Democratic California Rep. Katie Hill and her defenders have said the congresswoman is the victim of a double standard, but history indicates otherwise.
Hill is resigning over alleged extramarital affairs she had with two different staffers. She admitted to having an “inappropriate” affair with a female campaign staffer, but denied having an affair with a male congressional aide, which would have violated House ethics rules.
Hill blamed her resignation Thursday on what she called a sexist double standard — a line that multiple media outlets echoed in their coverage of her resignation.
On the contrary, extramarital affairs have repeatedly cost male politicians their jobs. Contrary to Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who said that “revenge porn” doesn’t “happen to male members in the same way” — male politicians have repeatedly seen lewd photos of themselves leaked without their consent. (RELATED: Ilhan Omar Continues To Divert Campaign Funds To Alleged Boyfriend’s Company)
Here are some examples:
Joe Barton
Former Republican Texas Rep. Joe Barton announced in his retirement in 2017, after a nude photograph of the congressman was posted online, revealing an extramarital affair. Barton apologized for the photo and left Congress after his seventeenth term.
Mark Souder
An extramarital affair cost former Republican Indiana Rep. Mark Souder his job as well. Souder resigned in 2010 after he admitted to having an affair with one of his congressional staffers — the same allegation that Hill faced before she announced her resignation.
Christopher Lee
Former Republican New York Rep. Chris Lee resigned in 2011, after left-wing blog Gawker published a shirtless photo the married congressman sent to a woman other than his wife. Unlike Hill, Lee was not alleged to be involved with any of his own staffers. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley Rally Behind Democrat Accused Of Using Staffers For Extramarital Sex)
Tim Murphy
Former Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Murphy resigned in 2017 after admitting to an extramarital affair. Murphy reportedly encouraged his mistress to have an abortion after she became pregnant.
Anthony Weiner
Former Democratic New York Rep. Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 after he was revealed to have sent explicit photographs of himself to a number of women. Weiner’s sexting scandals continued after he left Congress — his 2013 mayoral bid was scuttled after he was exposing sexting under the name “Carlos Danger” — and he later served time in prison in relation to sexually explicit messages he exchanged with an underage girl.
Robert Livingston
More than two decades before Hill’s resignation, former Republican Louisiana Rep. Robert Livingston announced his resignation from Congress in 1998 after admitting to an extramarital affair.
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It is typical of her generation to blame everything and everyone except where the real blame lies.
If we want the leading example, let us consider a recent presidential candidate who, after ridiculing voters in what had been considered a safe state and generally denigrating everyone who held fundamental religious beliefs, lost the presidential election and proceeded to blame a litany of persons and ideals too lengthy to list instead of saying, “You know, I screwed up. It’s wrong to denigrate voters. They respond by voting for your opponent and you wind up losing an election.”
If she had been a he, and if she had been a republican regardless of gender, there would be an outcry for the death sentence. But in her case, poor dear, she’s a victim.
And let’s not forget Gary Hart and his boat Monkey Business 😉