Senator Vitter has again dropped out of sight as yet another scandal breaks in his short tenure as Louisiana’s Junior Senator.
NOTE:As this story has been developing I shied away from reporting on it, as I didn’t think making this political was wise or was worth our readers time.However things have dramatically changed and it’s the Senator’s own actions (and that of his staff), that is making it political.
This week news broke via ABC New’s that Senator Vitter has had in his employ a man who had been arrested for attacking his ex-girlfriend with a knife and had an open warrant for his arrest in Baton Rouge for drunk driving.
The aide, Brent Furer, worked on the Republican senator's last campaign, and has spent the last five years posted in his Washington office to handle, among other things, women's issues.
An ABC News investigation out this morning revealed that Furer had repeated brushes with the law dating back to the 1990s. Those who have had encounters with Furer told ABC News that his presence on Vitter's payroll raised serious questions about the senator's judgment. Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said it concerns her that the senator has talked so forcefully as an advocate for women and an opponent of drunk driving, and yet kept someone with Furer's background on his staff.
From the political side of things, this is yet another serious blow to Senator Vitter’s attempt at reaching out to women.But the story doesn’t end there.Guess what Mr. Furer’s job was for Senator Vitter?You guessed it – in part he was responsible Women’s Issues.
Yet it seems the Senator’s office is trying as hard as they can to say that they were giving Mr. Furer a second chance because he is a Vet and suffering from PTSD.
Speaking with a friend of mine who is a solid conservative, he pointed out an issue here.If the Senator was in fact trying to help the guy as a returning Vet get through and manage his PTSD, then why when this came to light did Vitter “throw him under the bus?”Realizing that those dealing with severe PTSD large, life changing events can sometimes lead to severe consequences – Why would the Senator, if he was REALLY trying to help the guy, fire him as soon as the media got hold of this?
This shear political nature of this story seems to be cutting against the arguments coming out of the Senator’s office.Clearly as ABC reports, the Senator knew of the legal issues surrounding Furer, as they took disciplinary actions against him.
Now, apparently caught up in yet another scandal, Vitter has disappeared.Multiple sources are now reporting that the Senator, just in the past week, has completely neglected his duties and not shown up for events that he had agreed to attend.Last Thursday Vitter missed an Armed Services Committee hearing and a Commerce Committee hearing.Saturday he missed a Tea Party event in Baton Rouge and just this Tuesday he missed three Senate votes and now two additional Armed Services Committee hearings.
I see a pattern developing here – The Senator gets caught in a messy issue and rather than accounting for it and coming clean with his constituents, he disappears and therefore refuses to answer any questions.
Back when the Senator admitted to his “serious sin,” he did this.He disappeared for over a week and then held a press conference where he only admitted to this “serious sin” and apologized to his family and to us, his constituents.I don’t know about you but I was always taught that if you want forgiveness you have to actually admit what you did.It seems clear to everyone was this “sin” consisted of… but this “sin” was also a crime.
Fast forward to today – I don’t believe the Senator can have it both ways – if you knew of the issues and were “helping a Vet” recover from PTSD by keeping his job – then say that.Stand up for that.I believe many would find that commendable so long as the employee was participating in his own recovery.Or if you didn’t know about it, as it appears you are claiming… then why was he suspended from work and “serious disciplinary actions” taken?
To fire the employee this Wednesday only after the media story developed is clearly political.And as a political matter goes – Why would you have someone who pleads out on lesser charges surrounding a domestic violence matter as your Legislative Advisor on matters surrounding women?I can only imagine the advice this employee would give and perhaps that is why Vitter has taken such a legislatively hostile approach dealing with crimes against women.
Finally, let me say this.There is a special place in hell for men who abuse women.Mr. Furer appears to have pleaded out on lesser charges here in this case but if the complaint and accounts from his ex-girlfriend are to be believed (and nobody is disputing them, BTW)… then I am sorry, but there is simply NO EXCUSE for that.Domestic Violence is a large and growing issue and must be acted upon whenever and wherever it is encountered.Anybody who holds someone at knifepoint for 90 minutes all the while threatening their life and cutting them should have been forced to do some Jail time and should definitely be off the streets for the safety of everyone.My heart goes out to him if he truly is coping with PTSD – but get some help!
UPDATE: Excellent summary video from ABC News found here.
The aide, Brent Furer, worked on the 
