Undress of Grievances

Ever notice how it's always a conservative who gets caught with his pants down or in front of an open mike ... or in one case with HER pants down and HIM in front of an open mike.

If liberals ever do something considered immoral, and it would take a long time to find a recent example, it is merely expected. And it is not considered hypocritical.

So it is with mixed feelings I bring you the account of California Republican Mike Duvall. He committed an indiscretion during a career of making sure other people weren't allowed to have fun. On the other hand, it was about spanking. So maybe there is something to be said for conservatives. Yet the woman he bragged about is a lobbyist whose job it is to talk smack, not necessarily receive smacks.

Anyway, here is the story.

Lawmaker Quits Over Sex Comments

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Sept. 9) - A

Republican state lawmaker from Southern

California resigned Wednesday amid

growing outrage over a videotape that

caught him bragging in graphic detail

about having sex with a female lobbyist

and another woman.

Assemblyman Mike Duvall, whose votes

on family-oriented legislation received

high marks from conservative groups,

said in a statement the furor over his

comments had begun to divert attention

from the work his fellow lawmakers were

trying to finish during the final week of

their session.

Duvall is married and has two adult

children.

In a recording of a legislative hearing,

Duvall can be heard talking about a

recent sexual escapade with a woman he

says is 18 years younger.

“I’m getting into spanking her,” Duvall is

heard to say on the videotape.

The other man asks if she likes it, too.

Duvall responds: “She goes, ‘I know you

like spanking me.’ I said, ‘Yeah, that’s

‘cause you’re such a bad girl.’”

The conversation was first reported by

KCAL-TV in Los Angeles and the

newspaper OC Weekly. The Associated

Press later obtained a copy of the

videotaped hearing.

Duvall, an Orange County lawmaker, said

it would not be fair to his family,

constituents or friends to remain in office.

“I am deeply saddened that my

inappropriate comments have become a

major distraction for my colleagues in the

Assembly, who are working hard on the

very serious problems facing our state,”

he said. “Therefore, I have decided to

resign my office, effective immediately, so

that the Assembly can get back to work.”

The 54-year-old lawmaker made the

comments about the affairs to another

lawmaker during a break in a committee

meeting at the Capitol over the summer,

and they were caught on a microphone at

his desk.

Duvall also discusses the woman’s “eyepatch

underwear” and the age difference

between himself and the lobbyist, who is

not named on the videotape. He tells the

other lawmaker, whose identity was not

immediately clear, that the woman’s

birthday was two days before the

committee hearing.

Duvall said he joked with the lobbyist that

she was getting old after turning 36 and

told her, “I am going to have to trade you

in.”

The lawmaker then brags about an affair

he is having with another woman.

“Oh, she is hot! I talked to her yesterday.

She goes, ‘So are we finished?’ I go, ‘No,

we’re not finished.’ I go, ‘You know about

the other one, but she doesn’t know about

you!’” Duvall can be heard saying in an

apparent reference to his affair with the

lobbyist.

Duvall received a 100 percent rating from

Capitol Resource Institute, a conservative

advocacy group, for his votes on

legislation considered pro-family during

the 2007-08 legislative session. The

institute did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

Before resigning, Duvall apologized for

the comments on his campaign Web site

and said he made a mistake.

“I deeply regret the comments I made in

what I believed to be a private

conversation,” he said. “This is a private

matter and I ask that everyone respect

the privacy of all involved.”

Duvall’s Assembly office was locked

Wednesday afternoon.

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los

Angeles, asked the Assembly Ethics

Committee to investigate. She also

removed Duvall from the Assembly

Utilities and Commerce Committee, which

considers utility regulations, and the

Assembly Rules Committee.

“I am saddened and disappointed in the

recent comments made by

Assemblymember Mike Duvall,” Bass

said in a statement. “There is no question

his comments were inappropriate.”

Assembly Minority Leader Sam

Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, said he

also asked Duvall to step down as a

member of the Republican caucus

leadership.

“The statements he made were

inappropriate and unacceptable,”

Blakeslee said.

This is what I call undress of grievances.