Jack Ryan expected to pull out (snicker) of race
Listen, I wasn’t going to vote for him anyway but I’ll always maintain that someone’s sexual proclivities should have 0 bearing on their ability to run for office. Let’s keep in mind he didn’t rape his wife, he simply said “oh man, I’d love for you to get it on with that chick.” or something similar.
If that’s grounds for running someone off the ballot I can think of about 25,000 Dopers who’d better drop their political aspirations.
Oh good, you managed to find another negative trait when I thought Mr. Ryan had used them all up. 
As the wealthy, handsome, philanthropic Mr. Ryan prepares to ride off into the sunset, I’m reminded of the immortal words of the poet- “So long, dumbwad.” 
Oh, hell, I wanted him to stay in so I could give the ol’ “tongue in the cheek with pumping hand motion” to him when he’s greeting voters at the train station.
I wonder if he is going back to teaching and how the students will react…
I think if he had been honest about it or just didn’t try to hide it he probably could have weathered the storm. Remember he disputed it in the divorce records at the time – he could have said it was something from the heat of the divorce and let it gone at that. Still wouldn’t have voted for him though.
Then again, it’s good to see a rich, pretty boy go down in flames.
It shouldn’t be required that you tell the whole world about your sexual practices in order to get into office.
Maybe if it was, politicians would have to get down from their high horse about “traditional family values” and start arguing that what someone does in bed is nobody’s business. Right now they can stump loudly about “cracking down on immorality” even though they’re having hot three-ways with their maid and pool boy.
But it should be required that you not lie, especially about something that can be checked. A simple “none of your business” would have sufficed, IMO.
Actually, to be fair to the guy, I don’t think there were ever allegations of anyone else being involved sexually with Jack and Jeri. What I heard was he wanted (1) to have sex with Jeri while another couple watched, and (2) he wanted a hummer from her in a group setting.
The “get it on with that chick” thing is part of our Seven-of-Nine fantasies.
Yes, I’ve often noticed that when you say “none of your business” to the media, they instantly back off.
I don’t like the guy, but I think his comment that “I have other priorities to focus on” was sufficient. To me, at least. YMMV
Exactly. Not that I get to vote in Illinois or anything, but even if I didn’t have moral objections to this, then the boneheaded way he tried to claim nothing bad was in the divorce papers would make me question his fundamental competence.
Right, 5que. I guess what I’m saying is, who among us hasn’t requested public sex from our significant others
The problem isn’t that Ryan is a {austin powers}SWINGER BABY{/austin}, it’s that he is a liar when it came to support from his political party.
He lied about the nature of the court documents, to fellow party members.
He even insinuated to reporters (before they were released) that the contents of the documents were about his son, NOT him. Ergo, he ain’t getting much support from in state Republicans or the national organization. If your own party decides to give you luke warm support at nest, your choices are limited.
Even his own aides said his choices were quit or pump in a bunch of his own personal wealth to the campaign.
Quitting is a no brainer. (and, FWIW, he was already quite a ways behind in the polls)
In any case, I think he deserved to lose for the stalker cameraman stunt (and he was indeed WAY behind), so this doesn’t matter too much to me. I wouldn’t have voted for him anyway.
I realize that Dave, but in the Man-on-the-street interviews here in the Big, Windy, Better Than Green Bay, City, it’s quite obviously the weird sex that’s putting people off.
Sex Clubs! SCANDAL! GETTIN’ FREAKY WITH THE MISSUS.
“oh man,” one guy said on channel nine, “it’s obvious he’ll have to drop out”
It WAS obvious. I knew that was going to happen as soon as the news broke.
But it shouldn’t have been obvious, is my point. The things you list were so much worse. It should have been obvious after he had hired goon following Obama around, instead it was going to a sex club that made it obvious. To me, the hired thug is worse.
I think if things were different - if the cameraman thing hadn’t already happened, if he hadn’t already been trailing by 20% in the polls - perhaps he could have kept going. But this was too much, cumulatively.
The impression I got was that he said that on multiple occasions, and after the point where it should have been obvious that his wife was not comfortable with the idea. Which, while not morally wrong per se, supports the “he’s a bonehead” theory.
Which is all really a minor point. jarbabyj, your opinion that sexual proclivities have little bearing on fitness for office is sensible, admirable, and evidently in the minority among your fellow voters. (It certainly seems to be in the minority among his fellow republicans…I guess it clashes with that whole “restore honor and dignity” idea.) But I think you guessed all of that already.
Ryan’s entire campaign strategy was basically sunk by these revelations, and the state GOP knew it.
The city of Chicago and a fair number of the 'burbs are safely Democratic, and far more so now since there is more excitement about Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, than I’ve seen about a Senate candidate in a very long time. Chicago will not only vote for him, but you’ll probably see more people turn out and vote for him.
Ryan’s hope in this race was to get the cultural conservatives out and voting. But these are people for whom the words “sex” and “club” don’t naturally fit together. So they’ve deserted him, as have the party activists, who basically feel lied to.
Really, guys. If wanting hot, public sex with Jeri Ryan is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.
They oughta join a club and beat him over the head with it.