There was a line in a famous folk song back in the 1960s which said, “When will they ever learn?” The name of the song was “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” sung by Pete Seeger and Peter, Paul and Mary and others. Perhaps we should make it the theme song for all elected officials. When will they ever learn that in this day and age of high-tech electronics, one can never assume his or her actions are private. 

There have been many elected officials caught in compromising situations over the past several years. Some have resigned; others were able to weather the public outrage. The latest politician to get caught on tape just happens to be from Louisiana – U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister, a Republican who represents the Fifth Congressional District, comprised of parishes in the northeast and central parts of the state.

The Ouachita Citizen newspaper in West Monroe broke the story, along with a video showing McAllister giving what was described as a passionate kiss to one of his female staffers in his Monroe office. The female friend just happened to be the wife of one of McAllister’s longtime and closest friends. I won’t go into all the details, as much has been said and written about the incident at the local, state, and national levels. Cable television news is having a field day with this development. Not the way someone wants to become nationally famous – or maybe infamous would be a better description.

What is particularly disappointing is that McAllister came out of nowhere to win the congressional seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander, who resigned to take a state job as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. In doing so, McAllister steam rolled the Republican establishment candidate, state Sen. Neil Riser, getting 60 percent of the vote. A fresh face on the political scene, which was somewhat refreshing.

As expected in that part of the state (part of the Bible Belt), he ran on a platform of Christian and family values, with help from the Robertson clan of “Duck Dynasty” fame. When you run on that platform, the fall is unusually hard when the platform collapses in scandal. As of this writing, McAllister says he is not going to resign, admitting that he has made a mistake. Really?

I don’t know about you, but I think that the mea culpas and asking their family and God for forgiveness after committing such dastardly deeds are getting a bit hackneyed. Whether his constituents are forgiving remains to be seen. He is up for re-election this fall, and if he doesn’t resign, will likely face viable opposition. The Republican establishment will make sure of it.  

As with every other issue these days, there are two trends of thought. Some people say the matter is a personal one between him and his family and does not affect his ability to serve his constituents. Maybe so, but some of his colleagues in the U.S. House are denouncing his actions, and he will be considered a political pariah – at least for a while. Others hold their elected officials to a higher standard, especially when they touted Christian and family values in their campaigns and feel they should resign. At the very least, they will vote against them when they stand for re-election.

Sources are saying, however, that this is not the end of the story and there will be more damaging revelations coming out, perhaps by the time you read this. To be sure, there are many unanswered questions surrounding McAllistergate about who made the video and why and why it took more than three months for it to surface. Then there are those questioning why the female staffer was fired. This story will not quickly disappear.

The other side of the coin in this episode is the staff. It is the worst nightmare for them because their livelihoods are at stake and they must face the embarrassment in dealing with other staffers on Capitol Hill. As a chief-of-staff for a congressman for 16 years, I must admit I often thought about what I would do if a situation occurred like that with my boss. Many emotions would likely wash across you – anger, disappointment, fear of losing your job, and how to do damage control – to mention a few. Fortunately, my boss was a good guy, and we never had to go through such an unpleasant experience.

Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor weighed in on the controversy by saying he was pleased that McAllister apologized to his constituents, adding they deserved the apology. You think? He then said he would “reserve further judgment.” 

Perhaps the leadership in Congress is becoming jaded in dealing with sex scandals. Fifty members (now 51 with McAllister) of Congress have been involved in various types of sex scandals since 1970. And that’s not counting congressional staff, presidential candidates, military leaders and others who were on the federal payroll.  

Two other Louisiana congressmen are on the sex-scandal list.  Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter’s name was found in the address book of a D.C. madam in 2007. He survived the scandal. When Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Livingston’s extramarital affair was leaked to the public in 1998, his wife urged him to resign, which he did.