To be honest, I don't think Ryan's divorce case should be public

[ShaneGR]

There's no abuse. No cheating. Nothing except some kinky behavior. Immoral perhaps, but still not all that horrible.

When the Lewinsky scandal broke I said it was his private life and should have nothing to do with this. So, to avoid being a hypocrite, I'll say the same thing here. BTW, kudos to Obama for saying he wouldn't make an issue of it. Kick his ass Obama!

[oldhat]

1. All divorce papers are public

And I agree, they're private business and shouldn't be a part of the public record.

[AP]

29. You don't need cause for a divorce, so there's rarely anything interesting

...in a divorce proceeding.

However, when you start hurling accusations at each other for damages, there's a pretty good argument that we shouldn't have secret trials for spouses, just like we don't for any two parties to a civil action.

[NMDemDist2]

2. it's not the sex, it's the hypocrisy that gets me

swingers are cool in my book

[graham67]

3. I say its time

the gloves come off

[Old and In the Way]

4. When Republican's stop making 'piety' and 'family values'

registered trademarks of their Party, I'll stop demanding the truth be made public.

[Padraig18]

5. It's the hypocrisy of it.

People who run on 'family values' should expect no less...

[ShaneGR]

7. True.... question about that

Has he run on family values? What was his campaign like in the primary? I honestly have no idea.

[Padraig18]

11. Yes, his campaign was very 'family values' oriented.

Karma is a regular mutha, when it's your turn to be crushed by the Big Wheel...

[AlinPA]

23. The POS was running on how holy he and republicans are. n/t

[SEpatriot]

6. Republican comeuppance

Jack Ryan is not flat-out denying the allegations, so it's too bad for him. Republicans have been practicing this kind of scorched earth nonsense for years, so he has to reap what they've sown. I could care less what he does in bed or whether he's kinky or whatnot - but hey, his friends at the RNC are the ones touting all of their family values nonsense. You run with the dogs, you're gonna pick up some fleas!

And yes, Obama apparently has some class.

[ynot]

The Lives We Live

The lives we live should speak for us. However, when we profess to be a good church-going, God-fearing, holier-than-thou person, and the life we live contradicts that profession, we need look no further than the mirror to determine who the hypocrite is? The hypocrisy is not in the exposing the kinky life style. The hypocrisy is in trying to mislead the public that your someone you are not. This Clinton did not do. Ryan on the other hand did or at least he tried.

[newyawker99]

32. Hi ynot!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[louis c]

9. Fuck Him

Let him try to convince his religious right base that he's committed to family values. Better yet, maybe that Asshole in the White House will campaign for him in Illinois. To bad it's not a swing state.

[walldude]

13. Check out his website

www.jackryan2004.com
He's a full on Family Values guy. The site says the breakdown of the "normal" family is the cause of all societys ills. I agree that peoples private lives should be private, but like the repugs said, it's not the sex, it's the lies.... oops wrong link, that should be the right one.. and here's a quote from the site "The breakdown of the family over the past 35 years is one of the root causes of some of our society’s most intractable social problems-criminal activity, illegitimacy, and the cyclical nature of poverty." Can you say hypocrite boys and girls?

[BlueStateGirl]

10. It's none of our business. I have no desire to see another sex scandal

suck up the airwaves.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

12. Yes, but just keep in mind...

...it is the media that sued to get this information -- not Ryan's Democratic opponent (Obama).

Not saying that for your benefit, sgr2, since you are obviously aware of that. I just want anyone posting to this thread to understand it is not the Democrats who are doing this.

[Catherine Vincent]

14. I agree but since I'm in Texas, I don't know all the details

And btw, what nationality is Obama? Is the name Nigerian? Asian?

[Padraig18]

17. Ethiopian, I believe.

:)

[Stuckinthebush]

15. Agreed...and I don't even know about the immorality aspect

Sex is sex.

The problem here is that he and his wife did not communicate about their desires and needs. That doesn't need to be public.

I will agree with a previous poster that said that it is the hypocrisy that pisses me off. This "family values" shtick that the GOP wears down gets me so sick. This Ryan guy doesn't have the same "values" as the rank and file GOPers (and there is nothing wrong with that!), but he uses the catch phrase to get elected as the good guy.

So...in summary, I don't give a damn about his and 7 of 9s sexcapades, I don't think he is immoral because of this, however, it is sickening to see the hypocrisy.

[LittleApple81]

16. I don't care what he does in his private life. And Jeri is quite capable

of taking care of herself. BUT REPUGS ARE HYPOCRITES. As such, they deserve to get the same treatment they subject the democrats to for much lesser transgressions against "morals."

[Sporadicus]

18. Public Figures Don't Have Private Lives

That's why parties run background checks on candidates for public office. Sooner or later, someone discovers the skeletons in the closet and make big issues out of what are sometimes non-issues. Any candidate should be forthcoming and 'fess up to all peccadilloes, fetishes, red herrings and any taint of impropriety. Doing otherwise wastes time, energy and the taxpayers' dollars. When a candidate or public servant acquires the stench of scandal, he/she is no longer effective in carrying out the duties of the office. Instead, time is spent deflecting and defending.

This isn't called 'the information age' for nothing. A candidate can't expect to keep secrets for very long - not today. Anything less that absolute forthrightness about one's past makes the indiscretion much worse in the eyes of the public once uncovered.

[LoZoccolo]

19. I don't care about his sex life...

...but I also think, well, someone from his campaign did follow Obama around with a video camera and that was fucked up. And yeah, they run on personal-life issues too. Personally I wish people'd campaign on issues, but I don't think that kind of truce would be called without some embarassing junk going down on both sides. Obama's classy for not sanctioning it or even talking about though.

[in_cog_ni_to]

20. After 8 F****** years of the RWers

trying to destroy the Clinton Presidency, I say EVERYTHING is fair game in 2004. Gloves are off this time around and probably forever. The repubs don't like to play fair? Fine...we won't either. It's all out war! :grr:

If he wasn't a damn repub...it wouldn't be so bad. Those self righteous, holier than thou, let me dictate what you do in YOUR bedroom repubs......deserve everything they get. I don't mind being a hypocrite in this case. ;)

[PROGRESSIVE1]

22. That's RIGHT!!!! Smear this NAZI!!!!! Find the Dirt and take the....

MOFO DOWN!!!!!!!!!!

:grr:

[Padraig18]

21. "Those who live by the sword shall perish by the sword." n/t

[Bake]

24. There you go! That's the truth; that's the whole point.

The Pubes invented the damn "character fight." Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, dammit. They don't WANT to run on issues, because they can't WIN on issues. So they'd by God better be cleaner than a broke-dick dog (credit to Richard Pryor for that reference) in their "private" lives. Ryan CHOSE to run, and he would have gladly accepted the votes of the church-going RWingers. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

Bake

[TSIAS]

25. Tell that to the GOP

I'm fine with the candidate's public life being out of the spotlight. As long as there's nothing criminal in his background, I don't care what his marriage is like.

The Republican Party has had too much success campaigning as the "family values" party. Every once in a while, it's good to see it bite them in the ass.

[TSIAS]

26. Tell that to the GOP

I'm fine with the candidate's public life being out of the spotlight. As long as there's nothing criminal in his background, I don't care what his marriage is like.

The Republican Party has had too much success campaigning as the "family values" party. Every once in a while, it's good to see it bite them in the ass.

[andino]

27. WAIT A SECOND!!!

Does this mean 7 of 9 is 'in the market' again?

<Nerd moment over>

I actually think that all divorce papers are public and who cares what they are. Half the time the stuff on the papers are made up and it all boils down to a he said she said thing.

[sendero]

28. Payback is a bitch..

... this guy is clearly the type of person who would readily use this kind of information against an opponent. He deserves no quarter.

[pschoeb]

30. Obama should win easily even without this

Anyone who lives in Illinois realizes from seeing Jack Ryans ads from the primary that the man was an insane ass, who only won the primary because Oberwies was actually even more insane(yes scarily insane), and the rest didn't have enough money. Those guys ads were so awfull and chilling, that I'm sure it effected many independents who might have voted for a Republican. All Obama would have to do is air Jack Ryans own primary ads to defeat the guy.




As far as the divorce papers, if the papers are sealed how is the media to know there was no abuse, or cheating?

[IkeWarnedUs]

31. Ryan at his press conference Monday

I wish I could find a video or transcript of his press conference last night.

He kept hiding behind his son. He was asked repeatedly if his ex-wife's accusations are true (about the sex clubs and that he was "controlling"). He kept saying he refused to talk about it because he wanted to protect his son. What a coward.

At one point he said he didn't want this to be the new standard to judge a candidate and that if the media insisted on looking into a candidate's personal life, who would run for office?

Some of the reporters kept asking him to deny or acknowledge Jeri's accusations. When he talked about the "new standard" one of the reporters said that the impeachment of a president made it a new standard and his supporters (ie Republicans) had a right to know if this is the kind of activities they could expect from their candidate.

Personally, I absolutely couldn't care less about a candidate's sex life. I won't vote for Ryan for a lot of other reasons (Republican control of Congress, the lies in his ads and the way he had Obama stalked by a guy with a video camera, for example). Now I can add to that list the hypocracy of his argument and cowardice of hiding behind his son.

On edit: Does anyone have a link to the video or transcript of his press conference last night?