If we developed a list of things that a married member of Congress might not want to do in office, sending shirtless photos to a women on Craigslist who isn't your wife might be on that list.
That's all it took to draw the resignation of Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY), an otherwise obscure backbencher from Western New York, who saw his world turn upside down around 2pm, and was sending in his resignation letter just before dinner.
"I hereby give notice of my resignation from the United States House of Representatives, effective 5:00 pm EST," read a letter read by a House reading clerk as word of Lee's decision spread rapidly through the halls of the Capitol.
The trouble began when the gossip website Gawker.com put up a photo of Lee, which supposedly he sent to a woman whom he met in a dating area on Craigslist.
Lee reportedly said he was divorced, and a lobbyist, as he wooed a woman in the Washington, D.C. area.
Most damning was the photograph of a shirtless Rep. Lee, who described himself in an online exchange as a "fit fun classy guy."
Up until yesterday afternoon, Lee was an obscure Republican from Western New York whom I only knew through his Twitter postings, as I follow most every member of Congress that is also on Twitter.
On Wednesday afternoon, Lee was tweeting about a sit down with energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens.
A few hours later, Lee's office was releasing a statement announcing the Congressman's resignation, an amazingly short time in which the New York Republican went from unknown to out of office.
"I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all," Lee said in a written statement.
"I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness."
It was a startling chain of events that put another dart into the backside of GOP leaders this week, as they've suffered several unexpected setbacks on the floor of the House, and found themselves knee-deep in a tough intra-party battle over spending cuts.
While there was no official statement from the office of Speaker John Boehner, I wondered whether Lee had been given the high sign to leave by the Speaker himself, who has made it clear in the past that he has almost zero tolerance for any GOP ethical misdeeds.
If we developed a list of things that a married member of Congress might not want to do in office, sending shirtless photos to a women on Craigslist who isn't your wife might be on that list. That's all it took to draw the resignation of Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY), ...
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