Profiles in Dirtbaggery

I am not sure if many people will remember Tim Mahoney, but he was the man who replaced disgraced Florida Congressman Mark Foley when the latter resigned from the House after his inappropriate behavior towards House pages was revealed in the press. Mahoney, a conservative Democrat, ran on a promise to restore ethics and family values to Foley's seat.

Well, today most of America has learned that Mahoney has had his own similar set of problems. This article speaks for itself:

West Palm Beach Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL), whose predecessor resigned in the wake of a sex scandal, agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him, according to current and former members of his staff who have been briefed on the settlement, which involved Mahoney and his campaign committee.

Mahoney, who is married, also promised the woman, Patricia Allen, a $50,000 a year job for two years at the agency that handles his campaign advertising, the staffers said.

...

Mahoney was elected two years ago following the abrupt resignation of his disgraced predecessor, Republican Mark Foley, whose lewd internet messages to teenage boys and Congressional pages created a national outrage.

The affair between Mahoney and Allen began, according to the current and former staffers, in 2006 when Mahoney was campaigning for Congress against Foley, promising "a world that is safer, more moral."

Friends of Allen told ABC News that Allen sought to break off the affair when she learned Mahoney was allegedly involved in other extra-marital relationships at the same time.

Her friends say she told them Mahoney threatened that ending the relationship could cost her the job.

The article has a lot of other juicy stuff, including a transcript and audio of a conversation Mahoney had with this woman where he comes across as a Hall of Fame dirtbag.

It's funny how life works out. While Democrats will be saddened to lose a seat that Mahoney was likely hold, they probably should never have won it in the first place. The Sixteenth District leans right, and Foley's problems were the only reason Mahoney won, and in the end, he only won 50-48 with Foley's name still on the November 2006 ballot. That said a lot about his electoral strength right off the bat. Right now, I think that if Mahoney's opponent and the GOP plays it right, Mahoney is toast. Sitll stranger things have happened then an awful human being getting re-elected to Congress. It happens numerous times every two years.

I personally know probably the first two people who Mahoney hired when he first ran for Congress, way before the Foley story came to light. Let me just say that from their experiences related to me, Tim Mahoney is one of the biggest jerks in American politics, and that is saying a lot. Needless to say, he is really not a good guy, and neither they nor I are surprised by this turn of events. It really is a case of chickens coming home to roost. While Mahoney has had his eyes on a run for Senate or governor in 2010 with his moderate record, it is probably better this story came out now. Given the kind of guy he is, this type of story would have been a matter of public record eventually. It was only a question of when, not if.

Two more things. First, I want to tip my political cap to the Republicans here. They probably had this story for a while, and were eagerly waiting to drop it at the perfect moment to sink Mahoney. They watched as their candidate fell behind to Mahoney right after the primary, knowing all the while what a weasel Mahoney was, so I am sure the urge was there to drop this story a while back. But they were smart and waited until after the economy story died just a little bit, and leaked it this weekend, with around three weeks till election day. Because Florida has early voting, they picked the exact right moment. This is exactly what Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats did with the Foley story, and we all know how that worked out. So, congratulations to the Florida GOP (or the national party) here. They earned my political respect. I would have done the exact same thing.

Second, the only worry now for Democrats shouldn't be this seat -- there is a 98 percent chance that it is now gone -- but whether this story taints the strong campaigns that their challengers are running in the 8th, 21st, 24th, and 25th Districts. While I do not think that the scummy exploits of a congressman people in other districts have never heard of will impact their vote, particularly with a presidential race going on, who knows? With the way the economy is going, I am sure the enbattled incumbents all in and around Miami and Orlando (Ric Keller, Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, and Tom Feeney) and their campaigns are pondering ways to use Mahoney's scumbaggery to attack their Democratic opponents. That should be Democrats' biggest worry right now.

Interestingly, the expansive 16th does not touch any of these top four most competitive districts, though it is next to the 13th, which is right now a second-tier pick-up opportunity for Democrats. Given this fact, it may be hard for the most endangered Republicans to use Mahoney's wretchedness to their advantage. But, don't be surprised if they try. Keller, the Diaz-Balarts, and Feeney are exactly the type of politicians who would use this story, even though it has no impact on their own districts.

Nevertheless, let us wave good-bye to Tim Mahoney, a world-class dirtbag in a political world full of dirtbags, and a guy who symoblizes that in life, what goes around, comes around.