Stay Vito, Stay!

Its a wet and windy day outside and the same can be said for conditions surrounding Congressman Vito Fossella. The briefly national story is still whipping itself into a frenzy here in New York and Vito is reaching F5 status all on his own. Nothing is official yet, but the Congressman is now looking to stay in the race to be re-elected in Staten Island. That means that we have the right to make sure he stays newsworthy and to expose all of the family values that has run on and voted for. I don't even know what story to start on about him, so I'll just leave you with a few stories that Liz at the NY Daily News is linking to.

From The Daily Politics:

The romance between Fossella and Laura Fay, the mother of his illegitimate daughter, blossomed during a taxpayer-funded congressional trip to Malta in 2002.

If Fossella does decide to run for re-election, he shouldn't count on getting any help from the NRCC - or most other Republicans, for that matter.

Only Fossella knows what he will do next, and he's not talking, causing the speculation machine to run overtime.

Fossella's longtime ally and mentor, former Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari, told The Post the congressman had every intention of running again this fall, but then backed away from that statement in an interview with the SI Advance.

An anonymous "high-ranking Republican source on Staten Island" insisted to NY1 that Fossella is indeed going to run again.

Staten Islanders have a lot to say on this topic.

A SurveyUSA poll conducted the same day the love child story broke found 61 percent of adults in Fossella's disitrict, the 13th CD, say he should stay in office; 53 percent believe he should seek re-election.

A Fossella fundraiser scheduled for Saturday at the home of Northfield Bank Chairman and CEO John Alexander was canceled.

The "family-values" congressman reportedly shunned his sister because she's gay.

Fossella's wife, Mary Pat, celebrated Mother's Day with her extended family, friends and her three children; her husband was nowhere to be seen.

Fay and her 3-year-old daughter, Natalie, have been keeping a low profile, too.

Both the congressman's wife and his mistress are considering dumping him.

And that is only a few of things going on around Mr. Fossella. Taxpayer-funded trysts (who does that remind you of?), shunning his sister for her sexual-orientation and being dumped by both his wife and mistress are my three favorites. What about you?

Seriously I can not wait for Steve Harrison to wallop Vito upside the head with this and his voting record as the Democrats take back this seat in Congress. So by all means Vito, please, please, pretty please stay in the race.

Fossella The Hypocrite

Tonight has to be hard for Vito Fossella. His world is crumbling around him, his family (the one here in New York) is crushed and unimaginably angered by their husband/father's conduct and he is looking to go from the House of Representative to the big house (for a few days at least). It is a tragic story for all those involved, but what really rubs everyone the wrong way is the sheer hypocrisy of this man. During this time of his extramarital affair, he voted three times for the "sanctity of marriage." That is true hypocrisy my friends.

From The Agenda:

In 2004, Fossella voted for the Marriage Protection Act, which essentially would have prevented courts from striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). That bill passed in the House by a vote of 233-194 and later died in the Senate.

Later in the same month in 2004, Fossella voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have amended the U.S. Constitution to explicitly ban marriages for same-sex couples in any part of the United States. It would have been the first time that discrimination was to be enshrined in the Constitution. That bill passed in the House by a vote of 236-187 and later died in the Senate.

In 2006, Fossella again voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment, making it the third time he chose to stand up and firmly deny same-sex couples the thousands of rights and protections that come with a federal and state marriage license.

On one hand he can put these bills on his conscience to deny millions of people the right to get married yet treats his own marriage like garbage. Vito Fossella, you are true scumbag. I hope those few days in jail feel like an eternity for you.

Fossella Is Finished

The GOP is nothing if not top-down (and corrupt, self-serving, greedy, etc) and when the leadership says something in the midst of one member's scandal, the clouds for that person turn dark and ominous. That is what happened today to Vito Fossella after he admitted to an extramarital affair and that he has a three year old daughter with the woman that bailed him out of jail last week. None other than John Boehner laid down the law when the press asked him about the development.

From Politico:

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said Thursday that fellow Republican Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) should do some serious thinking over the weekend about his political future.

Earlier in the day, Fossella acknowledged that he “had a relationship” with Laura Fay, a retired Air Force officer who paid his bail after he was arrested last week for drunk driving — and that he is the father of her 3-year-old daughter.

“I think Mr. Fossella is going to have some decisions to make over the weekend,” Boehner said at a press conference with reporters.

“I would hope and frankly expect, that this is a decision between he and his family," Boehner said.

Um, would that be his New York family or his Virginia family?

Fossella's Troubles Take On An Entirely New Level

Just when it couldn't get any worse for Vito Fossella, the determination of the New York press corp (especially the NY Post) dug for the heart of the story surrounding Vito's DWI last week. It turns out that the woman who helped his sorry butt out of a Virginia jail is not only his lover (besides his wife that is) but the mother of his three year old child. Vito becomes the latest New York politician to be snarled by sex and illegalities (some combination of the two at least).

From The NY Times:

Representative Vito J. Fossella, a Staten Island Republican who was arrested on May 1 in Alexandria, Va., and charged with drunken driving, issued a statement on Thursday acknowledging that he had had an extramarital affair with Laura Fay, a former Air Force lieutenant colonel, and that the two of them had a 3-year-old daughter together.

The prospect that Mr. Fossella could face a mandatory jail sentence if convicted of drunken driving has already threatened to bring to an end his decade-long career in the House, where Mr. Fossella is the only Republican representing New York City. The Daily News has reported that Mr. Fossella called Ms. Fay for help after his arrest and told the officers who arrested him that he was on his way to visit a sick daughter. As speculation swirled over Mr. Fossella’s relationship with Ms. Fay in recent days, his aides said only that they were good friends.

The full text of Mr. Fossella’s four-sentence statement follows:

I have had a relationship with Laura Fay, with whom I have a three-year-old daughter. My personal failings and imperfections have caused enormous pain to the people I love and I am truly sorry. While I understand that there will be many questions, including those about my political future, making any political decisions right now are furthest from my mind. Over the coming weeks and months, I will to continue to do my job and I will work hard to heal the deep wounds I have caused.

Mr. Fossella, 43, was driving with a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit when he was pulled over and faces a mandatory five days in jail if convicted.

Not only is the Congressman expected to be an ex-con (unless the judge shows him mercy) but a full-fledged bastard. How will Staten Island react to all this? That is definitely one huge question, though whether he will remain in the race for his re-election is another. The Republican party has already started to distance itself from him and they might just have to relinquish the 13th Congressional District of New York without much of a fight. His stock is rapidly being devalued and with six months until the election, the NY GOP would have to come up with a challenger quickly.

Of course this is all in the early stages, so stay tuned to see how this drama unfolds.