Married ‘family values’ Iowa Senate majority leader resigns after being caught kissing lobbyist on camera

A self-described “family values” conservative has resigned from the Iowa state legislature after he was caught on video kissing a lobbyist who is not his wife.

Iowa Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix (R-Shell Rock) is seated next to the woman on a barstool in the 52-second video clip, which was posted on the Iowa Starting Line political website, when the lobbyist leans over to kiss the married lawmaker, reported the Des Moines Register.

“Effective at 2pm today, Bill Dix resigned his position as Majority Leader and State Senator. I believe he made the right decision for himself and for his district, but most importantly, I believe he made the decision in the best interest of his family,” said Iowa Senate President Jack Whitver in a statement.

The incident shown on the video allegedly happened March 1 at the Waveland Tap bar in Des Moines, according to Starting Line.

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/03/married-family-values-iowa-lawmaker-caught-kissing-lobbyist-camera/

https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/972626796062666757?s=20


Caroline O.
@RVAwonk
Speaking at a rally for Rick Saccone, Trump encouraged the crowd to verbally attack the press — and then told the crowd to stop when they started booing North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
7:14 PM - Mar 10, 2018

Families visiting America’s iconic national parks this summer might be surprised to find a new attraction amid the canyons, cliffs and juniper trees: the Donald J. Trump Utah National Parks Highway.

A Utah lawmaker has introduced a bill that would rename the state’s most scenic route in honor of the president, placing 62 Donald Trump signs along a 600-mile stretch that rolls through or near five national parks: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion.

The bill’s sponsor, State Representative Michael E. Noel, a Republican, is calling the move a show of gratitude to Mr. Trump for the president’s December decision to slash the size of two contentious national monuments in the state, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.

An opponent of the bill, State Senator Jim Dabakis, has said he would fight it by adding the name of an adult film star who is reported to have had an affair with the president. “If it gets to the Senate,” Mr. Dabakis threatened on Twitter this week, “I will present an amendment that the frontage road be designated as the Stormy Daniels rampway.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/us/donald-trump-highway-utah.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

It is troubling that we have chosen a president who would fail the basic background tests that the thousands of people working for him must pass, and a Congress that won't play its watchdog role.

As veterans of the Office of the White House Counsel under presidents of both parties, we have worked with hundreds of officials seeking ethics and security clearances in order to work in the federal government. Fourteen months into this presidency, it is increasingly obvious that there is a man in the White House now who would not be able to get such clearances if he were not the president.

Every day brings a new reason why President Trump cannot meet the standards expected of every single person who works for him (except for the vice president). Take recent reports about the payment Trump attorney Michael Cohen "facilitated" for porn actress Stormy Daniels to help Trump in the waning days of the 2016 campaign. Despite Cohen's carefully worded denials that he was not reimbursed by the Trump Organization or the Trump campaign, this week brought the news that he complained to friends that Trump had been slow to reimburse him, and that Trump was supposed to sign the settlement agreement under an assumed name.

-snip-

And that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are literally hundreds of other issues. Take Trump’s web of financial dealings that exposes him to influence by foreign governments, sovereign wealth funds and banks controlled by foreign governments. His extensive business activities in foreign countries including Canada, China, the Dominican Republic, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Scotland, St. Martin, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and Venezuela have already yielded conflicts or potential conflicts.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/03/07/trump-couldnt-get-ethics-security-clearances-white-house-job-if-not-president-painter-eisen-column/399892002/