# Why are they calling for Rep. Fossella's head? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 10, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806 "2008-05-10T14:08:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/1 "2008-05-10T14:08:59Z")
Representative Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn, NY) was arrested last weekend for DWI in northern Virginia, after what was apparently a night out of heavy drinking (he and his buddy got bounced out of at least one bar for being excessively drunk). In the publicity after the arrest, it came out that he had a 3-year old out-of-wedlock daughter with a retired Air Force officer whose house he was heading for when he was arrested. He also has a wife and three children at home in Staten Island. There are questions about possible improprieties in connection with his affair. Now, a number of people and newspapers are calling for Fossella [to resign](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080510/ap_on_go_co/congressman_affair) over the scandal. Now, as I see it, this is your garden variety personal scandal for a politician. It may well torpedo his reelection chances in November, should it get that far, but I don’t see exactly why they’re calling for his immediate resignation (and not just asking him not to run again). The article points out that if he resigns before July 1, there will be a special election to fill the seat which will garner substantial natioanl attention, and probably require substantial funding from the struggling Republican National Congressional Committee if they want to hold the seat. Staten Island is the only Republican borough in the City, though Brooklyn is heavily Democratic. In any case, if the seat is open, it will be a hard fought race, and probably very close. So, is what he did so bad as to require his immediate resignation, and if so, why? Is he another Republican moralist hoist on his own petard, or is he just caught up in an excessive media frenzy? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/2 "2008-05-10T15:52:21Z")
You can’t do a very good job for your constituents running around defending yourself from criminal charges or from a jail cell, while simultaneously dodging questions about possibly misusing taxpayer money to pursue hijinks with the Other Woman, and at the same time dodging a hail of pots and pans from Mrs. Fossella. His fellow Republicans would probably prefer he quit, rather than serve as another example of bad behavior to embarass the party in an election year. As for re-election chances, odds are that if the scandal didn’t get any worse he could still beat any Democrat in the fall in a district that is mostly Staten Island\*. But the GOP probably doesn’t want to take any chances, even in a “safe” district. \*Plenty of Islanders would vote for anyone named Vito. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/3 "2008-05-10T16:09:26Z")
As **Jackmannii** suggests, it seems to be mostly the GOP leadership [and a few GOP-leaning papers](http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/9/143236/9476/878/512725) that want Fossella out in a hurry. I’m not sure I understand the reasoning - it’s not like Vitter’s continued presence in the Senate has noticeably hurt the party. FWIW, it’s not a particularly safe district, without an incumbent to defend the seat: [the Cook Political Report](http://www.cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2008%20house_comp_may8.pdf) says it leans Dem by just a hair. Given that the GOP has just lost two special elections for seats they’d held forever in IL and LA, if I were them I’d take my chances with Vito. It’s not going to be a good year for the GOP to hold onto vacated seats. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/4 "2008-05-10T18:30:11Z")
[QUOTE=Billdo] Staten Island is the only Republican borough in the City, though Brooklyn is heavily Democratic.QUOTE]I’m not into question asked in the OP, but would like to know what this sentence means and how it related the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/5 "2008-05-10T18:37:45Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m not into question asked in the OP, but would like to know what this sentence means and how it related the OP. Fossella is the Representative for New York’s 13th Congressional district, which includes Staten Island and a piece of Brooklyn ([map](http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/ny13_109.gif)). ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/6 "2008-05-10T19:13:40Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Fossella is the Representative for New York’s 13th Congressional district, which includes Staten Island and a piece of Brooklyn ([map](http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/ny13_109.gif)). [/QUOTE] Thanks for reminding of the specific district outlines and demographics. I actually live in Brooklyn and had long, lazily assumed that the so-heavily Republican makeup of the 13th would always overshadow any Democratic leanings. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/7 "2008-05-10T20:07:25Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] \*Plenty of Islanders would vote for anyone named Vito. [/QUOTE] Aren’t there any Democrats there named Vito? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/8 "2008-05-10T20:37:14Z")
Here’s the part I don’t get, is the outrage over the mistress, the illegitimate child, or the drunk driving? I don’t think highly of people who cheat on their spouses, but I don’t feel personally victimized by it, either. Rep. Fosella presumably took a vow to his wife, before God and a company of witnesses, and those are the ones who can feel hurt or betrayed by what happened. The next time he’s up for re-election, I’m sure this would weigh on his character. But marital infidelity does not violate any public trust, and, as far as I know, isn’t illegal. I’ve got a much bigger problem with his drunk driving. That is illegal, and a damned good way to get somebody killed. But watch how this plays out over the next few days. I predict everyone will natter on about the infidelity, and the calls for his head (at least in public) will split along party lines. The fact that he put innocent lives at risk will be ignored. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/9 "2008-05-10T20:48:56Z")
According to Gail Collins in the N.Y. Times, Fosella has been active in promoting the posting of the Ten Commandments in public areas. 🙂 I have my doubts that Staten Islanders are ready to elect a Democrat; the seat has been held by Republicans for quite awhile, and I have memories of going door-to-door on S.I. for McGovern in '72, happily seeing him swamp Hubert Humphrey in primary voting only to get stomped on the Island in the general election by Richard Nixon. For whatever precedent this provides, Islanders did once upon a time vote out a long-term incumbent Congressman enmeshed in scandal. That was Democrat John Murphy in 1980 (he was one of the top figures convicted in the Abscam bribery/influence-peddling case). > [@Brain Glutton](#): > > Aren’t there any Democrats there named Vito? I know one named Carmine, but I don’t think he’s interested in running for Congress. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/10 "2008-05-10T21:32:16Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] I’m not sure I understand the reasoning - it’s not like Vitter’s continued presence in the Senate has noticeably hurt the party. [/QUOTE] Since, with this scandal, there’s no way he’ll win reelection, and because it is a marginal seat, the Republican party figures their candidate will have a better shot in November if he wins now? Vitter’s not up for reelection until 2010, so the Republicans have plenty of time to figure that one out. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/11 "2008-05-11T02:39:33Z")
I for one hope that Vito Whatshisname fights this scandal all the way to November. Just like Larry Craig is doing. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/12 "2008-05-11T11:27:41Z")
It says here… [http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/fossella\_friend\_hes\_planning\_t.php](http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/fossella_friend_hes_planning_t.php) …that Fossella’s not bowing out. QUOTE: **Former Rep. Guy Molinari, a political mentor of Fossella, told the New York Post that the Congressman was “puzzled” by all the talk of who else might run for the seat. “He’s not just inclined to run,” Molinari said. “He plans on running.”** ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/13 "2008-05-11T11:36:33Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] According to Gail Collins in the N.Y. Times, Fosella has been active in promoting the posting of the Ten Commandments in public areas. [/QUOTE] Well, it may not be constitutional, but it sounds like it would help _him_ to see a reminder from time to time . . . ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/14 "2008-05-11T12:21:24Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] I predict everyone will natter on about the infidelity, and the calls for his head (at least in public) will split along party lines. The fact that he put innocent lives at risk will be ignored. [/QUOTE] The emphasis on sex over something substantive like drunk driving would be par for the course. Take Jim Bakker. Disappearing tens of millions of dollars his followers had given him, thinking it was earning them a spot in a retirement community at Heritage USA, didn’t bring him down; it was the sex. I doubt that many Dems of consequence will call for for his head, though. They’ll be content to stand aside and let the GOP shoot as big a hole in its own foot as it can manage. It seems to be doing a good job on its own. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/15 "2008-05-11T13:17:04Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] QUOTE: **Former Rep. Guy Molinari, a political mentor of Fossella, told the New York Post that the Congressman was “puzzled” by all the talk of who else might run for the seat. “He’s not just inclined to run,” Molinari said. “He plans on running.”** [/QUOTE] ’ According to the [Staten Island Advance](http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/05/defiant_vito_may_stay_put.html)Guy Molinari, who is much better known as the former Staten Island Borough President (and the senior elder statesman of Staten Island politics), > [@](#): > > later withdrew that statement. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the ultimate decision is to run again,” Molinari, a political and personal mentor of Fossella’s, said last night. “At no point did the congressman say that he is running” during the conversation, Molinari said last night. That article also discusses some potential successors to Fossella. Another [Advance article](http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/05/traversing_the_island_for_vito.html) features a reporter who had trouble finding Fossella supporters in some of his most faithful neighborhoods. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/16 "2008-05-11T13:27:53Z")
[QUOTE=Billdo] ’ According to the [Staten Island Advance](http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/05/defiant_vito_may_stay_put.html)Guy Molinari, who is much better known as the former Staten Island Borough President (and the senior elder statesman of Staten Island politics), That article also discusses some potential successors to Fossella. Another [Advance article](http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/05/traversing_the_island_for_vito.html) features a reporter who had trouble finding Fossella supporters in some of his most faithful neighborhoods. [/QUOTE] Excellent news. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/17 "2008-05-11T13:35:42Z")
I smell something. I suspect that media coverage/courtroom proceedings will uncover something far, far worse. I await developments with cynical glee. And a festive paper hat. I may even include a toy trumpet to parp upon in celebration. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/18 "2008-05-11T18:35:17Z")
News report on the radio suggests that he told the girlfriend he was separated from his wife. This was untrue. Well. At the time. Possibly true now. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/19 "2008-05-11T19:14:20Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] I smell something. I suspect that media coverage/courtroom proceedings will uncover something far, far worse. I await developments with cynical glee. And a festive paper hat. I may even include a toy trumpet to parp upon in celebration. [/QUOTE] Such as? Wondering what you have in mind, is all. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806/20 "2008-05-11T22:56:37Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] Such as? Wondering what you have in mind, is all. [/QUOTE] Embezzlement, fraud, mob connection, a frightening new mixture of bestiality & necrophilia, the sky’s the limit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-calling-for-rep-fossellas-head/448806.md?page=2)