Women: Sen. Bob Menendez paid us for sex in the Dominican Republic

[5280]

I find this story very artificial.  Anyways, the senator should resign and move on before making himself look like a fool, which he already began with this actions.  No, I'm not against legal prostitution either.

[Seriously?]

Basically the evidence is:

-He visits the Dominican Republic a lot
-The two prostitutes were solicited by a man named "Bob"
-They thought they recognized him in a picture

He should obviously resign immediately. This story is air tight and very convincing.

You forgot one thing:

-The flight records show that a plane linked to his donor buddy was in the DR at the time he was allegedly serviced by these women and Menendez had nothing on his public schedule those days.

Probably enough to make a case.

However, bottom line is that aside from Menendez being a hornball sleazebag and a bit of a hypocrite, this shouldn't affect the dynamics of the New Jersey Senate race to where Menendez loses what amounts to about an 18-point lead.

Folks in NJ have way too much on their plate right now. Their cheapskate hooker-loving Senator should skate his way to victory.

Bottom line: Don't stiff your hookers after stiffing them.

[Bacon King]

Yeah, I can see why Drudge didn't make this the headline, give it DrudgeSirens or anything. An unmarried man sleeps with a couple of hookers while privately visiting a country where it's legal, and the only sources are apparently the two women who only went public about it because they were short-changed a few hundred dollars (as an aside, I thought prostitutes are usually fully-paid up front; opebo or anyone else know the standard here?).

Assuming no crazy details come up, I'd still consider Menendez safe for reelection- after all, they call it "live boy, dead girl territory" for a reason. Also consider that this apparently happened like nine months ago and it's only now being released- voters are automatically less trustful of scandals that happen just before election day. It also doesn't hurt his chances that like half of his state doesn't have the electricity to watch the news anyway.

[LiberalJunkie]

Wasn't Menendez with Christie and Obama today seeing the damage New Jersey took?

[Landslide Lyndon]

(as an aside, I thought prostitutes are usually fully-paid up front; opebo or anyone else know the standard here?).

Yeap, that's how the system works here too.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

That's it?

[Franzl]

I don't think this will finish him in NJ, honestly.

[Gass3268]

So far I haven't heard anything on Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS or any other of the mainstream news networks. This story will probably go no where before the election, afterwards might be a different story.

[opebo]

Taxpayer funded trip? Possibly underage hookers? Oh, Bob. This seriously couldn't happen to a better asshole!

More recent rumor is that the hookers aren't underage. 

Yeah, obviously slanderers tend to just tag on that word for added effect.  People who would be prudish enough to object to prostitution in general also tend to believe all sex workers are very young, when in fact that's very rare - the vast majority being in their mid 20s to early 40s.

[Downwinder]

Purchasing the services of a prostitute obviously don't exclude one from the United States Senate, as Senator David Vitter (R-LA) can certainly attest.  So I hope that we don't have to listen to a bunch of puffed up moralizing from the right side.  As already pointed out, prostitution is legal in the Dominican Republic, and Senator Menendez is a single man. 

I'm sure this news is making a big impact in the race in hurricane-ravaged New Jersey right now.  Maybe people are reading about it on the internet by candlelight.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

I'm still baffled as to how one could possibly think it a remotely good idea to not pay prostitutes in full.

[milhouse24]

I wonder if this will have any effect on Latino voters defecting to Republicans like Romney.  Latino voters and Latin women are devout Catholics, and a cheating Latin man will turn off a lot of Latin women. 

This pretty much ruins any chances Menendez had at getting the VP nod in 2016.

[minionofmidas]

I wonder how many senators are shi**ing themselves right now out of fear that they're the philanderer about to be exposed.

84 or whatever the number of male members is at current.

[minionofmidas]

Apparently Menendez didn't learn from those Secret Service agents that he said should be fired. Pay your hookers in full, buddy.

How does that old adage go again? Those who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones?

Those who live in glass houses should go into the basement to fuck.

This pretty much ruins any chances Menendez had at getting the VP nod in 2016.

He ever had any? The world we live in...

(as an aside, I thought prostitutes are usually fully-paid up front; opebo or anyone else know the standard here?).

Yeap, that's how the system works here too.

Some kind of luxury hooker hired-for-days-for-an-orgy scenario is just about the only scenario I can imagine that might conceivably deviate from that rule. And even there it's hard to imagine.

[Keystone Phil]

By the way, Menendez called on those Secret Service agents to be fired. Spitzer 2.0?

And did someone here seriously suggest that Menendez was in the running to be the 2016 VP nominee? Oh. Oh my.

[Smash255]

I wonder if this will have any effect on Latino voters defecting to Republicans like Romney.  Latino voters and Latin women are devout Catholics, and a cheating Latin man will turn off a lot of Latin women. 

This pretty much ruins any chances Menendez had at getting the VP nod in 2016.

Menendez was never a serious VP Contender, he wasn't married, and I don't see this story turning into much of anything at all even if its true.

[milhouse24]

I wonder if this will have any effect on Latino voters defecting to Republicans like Romney.  Latino voters and Latin women are devout Catholics, and a cheating Latin man will turn off a lot of Latin women. 

This pretty much ruins any chances Menendez had at getting the VP nod in 2016.

Menendez was never a serious VP Contender, he wasn't married, and I don't see this story turning into much of anything at all even if its true.

The New Jersey turnout will be terrible because no one has electricity.  But I suspect more Republican voters will make it out than Democrats.  Menendez barely won in 2006, so its conceivable he will lose this time. 

I don't think Booker wants to be a Senator (Dinosaur Retirement Community).  Booker is a man of action, and he'll run for governor some day. 

[morgieb]

If Vitter got away with it, Menendez can too, particularly as he isn't married.

[milhouse24]

If Vitter got away with it, Menendez can too, particularly as he isn't married.

I think Louisiana has gotten strongly Republican, making Vitter safe. 

But NJ still has a strong Republican state party, given Christie's win.  A socially liberal but fiscally conservative Republican can win NJ like Scott Brown in MA.

[Bacon King]

If Vitter got away with it, Menendez can too, particularly as he isn't married.

I think Louisiana has gotten strongly Republican, making Vitter safe. 

But NJ still has a strong Republican state party, given Christie's win.  A socially liberal but fiscally conservative Republican can win NJ like Scott Brown in MA.

Kyrillos is no Scott Brown, and by 2018 nobody will remember this at all.

[Vosem]

This really isn't getting enough traction to push Kyrillos to victory (or any traction at all, for that matter, but then I'm not in NJ).

[Filuwaúrdjan]

That would be because it's sleazy (and from someone who, yeah, looks the type to short change prostitutes, frankly) rather than properly scandalous.

[Smid]

If there's any truth to it, I guess the unions won't back him, since he's underpaying contracted labour...

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

You guys seem awfully confident on this one. This was a non-competitive race that would have gone about 55-45 per the New Jersey normal. This is the type of thing that could move the needle. It's on my serious watch list.

[Lief 🗽]

You guys seem awfully confident on this one. This was a non-competitive race that would have gone about 55-45 per the New Jersey normal. This is the type of thing that could move the needle. It's on my serious watch list.

Is it even in the news at all though? It's not getting any play in the national media as far as I can tell. I'm sure the local news in New Jersey has more pressing things to report on. And the story is so sketchy and unsubstantiated that it's only a little more credible than rumor.