Will Vitter Resign? No Way
David Vitter made it a point to attack Bill Clinton for not resigning over the Monica Lewinsky affair.
Vitter was elected to the House of Representatives to replace former Congressman Bob Livingston (R-Louisiana) in 1999 after Livingston, elected to replace Newt Gingrich as Speaker of the House, resigned after admitting an affair. Vitter applauded Livingston's resignation and said this;
So why hasn't Vitter, who all but confirmed he had strayed from his marriage, decide to resign and why isn't anyone pushing him too?
Well, first of all, it is important to remember that there hasn't been any official confirmation that Vitter had an affair or slept with any prostitutes. All that is known is that Vitter's phone number is on the phone records of a company accused of being a prostitution ring and Vitter admitted he ha committed a "serious sin" in his past that he and his wife had worked through. Putting two and two together can spell it out pretty clearly.
Already, some Louisiana Republicans are demanding Vitter step down. Louisiana Republican State Central Committeeman Vincent Bruno called on Vitter to resign "for his own good, the good of the party and the good of his family." Bruno said that if leaders of the Republican Party are not going to enforce the family values and morality they preach on themselves, then they "should take it out of the vocabulary."
It isn't even just the fact he had an extramarital affair, which most people, including myself, can overlook. It's the fact that he may have had one with a prostitute (which is illegal,) all the while he was preaching family values. Hypocrisy is much worse than immorality in my book. If he should step down for anything, it should be because of his hypocrisy, which makes him untrustworthy and puts to question his judgment and sincerity.
So why wouldn't Vitter step down?
Louisiana would need a new Senator immediately. The new Senator would be appointed by Louisiana's Governor, Kathleen Blanco, who is in office for another six months. Blanco is a Democrat and is free to choose anyone she wishes (unlike in Wyoming where Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal was forced to appoint a Republican to fill the late Republican Craig Thomas' Senate seat.) Blanco would likely appoint a Democrat, and one who can win statewide in a special election, likely next November. That would increase the Democrats' slim majority to 52-48 and make it easier for them to defend their majority come 2008 when 22 Republican Seats are up.
Republican leaders may not be pleased with what Vitter has done, or is assumed to have done, but they can't loose one more Senate seat with Republican peeling off on issues like the Iraq war one by one.
