Louisiana Vitter Fifth In DC Madam Case Is Bitter

A fifth of Vitter is very bitter.

In Louisiana, this past Saturday night, two candidates touting “family values”—Steve Scalise and Woody Jenkins--won their Republican Party nominations and they hope to take these traditional conservative values to Washington D.C.

Strangely, the titular head of the federal Louisiana Republican Party, David Vitter is reportedly waiting to be called as a witness in the Washington D.C. Madam case, and is supposedly ready to invoke the 5^th Amendment against self-incrimination. Should David Vitter take the Fifth, it will indeed be a bitter swallow by the witness and among his constituency.

According to the Times Picayune, Jeanne Palfrey, is expecting to call Senator David Vitter to the witness stand in her behalf. Her case is to suggest that she was not running a prostitution ring but a female “call center” where sexual fantasies were the “main call”.

Yet, in this State of Embarassment (or otherwise called Louisiana) it appears our Republican junior U. S. Senator will again hide from disclosing any facts to his constituency. With the fifth, once again, Louisiana we will be unable to decide if we can stomach another moment with David Vitter as our US Senator. The facts are clear. Senator Vitter is hiding from his past and appears to be willing to take the legal means to achieve that end.

For the past year, we have been led by a man who lacked the guts and the decency to tell the Louisiana people the nature of his now infamous “sins”.

Once he utters the fifth, historians will scratch their respective heads and wonder when and if a sitting U.S. Senator invoked the 5^th Amendment. Even President William “Bill” Clinton testified in a proceeding although he ultimately lied under oath.

Unfortunately, the holier-than-thou Louisiana U.S. Senator apparently is not going to let history, national responsibilities or State reputation stand in his way from ignoring his constituents or the court system. Nor, will the Louisiana Republican Party or the National Republican Party going to say “enough is enough”.

Instead, U.S. Senator Vitter will continue to pretend that he has told us facts as if those details were as flowing as the Niagara falls. But, we all know the truth. Other than admitting to committing a “sin” he has refused to say anything other than he is sorry, that he is working tirelessly for Louisiana and the United States. After all, Senator Vitter has been too busy patching the porous Mexican border to be straightforward with the public. And, who would be better than to catch those illegals than someone who have engaged in an illegal act, himself.

Thus, David Vitter has refused to take it like a man, as did Elliot Spitzer who resigned under pressure, yet still resigned.

When the controversy around Vitter first broke, the Republican troops rallied around the flag and said Vitter had not committed any crime and the only claims against him were by women of the night and even worse, the news media.

After the Spitzer case, his defenders have claimed Spitzer broke the law, not David Vitter.

Yet, with the Palfrey case, matters are much different. The Louisiana U.S. Senator is refusing to testify on the grounds that his testimony might “incriminate” him.

Thus, we now have the clear implication that David Vitter refuses to testify since he fears he might be charged with a crime. “Incriminate” under the law does not mean “mere embarrassment”. It means that the witness refuses to testify in fear that the “in-proceeding” testimony might result in criminal prosecution.

The utter implication is that Louisiana U.S. Senator Vitter is not just saying that he has “sinned” but that he knows that the nature of the sin could rise to criminal prosecution. So, he can pass laws which mandate federal criminal sanctions, annoint prosecutors, support federal judges, but when it comes time for him to testify about his role in a criminal matter and his possible brush with the law, silence will be his oath.

Which “rope-a-dope” strategy is even the more disgusting; Considering all of his public statements to the media we do not know if his sin was because he failed to take out the family trash, or failed to clean up his room or failed to kiss his wife. All we know is he has publically confessed about sinning. However, none of us but him have any clue of any details of the transgression that pushed him into hiding. And, we’re not going to know because he won’t talk.

By taking the 5^th, the apology is no longer between his maker and his baker but it now has legal consequences. He knows that speaking any facts could incriminate him criminally. He wants no part of giving government any opportunity to charge him with any crime.

Ironically, only minutes after Elliot Spitzer also failed to tell us anything except that he had personal problems and was taking leave of absence, the National Republican Governor’s Association immediately called for his resignation without their knowing any facts.

By contrast, the Louisiana Republicans are so beholden to David Vitter for his helping many of them get elected that they refuse to remove the taint around their halos. Few are willing to speak their minds in fear of getting their political heads lopped off into a wicker basket.

Without doubt, David Vitter is a citizen of the United States, and as such, he is entitled to his Fifth Amendment protection as is anyone being called upon as a witness to testify. However, there is a stark difference between Vitter as “Citizen Dave” and U.S. Senator David Vitter. The Senator has taken a high oath of office when he was a Louisiana State Representative, a U.S. Congressman and a U.S. Senator. He promised to uphold the law, the very law that he desires to skirt by not testifying truthfully so his constituencies would finally be able to test his honesty and his mettle under oath.

As a person, David Vitter has proven to be national embarrassment every time a sex scandal erupts. Those who have been funding his re-election war chest will pay the price when the voters realize who has been aiding and abetting his silence.

So, while the Louisiana 1^st Congressional and the 6^th Congressional District Republican candidates are touting family values, a Louisiana US Senator will likely take the stand in the Washington DC Madam case. That Senator has little value for the families of Louisiana, the very state he represents. Instead, he values his own political and legal hide. Ironically, our esteemed elected official wants the lowly public to hold his elected officials to higher standards as evidenced by his demand that we address him with a title such as “Honorable Senator”. Yet, it is time that in this case, that David Vitter must earn this respect by showing us that he is not above the law, that he places the law on the pedestal it deserves and that he thinks twice before demeaning his high government position by being willing to tell the truth, the whole truth, no matter the consequences.

Bayoubuzz note: For those who feel that I am unfairly picking on a Republican, David Vitter, it should be remembered that I was the first to call for the resignation of William Jefferson and for that of David Vitter—both upon the basis of the embarrassment to the State of Louisiana. Also, prior to impeachment, I called for the resignation of President Clinton and ultimately for the conviction of Clinton during the Senate hearings. This issue is not about party politics. It is absolutely about ensuring that Louisiana achieves the Gold Standard of Ethics in our government, locally and nationally. It is about our arming the good people of this state with the truth regarding those we have elected to represent us in the highest of state and national offices.

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