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OK, technically, one of these stories broke about a week ago (in September) and we just haven't been able to get around to it. Still, we think it fits the spirit of the concept, if not the letter.
That story is about Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY), who has himself a bit of a corruption/sex scandal on his hands. See, he gave a job to his lover, which is a no-no. He also gave a job to... his fiancee's daughter. That's another no-no, of course. Though at least he's spreading the favors around to everyone he's sleeping with, we suppose.
D'Esposito's response to this news, first reported by The New York Times, was to go on the defensive. In a statement, he asserted that he has "upheld the highest ethical standard of personal conduct." He added:
The latest political tabloid garbage being peddled by The New York Times is nothing more than a slimy, partisan 'hit piece' designed to distract Long Islanders from Democrats' failing record on border security, the economy and foreign policy,
Uh, huh. The careful reader will notice that nowhere in there does D'Esposito say the reporting is not true.
Meanwhile, yesterday, Mike Lawler joined D'Esposito on the naughty list. In this case, the problem is not adultery or corruption; it's racism, as Lawler became the latest person to have a blackface picture from his college yearbook come to light. It was the early 2000s, his Halloween costume was Michael Jackson, and he thought it best to sell the bit by blackening his face.
Lawler's response to the news was at least a little bit better than what we saw out of D'Esposito. The Representative said, in an appearance on CNN: "Obviously I can't change what happened 18 years ago. But I certainly, with wisdom and age, understand that that is not something that I would do today, and certainly understand why people would be upset or offended by it. And for that, I'm sorry." If he'd left it there, it would be hard to complain too much. However, he then added that there was "no ill intent" and he wanted to "pay homage to somebody who was a musical idol for me." When you add all the qualifiers, you're getting pretty close to non-apology apology territory.
We do not know New York politics well enough to know exactly how much tolerance Empire State voters have for things like this. What we do know is that both representatives won their seats for the first time in 2022, a non-presidential year, by very thin margins. D'Esposito, who represents the D+5 NY-04, defeated former town supervisor of Hempstead Laura Gillen (D) by 2.6% of the vote. He's facing off against Gillen again this year. Lawler, who represents the D+3 NY-17, won by just 0.6% of the vote in 2022, becoming the first Republican to claim the seat since 1980. This year, he's up against Mondaire Jones (D), who is not only a well-known former member of the House, but is also Black.
Given how close these elections figured to be anyhow, even a little damage from the two scandals could be fatal. At this point, the National Republican Congressional Committee should really be hoping that they can at least hold one of the two. (Z)