RETIREMENT? OR MAYBE NOT.

Democrat Ethics Swamp Report.

Originally posted March 3.

It is expect that first-term Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) will announce today that he will not seek re-election in the 29th Congressional District this fall, according to the New York Daily News.

The source said he assumed that Massa's move is "health related," but said the congressman also gave him a rather nebulous warning that he would be "hearing things that aren't true."

Massa served as Special Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, General Wesley Clark. National Journal placed Massa among the 120 centrists in the House. Rollcall says he is retiring because of a recurrence of cancer.

ON THE OTHER HAND. HANKY PANKY?
Politico, citing House aides on both sides of the aisle, is reporting that the House ethics committee has been informed of allegations that Massa, who is married with two children, sexually harassed a male staffer. (He denies.)

He was one of 39 House Democrats to vote against health care legislation; he said it didn’t do enough to control costs.

He was, according to Politico, one of the most endangered Democrats in the delegation.

a It makes you wonder if Massa and New York Gov. David Patterson would both be given a pass by fellow Democrats, if they just played ball with leftwing Democrats.

UPDATE #1: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer confirmed that Hoyer is facing allegations of misconduct. "Hoyer said he was told the week of Feb. 8 by a staff member in Massa's office about allegations of misconduct. Hoyer directed Massa to report the allegations to the House Ethics Committee within 48 hours. Hoyer said he got confirmation within 48 hours that the Ethics Committee had received the report and would review the allegations."

a Is this the politics of personal destruction at play? Why would Hoyer confirm it except to punish Massa? Why not just let him retire for health reasons? Massa was a vulnerable candidate who is a fiscal conservative who voted against Obamacare.

Otherwise, Dems have an amazing tolerance for dishonesty and personal failings of their own members. When 36-year-old Rep. Gerry Studds (D-MA) had sex with 17-year-old male page, the House censured him. He was reelected six more times. When Mark Foley engaged in sex with former pages who were not subordinates, he was forced to resign by fellow Republicans. Former Chairman of the House and Ways Committee Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill) was never chastised by Democrats even after he was convicted of corruption by future U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Rostenkowski lost the election and served 15 months in prison.

ABC REMEMBERED, BUT I HAD FORGOTTEN that Bill Clinton pardoned Rostenkowski, based on the overall good he had done for the country.

UPDATE #2 (March 5) - Massa announced that he was resigning effective Monday, March 8 at 5 pm. NPR on his possible replacement: "Massa's seat could either be filled by a special election, or left open until the November mid-term election -- it's up to the New York governor, at this moment, Paterson."

a Begins to make sense why Democrats want Paterson to resign. Now. Their trumped up ethics charges against Paterson include accepting two tickets to a baseball game and a hit piece by the New York Times that said staffers made calls on behalf of an aide in a domestic abuse incident. If the New York Times and the unions hate Paterson and the Democrat Establishment hates and the National Organization of Women and Common Cause hate him, he can't be all bad.

Bumped for update.

UPDATE #3 - March 8 - In an extaordinary interview on a local radio station, Massa confirms the investigation of harassment, apparently NOT sexual, was designed so he couldn't vote against Obamacare. And he has lots to say about Rahm Emmanuel.

UPDATE #4 - (March 9) - Massa will resign as planned on Monday, which leads to the inevitable question : if the issue was his vote on health care, why couldn't he wait the 9 or 10 days until the final vote to retire?