New York's Legislative "Cesspool"

If misery loves company, those of us in Tennessee feeling blue over the shenanigans of our legislators may find comfort in the misdeeds of those in other states. John Milgrim, who writes for the Ottaway News Service, is in the midst of a series of columns on the prevalence of the "seven deadly sins" in the New York State Assembly. Today's subject, lust, has no shortage of material to work with. According to Milgrim, in 2004, following the alleged rape of a 19 year old intern by an Assemblyman, "Albany's former district attorney warned parents their daughters weren't safe when the legislature was in town." The DA went on to say, "Any father who would let his daughter be an intern in the State Legislature should have his head examined. I'm not going to call the place a cesspool, but I can say there is a group of legislators who, quite honestly, are here to get paid $80,000 a year and party three nights a week and who don't contribute anything to the process."

By the way, the assemblyman claimed that both the alleged rape of the intern and another one alleged by a 38 year old woman were consensual. After the charges were dropped, he was re-elected.

There's much more here. One suspects that this sort of activity, and the good old boy system that protects it, goes on in more state legislatures than we would care to admit.