Amazingly, John Ensign is still in the Senate. But, the leading political columnist in Nevada, Jon Ralston, says it's time for him to go:
But the nagging, all-too-serious question is this: Is Ensign so self-absorbed and delusional that he is willing to bring down folks of varying innocence with him — either people loyal to him now having to hire attorneys to defend themselves because of the senator’s scandal or those whose tangential roles in his life have them under federal scrutiny.I don't think Ensign is going anywhere. He thinks he can ride this out, just like David Vitter did. And, his GOP colleagues will never turn on him. They only turned on Larry Craig because of the gay angle.
Politicians are notoriously solipsistic, but Ensign’s behavior since his confess-and-run news conference June 16 has set a new nadir. It’s one thing to be exposed as a spectacular hypocrite, a moral crusader with feet of clay, and yet try to hang onto your Club of 100 membership as if it were more important than anything. But it’s quite different to become the focus of criminal and ethics probes and continue to clutch onto the senatorial ring despite the carnage — real, quantifiable human carnage — you are leaving in your wake.
I'm not complaining that Ensign is still in the Senate. If the GOPers want to keep him there, so be it. We'll just point out every day that Ensign symbolizes the corruption and hypocrisy of Mitch McConnell's caucus.
