26th district congressman Chris Lee—who resigned yesterday after a shirtless self-portrait the married Republican sent to another woman surfaced—may have been warned about his dalliances. Politico is reporting that Lee was one of several junior GOP members that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) "warned to 'knock it off' with regard to his partying with female lobbyists last year." Further, Lee really should have seen this coming. In 2009 he wrote an op-ed warning of the dangers of the Internet.
Writing about the safety of children on the Internet, Lee wrote: "Responding to what may seem like a friendly e-mail or an appealing marketing offer can have serious consequences. Private information and images can so easily be transmitted to friends and strangers alike.”
Meanwhile, both political parties are scrambling to figure out what to do about Lee's seat in the House. Not that it might be there for much longer. As the Buffalo News points out in the 2012 congressional reapportionment New York is set to lose two seats and "with a back-bencher representing it rather than the well-liked Lee—[the 26th District] could be an easy target for elimination."
But as the seat will remain until then, the Republicans (who have a good history in the district that once was home to Jack Kemp) are playing it cool. This morning State GOP Chairman Ed Cox put out this statement:
During his time in the House, Congressman Lee served his constituents well and he deserves our appreciation for his service. This is a regrettable situation and it is sad that he had to resign.
We are fortunate to have an energized Republican Party and a deep bench of potential candidates in Western New York. I am confident that a very strong and qualified candidate will be selected to run who will continue to ensure that the people of the 26th District are represented in the Republican Majority in the House of Representatives in Washington.
Considering how fast Lee stepped down, we suspect there will more to this story soon enough.
