anyone that would group gays, lesbians and pedophiles into the same category should really get out of the house a little more

Posted By HISTORY REPEATS

HISTORY REPEATS, you should take your own advice and get out of the house.

Since the topic about homosexuality is floating around on this thread I'd like to comment. I live in MA so this subject, as you know, has been and still is frequently debated here. I've talked to many many people on both sides regarding this issue and just cannot agree with the fact that the two men or two women relationship is of normal behavior. I know we live in the 21st century and all that. But gays that I talked to could not admit that their conscious was clean after their first act ever - they just could not say that "yeah, my conscious was clean". I think conscious becomes the key here. Same thing happens in case of child molestation or when one commits adultery. Yeah, of course, if you repeat something over and over again your conscious just stops talking - and then you are on your own free to do anything you desire. Conscious is what makes me suspicious that homosexuality is not immoral.

Jenny, Grand Rapids, MI

WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!??!?!

It's a Democrat - cnn won't cover the story as obsessively as they would if it were a Republican

I'm a democrat, and this is just one more example of how messed up congressional staffers are, in my not so humble opinion. I call my senator's office about a crucial issue. The fact that the economic policies my dem senator turns a blind eye to that are helping to allow Bush and his corporate friends to profit off the imposition of massive poverty, in my state and across the country.. the staffer puts the phone down and starts up a conversation with another staffer knowing full well I can hear her ignoring my comments. I call another senator's office this fall about his voting on legislation that increases poverty and his staffer (this was also a dem senator, John Kerry) ridicules my concern. I called Kerry's office a few month's prior to ask why he voted to give Bill Gates what he wanted, more visas for foreign tech workers, especially given the fact he knows better, and why does he own more stock in Microsoft than any other member of congress (just under 3 million dollars worth), so he's actually profiting by his vote, and the same staffer yelled at me, telling me I didn't have the right to question him on this.

I contact Senator Durbin's office after watching him whine on CNN about how he's powerless to take on the corporations that are importing toxic food and other products from China, and his staffer is rude.

What I see is the fact that members of congress are hiring spoiled, affluent brats, and others who are looking to get hired by congress for their own petty interests and to promote single issues rather than average Americans who actually are connected to the realities most of us have to deal with, and would take the job seriously and respect our rights.

Cantwell's aide isn't a rarity, there are plenty like him, looking to screw someone over for the hell of it.

Lets be clear, it was the Senate Aid and not the Senator involved in this sex scandal. That is a big difference between Larry Craig (R) and the (D) senator.

Let's not condem him just because of his sexual orientation..

To David in Arizona and Brian in Florida:

NO ONE is suggesting that what the staffer did is ok, let alone ok because of his party affiliation, so please stop saying that we are.

What we ARE saying is that the Democratic Senator in question handled this terrible situation in a much more honorable and forthright manner than we have come to expect from her Republican brethren, and for that she should be commended.

For those of you who suggest this is a case of entrapment and that this man's decision to meet the so-called 13 year old may not be as it seems….do realize that the FBI does not just send out random e-mails soliciting people in these cases (when's the last time you received an e-mail asking you to have sex with a minor?). This guy obviously had some sort of history that already had the Feds on his trail - whether it be viewing child porn on the internet, participating in suspicious chats online, etc. Please think before making such silly statements!

For those of you who suggest this is a case of entrapment and that this man's decision to meet the so-called 13 year old may not be as it seems….do realize that the FBI does not just send out random e-mails soliciting people in these cases (when's the last time you received an e-mail asking you to have sex with a minor?). This guy obviously had some sort of history that already had the Feds on his trail - whether it be viewing child porn on the internet, participating in suspicious chats online, etc. Please think before making such silly statements!

What is odd about this is that the "witness" appears to be playing the role of procurer, not of the 13 year-old.

Let's all be happy this loser was arrested on ATTEMPTED child exploitation and did not follow through with his pedophile behavior. Let us also be grateful his political career has just ended and this happened before he became an elected official.

Hey JB from Oakland actually engaging in sex in public, regardless of where that takes place is a crime. Asking another man for sex is not a crime.

If soliciting sex in a bathroom is a crime then it is also a crime to solicit sex in a bar or any other public environment. Nearly every adult male would be in jail if that were the case.

Everyone was upset with Craig not because he asked another man for sex. They were upset because Craig is staunchly anti-gay rights and this makes him a hypocrite. Being a hypocrite is not a crime, however.

As for as this staff member is concerned, he is being accused of attempted solicitation of sex from a minor. That is a crime.

What gets me most is not the way the Senator handled this or the authorities. It is the public opinion that is mind boggling. Everyone wanted to run Craig out of office on a rail. Why? Not because he committed a crime but because he is a hypocrite. This staff member comes along and people are asking, "is this really news?" Well heck yeah it's news. It's one less child molestor behind bars (if he is actually guilty). I don't care where he's from or who he works for. That's not the point. It is that he is accused of child abuse. If that isn't a public priority then this society has more problems than the election.

Child molestation has been happening as long as people have been alive. It's a serious problem, and it's prevelant. There are offenders from all other walks of life, so it's resonable to assume that there are offenders in politics - regardless of the political party.

The constant calling out of political parties by supporters of the other political party every time something like this happens is silly. Neither party has a monopoly on moral values, integrity, or common sense. You all sound like a bunch of whiney kids on a playground.

Go finish your classwork, eat those Snackpacks that your Mothers packed for you, take your afternoon naps, and stop with the sniping already. You are ALL annoying us normal people.

Daniel, WA

anyone that would group gays, lesbians and pedophiles into the same category should really get out of the house a little more

Charles, Lansing MI

Patti Miller, VA

what article are you "two different people" reading? it says shes a democrat!!!! oh and by the way HES A CHILD MOLESTER!!!!!!!!!! hi hello…

In response to:

"Hey Jonah from Beantown-
You said dems deal with things like this 'honestly and directly.' Would you use those two words to describe how Clinton dealt with his numerous sexual scandals? Of course not! This is not a dem or republican issue. This is a 'sicko' issue. Don't be a hypocrite!"

Fair enough. I wasn't even trying to get into which party is better at responding to its scandals. I was just responding to Brad from Texas, who asked why Liberals aren't as outraged by this scandal as we have been for recent Republican sex scandals. The answer, as I stated before, is that it is very satisfying to see the ironic sexual proclivities of anti-gay Republicans revealed. It affirms Republican hypocrisy and the corrupting power of so-called Christian ethics.

That said, when Clinton's scandal arose, he should not have had to answer to anyone besides his wife. The scandal had no political ramifications, and the fact that it was brought to the national stage was a joke. This is not true for the Republicans of late. An outed gay politician who has spent his career spewing hatred for gays has a lot to answer for. I'm not talking about pedophiles; I'm talking about Ted Haggard and Larry Craig.

I hear the guy is gonna run for Congress as a Republican.

Doug, Washington

actually no its when a republican electee does it that the outrage commences. because the republicans pretend to be so conservative but then they end up being closet freaks! larry craig, ted haggard etc. we jump all over it because it proves without a shadow of a doubt how hypocritical the republicans are, but the republicans just try and blame it on democrats for calling them out on it. and there followers agree! and this guy is just a staff member nobody elected him….but nice try!

Republicans are so dirty, ewww. Hope I never have to touch one! That would totally creep me out.

Yes, there are pedophiles in our Government and Ex Congressman Mark Foley is NOT THE ONLY ONE.

WE NEED TO OVERHAUL OUR GOVERNMENT SYSTEM AND ERADICATE ALL THE PEDOPHILES. But the pedophiles will cover this up like they have everything else and THAT IS THE FAULT OF THE NEWS MEDIA.

I know Mike McHaney — creepily, he was the Resident Assistant (RA) for my freshman hall at college — all freshman boys. He was a creepy, slimy kind of person then, as well.

And yes, he is gay. He is an entitled brat that lived off mom&dad's nickel, with a huge napoleon complex, but no napoleonic brilliance. I can't imagine how he'll survive prison; he's a short, whiny kind of fellow.

Very much seemed a log cabin Republican type, but I think he comes from a Democrat-centric family.

David from S.C.,

Gay sex is not a crime, although many conservatives would love to make it one. Gay sex in a public restroom is a crime and that is what Sen. Craig was seeking.

No, this is far lower than the Larry Craig thing. This is attempted child molestation, which is worse than attempted bathroom sex with another consenting adult.

And no it doesnt matter if the person is a Senator, Aide, intern, or anybody else for that matter. Your position in society does not make it any more or less wrong.

It also does not matter whether the person is Republican or Democrat. A persons party affiliation doesn't make a bit of difference when it comes to these sort of crimes.

Be sure when you debate this subject, you keep your priorities in line. And politics is of the lowest priority.

Democrats are insane, depraved…

Posted By John, Brooklyn, NY : December 4, 2007 3:43 pm

it is exactly this kind of narrow-minded, bigoted attitude that has this country in the shape it is in today. This was one sick individual and politics has nothing to do with it, unless you want to tell me that there are no Republican pedophiles anywhere in this country.

You sir are the insane one.

When he gets out of jail he can always get a job with the Catholic Church.

Democrats are insane, depraved…

Senator Cantwell,
Are you new to the Democratic party? How can you fire him. Democratic Party allows all these kinds of things. They give shelter to gays, lesbians, pro-abortion, paedophiles, etc. Nothing new there. Very soon we will be like Canada, my friends.

Joe in Boston,

I have no idea (just as you don't) if this guy was properly vetted or not! I am simply pointing out the fact that when repubs AND dems screw up, the response should be the same, however it is not. I do credit the Senator for showing this clown the door. Sometimes we all place politics above EVERTHING else to include common sense!

Are the majority of sexually deviant miscreants holding Government and Religious jobs?

Why do we defer so much respect on these people without even knowing if they are inclined to protect the defenseless or exploit them?

This has nothing to do with being a Democrat or Republican. There are some sick people in the world, and we should have zero tolerance for these types of actions.

Isn't this entrapment? The "boy" never existed, so he's being arrested for vaguely insinuating that he might be interested in a fictional entity? For all we know, his response, "I could take a long lunch" was him being facetious. If he's actually a pedophile, yes, it's horrible, but this doesn't really seem like an open-and-shut case.

I wondered if this was a Dem or Rep senator. The article didn't say..would the headlines be different if it had been a rep?

Jesse Berry

spoken like a true predator.

most men who sexually abuse boys identify as 'straight' and most abuse of children is done by men on girls. Child abuse is less common overall among gay men that it is among straight me.

this guy should have the book thown at him and do a lot of time in jail. lot of people have unhealthy urges but this is one that people MUST contol. We need to protect children from this kind of thing. Bring back 'to catch a predator'!

Barry Landau, Washington DC:

Thank you Sir for noticing my misstatement! My bad! I was injecting my own interpretation into my comment, as I was trying to show that the author of the story, I believe, did. Sheesh!

But ALAS! Barry, Kudos to You Sir!

Hey Jonah from Beantown-

You said dems deal with things like this "honestly and directly".

Would you use those two words to describe how Clinton dealt with his numerous sexual scandals?

Of course not!

This is not a dem or republican issue. This is a "sicko" issue.

Don't be a hypocrite!

I agree with Joe in Boston. I live in Florida and honestly I don't really care to hear news about someone's staff memeber who isn't even an elected official. This is nonsense. What this man did, if found guilty, is horrible and disgusting, but is it newsworthy to me? No!

If it was a Florida staffer than yes it would be helpful to me to know what the staffer may have done. But not someone from a different state and someone who is not even an elected official.

Kind of strange that this is even on line and that we are even blogging about it!

What next? Is there no more urgent and important news stories to be covering?

There is a big difference between being a gay man having sex with other gay men {not a crime} and trying to have sex with a 13 year old boy {crime}. To try and make this out to be OK because you like the accused molesters political party is ridiculous. This is obviously wrong and debating which party has more sex offenders is equally ridiculous. Stop and think about what you are saying.

giving this guy a pass simply because he's democrat and gay rights are cool are appalling. Gay has nothing to do with this. It's called child abuse.

Posted By David, Gilbert Arizona : December 4, 2007 2:42 pm

He's hardly getting a pass. he was fired and he will face criminal charges. Exactly what more do you expect?
I guess nobody here is troubled by the 'authorities' actively trying to entrap people?

Posted By Pete, Austin TX : December 4, 2007 2:48 pm

You can't be 'entrapped' if you're not doing something illegal. By your logic, we should just let pedophiles go on about their merry way until they turn themselves in.

"Senator Craig was supposedly soliciting another grown man. Surprise! Being gay and having sex with another adult isn't a crime.

Child abuse and molestation is a crime however, which is what this staff member is accused of."

Sorry but the liberal Democrats say that you are wrong.

Liberal Democrats say that if you are a democrat it is a-ok to have sex with underage children, it is your right. This is why they all supported Jerry Studds and re-elected him after his activities with an under age boy were discovered.

Now if you are not a liberal Democrat then it is a crime to have sex with an adult who is the same gender as you. Since you are a republican you must be subjected to the worst form of homophobia and hate on the planet. You must be called all kinds of hateful names since that, as libeals would tell you, is the tolerant thing to do.

See, this is the party of tolerance, fairness and equality. That's also why Clinton saying Iraq has WMDs was the truth, and Bush saying the same thing was a lie.

Remember, all of what is posted here is backed up by facts and you are supporting it when you decide to cast a vote for a Democrat. Are you the type of person who is a liberal Democrat, or do your personal values and decency conflict with liberalism? Think about it next November.

This isn't a Republican Democrat issue, it is a judicial rights topic. The man was fired from his job and he hasn't even gone to trial yet, will he be reinstated with back pay if he is found not guilty? I assume not. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? It also sounds like he was lured, he was contacted he did not contact.

To all my dem friends giving these "it wasn't her" excuses, just one question: why didn't she properly vet him before she hired him as her aide? If it is good enough to toast repubs when their screws up why isn't it good enough for the dems? Could it be (say it with me) a DOUBLE STANDARD?
Posted By Steve in SC : December 4, 2007 1:51 pm

Umm, what? Should she have hooked him up to a machine that can predict the future? How exactly can you "properly vet" somebody to make sure you don't hire a person who will never commit a crime?

I guess nobody here is troubled by the 'authorities' actively trying to entrap people?

To Steve in SC….

How do you know she didn't properly vet him? Maybe he has a clean record.

Honestly, it's disgusting but should this really be newsworthy outside of the state it happened? I don't think so. He wasn't an elected Senator or Congressman so I don't see the need for me in Boston to know what a staffer did in Washington.

Could you imagine how many more staffers on both democrat and republican parties try to do this disgusting stuff? Is CNN and other cable news networks going to cover each and every staffers creapy sex lives?

I'm a Republican and think that Sen. Cantwell did what she had to do, and should have done - no spin or cover-up. Let's leave it at that. I didn't care about Clinton's affair and don't care about this or Senator Craig's sexual escapades.

I do care about our out of control spending (Iraq) and the sub-prime bailout. What happened to my party?

And immigration???? Seriously??? That's the "hot button" topic these days?

Just so I understand, this man went to meet what he thought would be a 13 year old boy with the intention of having sex with him.

Senator Craig was supposedly soliciting another grown man. Surprise! Being gay and having sex with another adult isn't a crime.

Child abuse and molestation is a crime however, which is what this staff member is accused of.

People were up in arms about Mark Foley soliciting sex from male aids but they just write this staff member off because…why exactly again? Oh yeah, because he's a democrat and they're pro-gay rights.

I don't care if the democrats are pro-gay rights. Are democrats also pro-child abuse? You people who are giving this guy a pass simply because he's democrat and gay rights are cool are appalling. Gay has nothing to do with this. It's called child abuse.

Good on Senator Cantwell for firing his aide right away.

Pedophilels is hard to catch, they're from all walks of life. When I was 7 years old, I saw my playmate touched inappropriately by the father of our playmate. Me and my playmates also caught him exposing his self to us, I didn't give it much thought then, I haven't heard of the word "pedophilia". I wonder what he had done to my playmate, he always take her somewhere, he was a teacher, his wife was a teacher too. I think his wife knew what he was doing, I told her what he was exposing his self to us. He looks very decent, soft spoken, but I always stay away from him, he scare the bejesus out of me! yikessssssss

Children can feel danger.

Hsu was also indited today. A story CNN is not covering at all. Not a good day from Dems, it is just a culture of corruption they have created. Those who live in glass houses my Dim witted friends.

my error: pedophilia and homosexuality are exclusive entities…of course. in fact, some current researchers suggest that pedophilia is a kind of sexual orientation in and of itself.

Just to set the record straight:

Pedophilia and homosexuality are NOT are exclusive of one another. Straight men and women are known to engage in this perversion, and is NOT an indicator of sexual orientation.

Furthermore, one is a sickness; the other is a not.

In response to the following comment:

"Hey all you liberals out there, where's the outrage? If this had happened to a Republican's aide you would all be screaming at the top of your lungs."
-Brad from Texas

Of course it's an outrage that this guy was trying to solicit sex from a minor, but at least the Senator's office immediately fired him. That's the Democrat way of dealing with problems– honestly and directly.

Maybe you don't get what we Liberals find so satisfying about the Republican sex scandals. These Republicans invariably have records of hateful, homophobic rhetoric and legislation, and they have spent their entire careers touting their commitment to the purity of the Christian heterosexual lifestyle. Then , one by one, it turns out the most outspoken, vile hatemongers are either gay or soliticiting sex from adolescent boys. It's almost too perfect. It's great because it simulataneously affirms so many Liberal tenets: the hypocrisy of Republicans, the dishonesty of Republicans, the emptiness of Republican beliefs, and the value-corrupting power of religion. Furthermore, it supports the idea that the most outspoken homophobes tend to be overcompensating for the fact that they harbor closeted homoerotic thoughts.

And that, Brad, is why Liberals like myself get worked up when there is a Republican sex scandal.

Gee only an aide, so my liberal democrat friends, since it was only an aide and not an actual politician like Jerry Studds, will you still be holding a parade for this person and celebrating their act? Since it was just an aide, does the politican get elected 6 times for the actions of the aide or do they have to do it themselves? You know how you liberal democrats rewarded Studds for his activities with an underage boy?

See, republicans are forced to resign when they molest kids, where as liberal democrats get re-elected for doing it, that is the difference between republicans and democrats. Sorry for the facts libs, I know that telling facts is what a liberal democrat calls a hate crime.

The comments here from Republicans and Democrats are hilarious. Are these people serious — arguing which of their parties has the fewest sex offenders?

I'm glad to be a Libertarian.

What's going with the adults wanting to "sock it" to kids all of a sudden?

"he thought he would meet a witness cooperating with authorities and have sex with the boy,"

I don't see anywhere in this story that he INTENDED to have sex with a 13 year old. It only says he went to interview a witness.

Posted By KEITH JAMES LOUTTIT

Can you see it now, you twit.

We've had enough of these ridiculous entrapment schemes. This "law enforcement" technique must stop.

Posted By Jesse Berry : December 4, 2007 12:46 pm

How do you know it was entrapment? Besides that, if you're not doing anything wrong, you can't get 'entrapped', idiot.

Seems the Democrats aren't immune to gay pedophiles either. The Dems had nothing to do with his arrest. So there was no opportunity to sweep it under the rug, deny it etc. He was arrested by Federal Agents. He was fired and the Dems are cooperating with authorities. If he worked for the Repubs the out come would have been the same. You don't deny after an arrest with a witness. No one gets brownie points on this one.

There should be a Monty Python skit written about the senate. It's a man's life in the US Senate. Vote all Day and Doodle each other all night!!! Makes me proud to be an American…

OKAY, IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT MY EARLIER COMMENT MAY BE MISINTERPRETED!

I was not supporting any child abuser, I was commenting about the FBI's lack of proof offered in this story.

The story says he went to meet with someone about a sex act, not to engage in a sex act. Now, as anyone who remembers Bill Clinton, there are many ways this could be interpreted. Let us judge him by his ACTIONS, and not by his supposed INTENTIONS. The article says the Government says he "thought he would meet a witness cooperating with authorities and (thought he would) have sex with the boy". Or is it written confusingly? Should the writer take a refresher course in basic SYNTAX?

Besides, the Federal Bureau of Information does not have the statue nor the respect that it did when so many of their fine Agents joined, and the organization has suffered all too often through the actions of their own employees. So, let us SEE the Evidence, and not be quick to Judge someone just based on a news story… After all, Sen. Craig should not be judged just because he taps his foot while he hums in men's rooms (which I'm sure many STRAIGHT men do), he should be judged by the wear marks on his knees, and photos of actually engaging in subversive sexual conduct, not just the stories of other questionable men!

Show us the PROOF, not just the pudding!

This isn't big news because it wasn't a politician who got caught people, it was an aide. And hey she fired his ass, so that shows some integrity…

To all my dem friends giving these "it wasn't her" excuses, just one question: why didn't she properly vet him before she hired him as her aide? If it is good enough to toast repubs when their screws up why isn't it good enough for the dems? Could it be (say it with me) a DOUBLE STANDARD?

Party affiliation has nothing to with it and she fired the idiot. WELL DONE!

"Lets see, one democrat and on the other side we have Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Ted Hagard, etc…

Yeah the Republicans win this battle lol."

You forgot Barney Frank and his brothel business.

Well Gosh Darn, another sex offender in the government. I mean is that what our goverment is all about -no values, no morals, lies, cheating. That is all I have seen develop since Bush took office - this is most corrupt government I've ever seen in my 64 years!!!! And Bush, with his lies about weapons of destruction in Iraq, Iran, and poor Saadam - my God what is next? Why are you folks so loyal to a President who has clearly
L I E D to us all. ALL THE TIME it seems.

There is a difference between a Republican Senator who's a toe-tapper or a Republican Congressman who is flirting with underage pages and a Democratic Senator who HIRES a pedophile. If the Senator had known of her employee's hobby, she would never have hired him. We ALL work alongside or for pedophiles. Those of us who work in a personnel office have all hired one. There are apparently a lot of men, no one knows how many, who are aroused by and attracted to children. They are very secretive about their desires and their behavior.

I once managed a large in-home day care operation and I hired a woman to keep children in her home. The home passed our inspection, fire inspection, and child welfare inspection. The day care provider went through our training procedure. It was a nice clean presentable home. The day care provider had two lovely children who were in school during the day when she was keeping our customers' children. Her husband was accused of fondling two middle school girls and we immediately closed that home. The provider threatened to sue us because she said no one had been convicted of anything. I decided that I'd rather be sued than put a child in an environment that might not be safe, so we stood by our decision. Ultimately the husband pleaded guilty to the offense and was placed on probation on the condition that he enter a treatment program.

It never occurred to me or to any of my employees that that particular home would be unsafe for children.

Pedophiles are among our relatives, our colleagues at work, in our churches, in our schools, and in the cars driving alongside us. It is a real problem and the solution is not visible to me at this time.

Technology will eventually weed them out. Someday, some company will perfect a lie detector based on brain scanning technology and all lies will be easily and certainly detectable. That will turn our world upside down in many ways, but it will enable us to spot with total certainty those who have thoughts and desires that are unacceptable. Scary.

KEITH JAMES LOUTTIT,

Read this paragraph:

"According to documents filed Nov. 30 in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., the witness, while being supervised by authorities, sent an online message to McHaney Friday asking if he was interested in having sex with a 13-year-old boy. McHaney said he could take a long lunch break and went to the building where he was arrested and charged with attempted child exploitation, authorities said."

Why else do you think he was taking "a long lunch break"?

I don't care if he is Democrat or Republican - child molestation is way out of control in our country - these thugs deserve jail time.

Pretty creepy guy! But, this isn't a story on the scale of Larry Craig, etc. This guy is NOT an elected official and is not making any policy decisions. He's just an aide. Actually sometimes aides aren't even of the same political party as the people they work for. He's more likely in charge of the senator's travel arrangements or something.

dirty Republicans

The person arrested is an aide, its not like Sen. Cantwell was the one who brought the boy in. Cantwell has nothing to do with what her staff does in their personal lives. If you compare this to either the Foley scandal or the Craig scandal, both of those involved the member of congress themselves, it has nothing to do with party.

I wonder what President Hillary Clinton would do if it came to her attention that her husband was having another sexual relationship with a 21-year old intern inside the White House.

Is it possible to fire the First Gentleman?

Sorry Republicans, you still are lower in this one. This is an aide (still very wrong) and on your side they are actual senators and congressmen.

Doug, Washington

No Doug, the difference is that this person was an aide, not a senator or congress-person. Political party aside, give Cantwell a break for firing this guy so quickly.

So let me get this straight- it wasn't an actual member of Congress or the Senate- it was an aide. I understand this as a news story, but a topic to blog(?) Why don't you just title this blog "Here you go Republicans I chance to divert attention away from all the ELECTED Republicans that commit indiscretions- we know you have been waiting"

Seems to me the differences are:

1) The guy is a staffer, not a sitting Senator or Congressman;
2) He was immediately fired by the Democratic Senator for whom he worked.

It's not the same as a Senator who lies about his past, lies to his constituents about resigning his office, and continues to maintain his innocence after pleading guilty.

"Here we go again… another Republican hypocrite. Oh wait, he's a Democrat? Oh, that explains why none of the usual political ticker commentators have chimed in yet. I guess it's only news if its a Republican, and then we all have to make sure to be extra outraged over it."

I love it. This guy isn't outraged that an adult (whether dem or rep) is molesting kids, instead he tacks on political points for "his" party.
When will you guys stop playing the dem repub game…we're never going anywhere when we have something as complex as a political view placed into only 2 different categories.

Just another fine example of the character of some of the people in top leadership and advisory positions of our government. We hope for so much–they deliver so little.

Where is the democratic outrage? What excuse will be given for a lack of dem outcry? Stay tuned! Why the silence folks? Speak Up!
JW in OK,
Since when is a 13 year old boy a consenting adult?

We've had enough of these ridiculous entrapment schemes. This "law enforcement" technique must stop.

Doug, Washington:

Of course it's only news if it's a republican. Republicans are the ones walking around preaching about family values and that homosexuality is a sin yet they do it behind closed doors. Democrats have far been on the side on homosexuals than republicans. So yes Doug, it is BIG news if it's a Republican and only mediocre news if it's a democrat.

You know, it's interesting and instructive that CNN doesn't get around to letting the reader know that Sen. Cantwell is a Democrat. Were this a Republican Senator's staff member it would read "Senator (Xxxx)(R) (State), or "Embattled Republican Senator (Xxxx) of the state of (State).

At least be consistent. The Democratic Bias shows every time you are not.

Well she fired him, what else can she do ? Defiinitely need an investigation, to make sure there was no prior knowledge in the office, but how would there be?

Lets see, one democrat and on the other side we have Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Ted Hagard, etc…

Yeah the Republicans win this battle lol.

Hey all you liberals out there, where's the outrage? If this had happened to a Republican's aide you would all be screaming at the top of your lungs.

By the way, I don't care that it's a Democrat senator, because I'm sure she had nothing to do with the incident.

Justice was done…at least the Senator fired the jerk and did not support him in any fashion which is great…had it been the GOP they would have been saying he is only accused let's wait until he gets his day in court…GOP=HYPOCRITES

Wait! Hold on!

I don't see anywhere in this story that he INTENDED to have sex with a 13 year old. It only says he went to interview a witness.

Are we to assume facts not offered into evidence on the basis of the FBI's arrest? Given their record of accuracy, I'm withholding judgment.

o come on it has nothing to do with being gay! i love women but i am not going to try and hook up with a 10 year old!!! hes a child molester not a gay man trying to meet someone!! another thing is this shouldnt be news! this shouldnt be refelected on the democratic party because its not like it was senator or a public figure it was a staff member. it could have been a secretary its not political news and should not reflect on Sen. Maria Cantwell. i would say this if it was a republican to.

Jeez, that's got to be crowded in that closet. Are the Democrats on the only party interested in sex between two 'consenting' adults?

Here we go again… another Republican hypocrite. Oh wait, he's a Democrat? Oh, that explains why none of the usual political ticker commentators have chimed in yet. I guess it's only news if its a Republican, and then we all have to make sure to be extra outraged over it.

This incident clearly illuminates the difference between most of the Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.

When a Democratic Aide was caught in improper conduct, he was summarily dismissed and the Senator's office clearly indicated her "zero tolerance" for such activities.

Now, had this been a Republican staffer, do we really believe it would have been dealt with in such a forthright manner? Doubtful. This is probably how it would have played out:

First — they would have tried to cover it up;

Second — when they couldn't cover it up, they would have denied it happened and stood behind the accused; and

Third, when it became evident that the person in question DID do what they were accused of, they would have blamed the Democrats for "partisan gamesmanship" for simply calling them to task for trying to cover-up/ignore the problem.

I'm glad to see that there are still a few people in Washington who believe in holding people — even people on "their" side — accountable.

He is democrat and that equalizes the math of the Idaho Republicans. Now they can come down together.

I wonder if he's gay..