If John Ensign were still the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, trying to preserve GOP seats, what might he say about scandal-ridden John Ensign?
Might he look down from his high horse and declare this is Òsomething that I thought was not only embarrassing to himself and his family, but also to the whole United States Senate ... ThatÕs one of the things that IÕm proudest about our leadership is the swift action, not only calling for an immediate Senate investigation, ethics investigation, removing him from his committees but also sending the signal to him that it was probably best that he resign ... It was best for himself, best for his family and best for the institution of the Senate.Ó
Those were the exact words that then-NRSC chief Ensign told ABCÕs George Stephanopoulos as the campaign season began two years ago, eagerly tossing Idaho Sen. Larry Craig out of the morally unassailable GOP MenÕs Club. Granted, Craig was accused of breaking the law — soliciting sex from a man in an airport bathroom. But Ensign solicited sex from a staffer who was his best friendÕs wife and then, according to the former pal, forced both out of the office, had his parents pay them off and continued to pursue the wife. Who committed the greater crime?
As many wonder whether Ensign will survive in the drip-drip-drip of revelations, catalyzed by Doug HamptonÕs dramatic interview last week, it seems only a matter of time until GOP figures, worried about damage in 2010 and 2012 when Ensign and the presidency are up, begin to treat him with the same political expediency he offered Craig.
Embarrassingly mute Nevada and national Republicans, who by their silence condone this increasingly tawdry and sleazy scandal, surely are privately chattering about how they want Ensign to resign. EnsignÕs successor at the NRSC, John Cornyn, was remarkably tepid when the Sun asked him about his colleagueÕs chances to recover. ÒI just donÕt know the answer to that,Ó Cornyn said, being slightly more gracious to Ensign than Ensign was to Craig two years ago.
The flip side is true, too, as The Hill reported Friday under the headline, ÒSenate GOPÕs silence ominous for Ensign.Ó
As the capital newspaper reported, ÒOn Thursday, however, not a single Republican approached in the Senate would openly defend him.Ó
And why? Disgust? There but for the grace of God go I? Fear of other disclosures?
GOP Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah told The Hill the caucus is concerned about a ÒtrickleÓ effect. ÒWe have learned from all of these that you donÕt get all the facts,Ó Bennett told the paper. ÒMaybe we do, but maybe thereÕs still more to it. I would think the reticence of people to comment has more to do with not wanting to make a statement and then discover thereÕs more facts to come out.Ó
Beyond the principled silence of his colleagues, the former chairman of the NRSC, whose performance already had been questioned, surely is the subject of much second-guessing because of the time line that has now emerged. I would bet his multi-tasking skills are being questioned.
When he was charged with running the NRSC and supposed to be trying to salvage GOP seats, Ensign was spending quite a bit of time pursuing an affair with Cynthia Hampton. Hey, ex-Sen. Norm Coleman, what do you think of these revelations?
The political pressure cooker surely will continue to build, whether or not there are more proverbial dropping shoes. As Ensign knew in that 2007 ABC interview, Republicans realize in 2009 that they donÕt need more lampooning as they head into a midterm election cycle and Barack ObamaÕs reelection bid in 2012.
As one Nevada political expert put it via e-mail, ÒIf IÕm a Republican, and I donÕt have a top-tier candidate against (Senate Majority Leader Harry) Reid (which it is starting to look like they wonÕt), IÕd want to do this race now, when turnout trends tend to favor the GOP (particularly if the economy doesnÕt recover and voters punish Dems), and when they wonÕt be running alongside a presidential candidate in a battleground state where turnout efforts change the electoral map, making it even harder for them, etc. ... They would have a better shot at retaining the Ensign seat in 2010 as opposed to 2012 ... The quicker they remove Ensign from office, the sooner they can start to turn the corner and put someone else out front. Otherwise, Ensign becomes the gift that keeps on giving for Democrats.Ó
John Ensign in 2007, the head of the NRSC, instantly would grasp that logic. I wonder if John Ensign in 2009, the albatross of his party, gets it.
Jon Ralston hosts the news discussion program ÒFace to Face With Jon RalstonÓ on Las Vegas ONE and publishes the daily e-mail newsletter ÒRalstonFlash.com.Ó His column for the Las Vegas Sun appears Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Ralston can be reached at 870-7997 or at ralston@vegas.com.
Copyright 2009 Las Vegas Sun
