protection Amendment.
"As the parents of four children, my wife Wendy and I get up every day dedicated to securing a truly bright future for all of us in Louisiana," his website says.
According to ABC News, Palfrey's clients included prominent business executives, NASA officials and military officers, but they have so far not been named publicly.
Randal Tobias, a senior State Department official, resigned several months ago after ABC News asked him about his use of the escort service.
'What a joke'
A website dedicated to New Orleans news and information, nola.com, offered readers a chance to vent about Vitter.
"What's your reaction to the senator's admission? Will it affect his ability to represent Louisiana? Are you satisfied with his apology?" the website asked.
Reaction was mostly unfavorable:
"Here is a guy who preached about New Orleans being sinful. What a joke," wrote one reader. "As I've said in the past all men in congress get drunk with power. The only thing that would surprise me is if Mary Landrieu or Pelosi were buying boy toys."
"I want govt. out of my wallet an out of my bedroom, regardless of political party," wrote another reader.
"Soliciting sex is illegal in DC. Vitter therefore broke the law. Are Republicans ready to reelect a criminal to office in 2010? Because Vitter broke the law, he should resign. This is really a huge disgrace, and we cannot afford any more bad press in Louisiana," said another angry constituent.
"His bible thumping family value gravy train has derailed."
One reader mentioned press reports in 2004 in which Vitter (running for the Senate at the time) publicly denied allegations that he had an 11-month affair with a known prostitute.
I noticed your title: “(Another Rudy supporter with “secrets”)”
Do you work for the New York or LA Times?
And please don’t say you are voting for Hillary.
David Vitter appears to be a solid conservative in the Senate. Regardless of his mistakes in his personal life, we would be much better served if we did not throw him under the bus because of this.
No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. The important thing is that when we do screw up, we try to fix it, and not repeat the mistake, and hope for forgiveness from those that we hurt in the process.
Let me say this. David Vitter is a fine, moral person and we love him in Jefferson Parish. If anyone wants a fight they will get it from us. I AM REMINDED, “let he who is without sin cast the first stone’ among other bible quotes on sin and sinners. He repented, which the bible says to do, he confessed and apologized to those he wronged. OK it’s done and over with. I heard hints of problems in his marriage and while back and hoped everything was worked out. I will stand by David Vitter and pray that the vultures will leave him alone. But, of course, they live on red meat so I can only pray!
Fruity Giuliani - a scum magnet for our generation.
He must have meant the "Louisiana values" of Mardi Gras day on Bourbon Street.
Would you like some stones to go with that?
No, we will never have a perfect candidate. However, I think we can do better Sure he is a great conservative. However, I don’t think we should lower our standards. It isn’t too much to ask to have a conservative candidate that hasn’t lied on the public record. Not asking for perfection, but there is a lot of room between Jesus and Vitter. I think we should find someone who falls somewhere in the middle.
Where do you draw the line for acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Is everything ok as long as our candidate has a solid conservative voting record? Like I said, if there wasn’t a better candidate, I wouldn’t hesitate to vote for him. Just hoping for better.
Unfortunately I would have to say yes to this. Advancing conservative principles, something which hasn't happened very often lately, is more important than fretting over the minor wrongs that a politician has committed in his/her private life.
The 2006 election should have taught everyone a hard lesson over what happens when you fret over the small stuff... remember what brought down George Allen?
The phone records are on her website - http://www.deborahjeanepalfrey.com/Jeane10c.html, and some people are running them through OCR software to create a searchable database at http://www.dcphonelist.com/stats.php.
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