Congressman Chris Lee Resigns in Response to Gawker News Report

Typical republican!

I shudder to think what other pics are floating around on the internets.

wow first the hassan case and now this. rough week for buffalove in the press. what a mess. what did he think was going to happen! http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/09/rep-christopher-lee-resigns-amid-reports-that-he-tried-to-meet-women-on-craigslist/

Chris Lee is a good example of why men should never trust women to keep a secret. He should have learned this lesson from Monica Lewinski and Irene Folstrom. Women cannot keep quiet when it comes to sex with famous powerful men.

What is it when you combine politics and power? It must be a powerful drug to cause someone to throw their entire life and promising future down the toilet! This dumb chump had the world at his feet, a rising star in his party, and then he Spitzered himself! To be a public figure and send a photo like that over the internet in an attempt for sexual gratification is just plain stupid. Between Lee and Eric Massa, WNY sure has elected idiots to The Congress! Now, the residents of Lee's Congressional District are up the creek without a paddle until a special election is held. Then...the next chump will get their opportunity and we will see if they are able to resist the temptation of self-destruction.

Another Republican hypocrite, preaching morality for others, down the tube. Good riddance.

Remember kids, only the Republicans preach family values. The Democrats don't believe in much of anything at all.

dude is jacked! loloolololo

Last I checked there were plenty of dems caught up in this sort on nonsense. i.e spitzer and clinton comes to mind.

Eric Massa just commented on the scandal: "I'd tickle that in a second."

Please. Like 80% of the people who read this site aren't on craigslist? Who are the real hypocrites?

$5 bucks to anyone who makes an animated .gif of his right hand moving.

he must of got bored of being alone in the hotels working his shake weight.....time to suck in the gut for the ladies

It is just stunning at the behavior of so many public officials, absolutley stunning. Seriously how could so many "family" men with public office be so scerwed up. Someone please make sense of it.

Unbelievable, this is the kind of 'leadership' Western New Yorkers have? No wonder we are trailing in the pit and nothing gets done.

It was indeed a quick turnaround between story breaking and resignation. A pretty clear indicator that there was almost certainly much more to the situation. My guess is that his recent purchase of a house in Amherst is somehow related to whatever else there is. Bob McCarthy mentioned that move on Sunday -- taking Lee's reason at face value in the absence of anything else at the time.

Frankly, I've had enough of this "men behaving badly" tradition in WNY politics -- shirts on or off. Acting in ways and saying things that we’re embarrassed to have to explain to our kids -- often while preaching family values and giving that “I’m no politician, just a Mr. Smith-goes-to-Washington business man who only cares about looking out for you.”

While east of us, word is Syracuse/Onondaga County are experiencing a governmental breath of fresh air, now that the county and city are both led by dynamic women, who are -- gasp -- working closely together for the common good instead of tripping over their own egos. That’s what I’d like to see more of in WNY politics, and I’d love to see a dynamic and progressive woman candidate run to fill Lee’s seat. And while we’re at it, may I have Kathy Hochul for County Executive -- PLEASE?!

I really wouldn't care...at all...if people like Chris weren't out dictating morality for others (anti-choice, Don't Ask, Don't Tell). Couldn't care less about the Craigslist bit.

By posing as a lobbyist on craigslist, we may have gotten a preview of his next profession, with a proven willingness to troll for dates for his clients. On another thought, maybe this is how he met his current wife. Bad dog.

I can't believe he wrote "classy guy"! He needs to raise the bar on what "classy" is in his mind.

Ahh...

Another TYPICAL repuke/conservative HYPOCRITE - sanctity of marriage bull, against equal rights for gays to marry - family values - all the usual REPUKE bulls--t for EVERYONE ELSE while they do WORSE!!!

Democrats may have scandals, and it's NONE OF ANYONES BUSINESS WHEN THEY DO - BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT TRYING TO LEGISLATE REPUKE/CONSERVATIVE PHONEY "MORALITY" FOR OTHERS WHILE THEY DO WORSE!!!

Why is it that conservatives and repukes are always soooo interested and spend sooooo much time on gays and others do in the bedroom - they usually have worse going on at home...

I must be missing something.
This is an only an issue within the marriage.
What exactly is Lee guilty of?
How does this effect his job performance?
In Europe, this BS would be ignored.

Another black eye on WNY.

With the salary we pay him, he should be waxed and spray tanned.

When I run for office, I vow to remove one article of clothing for every vote I get. (but you're not seeing the pictures until after I get re-elected!)

At least he didn't get caught having sex with under age congressional page. That would be realy embarrassing.

WNY has nothing to do with it. Bill Clinton was not from here, Spitzer not from here, Craig, the Idaho Senator in boys room is not from here, niether is Eric Massa or the SC Gov with the S American mistress..the list is to long. Don't make this a poor WNY issue.

Well he is fit.

Really makes you wonder about the whole political process how a guy can get elected and not have any common sense at all. He uses his real name on a CL posting for an extra marital interlude? Come on!!! Not only did he get elected but he had a seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.How did he procure that?

There has got to be more to the story as quickly as this moved long from disclosure to resignation. Stay tuned for more entertaining stories from the La La land that is Washington DC.

People like this run for office on a conservative platform, clinging to their "family values" and using that as justification to vote openly against equal rights for gay people, which is nothing short of thinly veiled bigotry. This jerk in particular has some anti-gay marks on his voting record and scored high marks and endorsements from some so-described "American Family" organization. Then he's out trolling the internet, sending pics like this to chicks he thinks he can score with, showing total disregard for his wife and child. Great family values, and it's nice to know he respects the sanctity of marriage. I'd normally say this guy's private life is his own business, but not when it's his job to pass legislation that affects families, and he does such damage to gay families then turns out to be a hypocrite.

I believe that this whole thing is a litle too smooth and a bit too convenient. Lesser men have remained in office for much more aggregious offenses. I wonder if this is a set-up for him to exit office? I am really curious to see where he goes after the dust settles.

OK, I'll go back to just reading and not responding to comments again. >cheers

By the way, he's got a nice bod for someone who's 46 years old.

...describing himself as a "divorced" "lobbyist"

Wow, who knew he could predict the future too?

I think it's folly to view a story like this one through the right/left/red/blue prism. Rep. Lee is human and subject to the whole host of shortcomings, temptations and weaknesses that humans fall prey to. I've never bought the argument that public service automatically elevates one to a 'higher' standard because that elevation usually means they've got further to fall.

I really don't care what Lee did and if this was in Europe it would be ignored. The USA is puritanical...simple as that. What I do react to is the Congressman's lack of insight and judgment regarding the damage to Western New York. I don't know about you other readers but when I look around Buffalo I see a good bit of progress. Cranes in the air, new buildings underway or planned...Magnificent structures some of them. Real Estate is stable in metro Buffalo. The area has added jobs when other metros have lost thousands. Waterfront development gaining pace. I just get the feeling that when things are starting to go right in this area somebody has to take a big dump on it by giving the region a big national black eye. This is what I am mad about! I don't care about Lee, his wife, their kid or whatever. I don't care about Democrat or Republican. I care about a serious lapse in judgment that will ultimately affect us all. Lee was a rising star appointed to a powerful Ways & Means committee that could have steered a lot of development to this area and moved projects along. Thanks a lot Mr. Lee. Nice way to let your constituents down in a most significant way.

If he wanted/was being forced to vacate his office, a simple resignation would have worked just as well. No juicy sex scandal required.

Im having a hard time drinking the kool-aid on this conspiracy theory...

How does this story belong on a blog called Buffalo "Rising" ?

That much being said, there has to be more to the story or no way he resigns. Stay tuned.

the daily beast counts more sex scandals among repubs than dems.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-03-30/which-party-has-more-sex-scandals/

What about Silvio Burlusconi and Ruby gate? Who cares what these guys do in their private lives. Big deal! Just do your job.

Why does it matter?

The guy was a conservative politician that among other things voted against the repeal of "Don't ask, Don't Tell".

He's voting for legislation that deprives equal rights for gay Americans, and he promotes his notion of conservative "family values".

But turns out he really doesn't believe in "family values" for himself. That's why it matters.

As one of the conservatives that visits here... I think you're being way too easy on this guy.

I'm not sure I can recall one individual doing something so idiotic that cost this region more.

Losing a position on the ways and means committee? So he can send a picture of himself to an unknown individual, that includes his name?

Throwing away the thousands of hours of volunteer time, that got you elected?

Wasting hundred's of thousands (millions?) of dollars donated to you, in your bid to get elected?

I really don't care too much about his personal life, or if his voting record contradicted his personal habits. This was as selfish, stupid, idiotic, wasteful a thing as I could imagine.

I'd assume most of the posts on females-seeking males on the DC craigslist would be fishing for people to blackmail. How much could a group learn, or gain, if they had taped our buddy in a much more compromising position... with the threat of going public with that?

He screwed up in a huge way, and it's an black eye for the community that we really didn't need.

Party affiliation has no bearing on being a scumbag or being
a standup guy.The Washington culture, and on a smaller level Albany and Buffalo, create a sense of entitlement. These guys have advance teams calling ahead for them every time they go to a restaurant, ballgame or public function making sure that everything is just so. They are treated far differently than you or I. Lobbyists are essentially drug dealers. Some politicians are able to resist the temptations put in front of them and stay grounded. Others, like Lee, are turned into virtual crack whores, endulging in everything they can get their hands on. Government for and by the people? I hope not.

I feel bad for the guy and his family.

There are plenty of reasons to not want Lee in office but it's tough to feel good about somebody putting themselves and their family in disgrace.

I don't feel sorry for him or his family. 8 million bucks can make this kind of pain go away.

C Lee must have some DEEP and very disturbing problems.
It's hard to feel sorry for someone who lies to their wife (and in a way - their children).
These men think that their children can't TELL when their fathers are cheating on their mothers - but they CAN.