Joe Must Go

"It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For a throne is established by righteousness."
Proverbs 16:12

This was quite the Thanksgiving day development:

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), who apologized Wednesday for a lewd photo of him that circulated on the Internet, told a woman to whom he had sent sexually explicit photos, videos and messages that he would report her to the Capitol Police because she could expose his behavior, according to a recording reviewed by The Washington Post.

....

The woman described encounters and contact spanning a five-year period that began online after she posted a message on Barton’s Facebook page in 2011, leading to the sexually explicit exchanges and ultimately a pair of physical sexual encounters in Washington and Texas. Over time, she said, she became aware of and corresponded with multiple other women who engaged in relationships with Barton, who represents a suburban Dallas district and is one of the most senior Republicans in the House.

....

The woman said Barton first reached out to her in 2011 after she posted a comment about politics on his Facebook page. As the two struck up a friendship, they would exchange messages for hours, including when he was on the House floor or in committee meetings, she said.

Soon, Barton began flirting, making suggestive comments and sending explicit messages, she said. She described feeling uncomfortable with his advances at first.

“He says to me, ‘Do you want me to send you a picture of myself?’ I said, ‘Oh no, no. Please do not do that.’ It kind of started there,” she said.

In the spring of 2012, the woman flew to Washington, where he gave her a tour of the Capitol building, she said. The two slept together during that visit, and he reimbursed her in cash for her flight, she said.

In 2014, she visited him in Texas, where the two slept together for the second and final time, she said. He again paid for her travel, she said. “I was in it for the politics connection,” the woman said of their relationship.“I was kind of unwittingly drawn into it with him because of just the amazement of having a connection to a congressman,” she said.

Which begs the natural follow up question:  On what planet is it acceptable for any elected official to pursue sexual encounters with any citizen who posts a political comment to their Facebook page?!?

The answer, obviously, is none.  It boggles the mind that we're even having this discussion.  But, we suppose, that's the sort of arrogance one builds up after three and a half decades in Congress.

And that's why CAHNMAN'S MUSINGS CALLS FOR THE IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION OF CONGRESSMAN JOE BARTON.

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What makes this case different?!?

Consider some factors about Joe Barton specifically:

• The Facts of the Case aren't in Dispute -- Congressman Barton and the woman agree that Congressman Barton pursued sexual encounters with a citizen who posted a political comment to his Facebook page.  Nothing is "alleged."  That hasn't been the true for other recent incidents.
  
  Say what you will about Roy Moore and Al Franken (personally, we think they're both guilty), but there remains significant public debate about the veracity of the respective charges.
  
  Not so here: Congressman Joe Barton pursued sexual encounters with a citizen who posted a political comment to his Facebook page.

• Congressman Barton abused his Office -- Joe Barton doesn't have a campaign Facebook page.  He has a Congressional page and a rarely used Personal page.  That means that, when Joe Barton pursued sexual encounters with a citizen who posted a political comment to his Facebook page, Joe Barton was pursuing sexual encounters with a citizen who political comment to his Facebook page as a sitting Congressman.

• This website's jurisdiction -- This website knows how to stay in its lane.  We cover Texas.  This is a Texas case.
  
  Joe Barton is the first name to be named in Texas.
  
  We can't do anything about Roy Moore.  We can't do anything about Al Franken.  But, dammit, we can do something about Joe Barton.

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Bottom Line: Under no circumstances is it acceptable for any elected official to pursue sexual encounters with any citizen who posts a political comment to their Facebook page.