Karma is coming around to bite Sen. David Vitter (Hypocrite-LA) on the butt -- which, who knows, might be a big turn-on for him. The DC Madam might know what Vitter's turn-ons are because it seems that Vitter was a regular at the ranch.
You may recall Vitter, loudly calling for Bill Clinton's resignation, climbed to Congress over the dead body of Bob Livingston, one of the nine-day wonders of American politics. Livingston had deposed Newt Gingrich and was speaker in waiting as the Clinton impeachment hurricane swirled, but he was shamed out of office when Hustler's Larry Flynt got the goods on an extramarital affair.
Well, now Flynt has Vitter's number -- literally, on the DC Madam's phone records.
Enough snark, here's some actual news:
Politics1 points us to an excellent Shreveport Times article on the wheelings and dealings of Louisiana politics. Sounds like the GOP wants to dump Vitter, but not at the cost of turning the seat over to a Democrat.
Some top Louisiana Republicans are discussing whether to ask U.S. Sen. David Vitter to resign and packaging a deal with Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco to appoint a place-holding Republican to take his spot.
Speculation has centered around former Gov. David Treen, a Republican defeated by Vitter in the 1999 congressional race.
Treen is 79 and would be a placeholder until this fall's state elections, which are the Louisiana GOP's main priority. Democratic governor Kathleen Blanco is a lame duck. GOP Congressman Bobby Jindal, who lost narrowly to Blanco in 2003, is widely seen as governor in waiting -- but the main roadblock for him is a possible challenge from none other that Treen.
So a Treen appointment solves a lot of GOP problems -- but I can't see what's in it for the Democrats other than an open Senate seat, which might happen anyway, and even then that's just a chance and the Dems have a thin Louisiana bench. Maybe the behind the scenes negotiations involve greasy wads of oily cash, which would not be a first in Louisiana politics.
That's just idle speculation on my part, but what's the GOP's other alternative to dealing with Blanco? Waiting for Governor Jindal? Maybe not. A dragged-out Vitter scandal hurts the whole Louisiana GOP this fall, and then all of a sudden maybe the Dems hold the governor's post.
Of course, one could just do nothing. Ron Gunzburger at Politics1: "If Vitter simply choses to ignore the pressure to resign, even if party leaders become privately hostile towards him, he can still serve out the remaining half of his term."
UPDATE: Additional good local coverage in the Lafayette Daily Advertiser.
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