I slug it out in The Octagon of partisan political punditry – a no-holds-barred 24/7 combat zone. When a drop of your opponents blood hits the water you swarm like a school of piranhas….. or do you? If the crime-de-jour is one of the Seven Deadly Sins one best show restraint or risk your chainsaw kicking back at you. Which brings us to The Woeful Saga of Mr Stephen LaRoque. ……
That’s pronounced “La-Row-k” by the way. How do I know? Don’t ask. Trust me. I know.
If you follow NC politics (and if you found this on PlottHound, you surely do) you surely know of the ongoing trial and highly public tribulations of Mr LaRoque.
Knock-off Faberge eggs…. a Zamboni…. and all manner of harrumphing flim flam. That LaRoque is “a Republican” and at one time “a quite prominent Republican House member” (aka “….. Thom Tillis’ right-hand man”) is absolutely correct.
NOTE: To be technically correct, LaRoque is a RINO – Republican In Name Only. He cast his lot with that sleazy scoundrel Richard Morgan a few years back and many of us will not forget that.
ANOTHER NOTE: “Fake Faberge Eggs” and “his own Zamboni” ?? Dude? Who buys stoopid crap like that except millionaire rappers and NBA Lottery Picks. Crooked white guys get secret Cayman accounts and handmade Eye-talian loafers….. I’m mean REALLY Stephen !!
To deny LaRoque’s political affiliation would be as foolish as a Tar Heel fan trying to disown Marvin Austin or a Wolfpacker trying to run from Mr Amphibious.
“Mr Amphibious” – aka Charles Shackleford was, oddly, like LaRoque, a born/bred Kinstonian. OK, that is as irrelevant as the fact that “My Name Is Earl” vixen Jaimie Pressey is also a Kinstonian. A lot of sorta-kinda famous / infamous folks were wiened on that pure artesian well water down in Lenoir County. Artesian well water and King’s barbecue and hushpuppies.
I threw in those last two paragraphs to try and obfuscate LaRoque’s association with us Republicans. Did it work? No? Phooey. I was afraid it wouldn’t.
When a political personage of even slight renown gets his (or her) “tit in a wringer” the immediate knee-jerk is to lock ‘n load both barrels with buckshot and lambast the wounded animal. If the wounded animal is one of “them”; not one of “us”. I’ve learned better than that.
If the major screw-up relates to any of the Seven Deadly Sins I forgo the piling on. Those Seven Sins are: (in no particular order of severity)
Lust…. Gluttony….. Greed….. Sloth….. Wrath….. Envy….. Pride
Each of these transcends “sides of the aisle”. They can befall any man (or woman) regardless of his/her voter registration. I’m not sure what “sloth” is other than a very strange animal. Both (R) and (D) can be very strange animals. Can a Libertarian commit “sloth”?
Do the names John Edwards and Mark Sanford ring a bell? Their scuzzy hijinks involve several of “the seven” ….. Lust, Gluttony, Pride for three.
For every D that has “let the wrong head do his thinking” one can likely find an R to match him. Maybe Slick Willie merits his own pedestal in THAT Hall of Shame but maybe not.
I often reference John Edwards for a different reason that most do. I use his scandal to remind my readers how ethically corrupt The News & Observer is. The N&O’s “award-winning political reporter” – Rob “ReilleWho” Christensen – was imbedded in Edwards’ campaign but was THE VERY LAST media source to reveal the scandal in a vain effort to protect “their home boy candidate”.
Edwards’ blew up his career and his family. The N&O wantonly deceived its readers by withholding news that went against their political agenda. Edwards is now just a punch line. The N&O is still ethically corrupt.
BTW….. HOW in God’s name did Mark Sanford get back in politics ?? OK, Joe Biden is VP…. point taken.
Financial flimflamming of LaRoque’s ilk is, alas, not uncommon. Money is as powerful an aphrodisiac as an illicit tryst.
Political “board monkeys” of the D-persuasion are all over LaRoque as “another crooked Republican… like all of’em blah blah blah”. Such trite hyperbole is to be expected.
Next week…. next month there will be another Meg Phipps, Jim Black, Mike Easley, “Dumplin” Perdue-esque skim / scam that will push LaRoque well below the fold.
Sure as God made little green apples…. He made an infinite number of stoopid politicians and gave each party plenty of’em.
When “one of ours” or “one of theirs” gets caught in any of The Seven, treat it like catching a bus. Another one will ALWAYS be coming long any minute.
With The Great Unpleasantness with UNC@CH Athletics, UNC Kool-Aid drinkers have desperately played the “Everybody does it” gambit. That is, at best, a specious and weak defense. But “both sides do it” when it comes to political shenanigans is, alas, most definitely true.
I do have one question about LaRoque.
Do ya think LaRoque is paying “Seersucker Joe” Cheshire with those bejeweled eggs or will we be seeing Ol’ Joe riding down Franklin Street in his own Zamboni?
Maybe he’s paying him with both. Joe ain’t cheap!…..v
