Upstate New York Republican Congressman Lee Quits over Craigslist Scandal

Stupidity and arrogance are not good traits to have as a Congressman.  The Congressman is married and he sends a picture of himself with no shirt to a woman on Craigslist?  Who are these people we are electing to Congress.  Anyone with half a brain should know if you are married the chances of you getting caught like this are pretty high and if you are a Congressman, extremely high.  To resign so fast, what else is out there is the question of the day other than pictures and this email?

Lee responded by e-mail the same day. He told the woman he was 39 years old, unmarried and "a very fit fun classy guy" according to the Gawker report. "I promise not to disappoint," he wrote, further describing himself as "6ft 190lbs blond/blue."

That makes me ill -- sounds like a teenager or someone who never grew up.  Looking at the picture he sent -- UGH!

How would you like to be this guy going home to Upstate New York to meet his wife?  The cold weather we are experiencing is going to be nothing to the chill in that home.

When I first heard it, I thought no one is that dumb in today's environment and then Lee talks about a security breach in the office (yeah right), and finally admits and resigns. 

All they have to do is go to Congress, do their job, and go home.  He is cute or she is cute is not reason enough to elect someone but that seems to be the #1 criteria of some people as we witnessed with O'Donnell in Delaware.  If she had been a guy, she wouldn't have gotten to first base or Hailey down in SC who doesn't believe in open meetings since becoming Governor. 

This should be an interesting two years and hope in 2012 people look at the candidate, their background, and experience.  If there are rumors of an affair(s), chances are there is probably some truth there.  If you want to run for office, candidates have to remember that their private lives become public.  If you cannot stand the heat, then don't run and have to resign a month into a new term like this guy and cause a special election.  Personally think he should reimburse New York for the cost of the special election for being so dumb!

GOP lawmaker quits over Craigslist scandal


By: Susan Ferrechio 02/09/11 8:05 PM
Chief Congressional Correspondent

Rep. Chris Lee, R-N.Y., resigned Wednesday after a report on Gawker.com revealed that the married lawmker sent shirtless photos of himself to a woman he met on Craiglist. – Images courtesy gawker.comA New York Republican congressman resigned abruptly on Wednesday after a scandalous photo and e-mails surfaced that suggest the married father of one was seeking women outside his marriage. Rep. Christopher Lee, 46, left the Capitol on Wednesday after releasing a statement that said he felt he could no longer effectively represent his Western New York district.

"The challenges we face in Western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I have resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately," Lee said. "I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness."

The photo and e-mails were first reported by the Web site Gawker. The site revealed a photo Lee sent to a woman he met on Craigslist, which showed him standing shirtless and flexing one of his biceps in front of a mirror. In mid-January, Lee had sent e-mails and a photo to a 34-year-old woman who listed herself in the Craigslist personals, the "Women for Men" section. The Gawker report described her as a government employee from Maryland, but did not name her.

She had sought a man who was "financially and emotionally secure" and specified that responders not "look like toads."

Lee responded by e-mail the same day. He told the woman he was 39 years old, unmarried and "a very fit fun classy guy" according to the Gawker report. "I promise not to disappoint," he wrote, further describing himself as "6ft 190lbs blond/blue."

The woman forwarded the e-mails and photo to Gawker after searching him online and discovering who he was.

Lee was elected in 2008 and was serving his second term. He spoke to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, just before resigning, but leadership aides would not disclose whether Boehner encouraged him to resign. In the past, Boehner has expressed a "zero tolerance" policy toward GOP members who go astray and has generally forced them out quickly.

The state of New York will have to set a special election to fill the remainder of Lee's term. The timing of that will be in the hands of the state's Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The district has leaned Republican, even in years that the nation favored Democratic candidates. GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain carried it with 52 percent of the vote in 2008, even as Barack Obama won the state by an overwhelming margin.

Read more Washington Examiner

Note to Upstate NY Republican County Chairs:  Please vet your candidates better than the GOP did the last time in the NY 23 special election where the candidate chosen by the district GOP Chairs turned out to be a liberal.  Please send former Congressman the bill for the election -- taxpayers should not have to foot the bill.