CODE BLUE at C St: Religious Right On Damage Control

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CODE BLUE at 133 C St. SE: The Religious Right is on damage control over the shinanigans that have come to light at the secrative brick building on C Street. The fact that three out of six congressman that lived there were caught up in sex scandals speaks volumes. We now know that in the case of the 3 married congressmen, their affairs where known by other members of the C St. Fellowship.

It seems disingenuous that anyone would try to defend the C Street Fellowship at this point in the game. Perhaps they forgot that we reap what we sew and in the future, instead of assisting in the coverup of these sexual affairs, they’ll tell the offending member this type of behavior is unacceptable and suggest they move out immedaitely.

A post on POLITICO today said that the large townhouse is valued at more than $1.8 million, and that it’s run by Christian network of nonprofits and ministries known as “The Fellowship.” Headquartered in Arlington, Va., the group focuses on what Fellowship leaders call the “up and out,” or powerful politicians struggling to confront their personal demons. I guess it is safe to assume from this point forward that congressmen both Republican and Democrat connected to the C Street Rehab are in the process of confronting their personal demons.

By ministering to the most powerful, The Fellowship believes, it can bring Christian beliefs to the larger culture. Jeff Sharlet, who wrote a book about his time in The Fellowship's Virginia headquarters, said the group believes that lawmakers have been "chosen" to lead by Jesus Christ.

In February, Nevada Sen. John Ensign — who lives at the house — was confronted at C Street by colleagues who wanted him to end his affair with a staffer.

Earlier this month, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford — who lived at C Street when he served in the House — said C Street was where he’d been asked the “hard questions” that were “very, very important” in his decision to admit an affair with an Argentine woman.

And last week, the estranged wife of former Rep. Chip Pickering said he carried on a long-term extramarital affair while living at the “well-known C Street Complex.”

But Christian lawmakers say Washington prayer and Bible-study groups — and the secrecy that surrounds them — provide crucial counseling for their lives in the nation’s capital.

“One thing about having members meet with members is they kind of understand what each other goes through and the stresses and the pressures and those kinds of things,”

Congressional Prayer Caucus Chairman Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), who participates in a small Bible study group on Wednesday mornings. “And one member can tell another member, ‘I don’t think that’s the right thing for you to do.’”

In an interview with the evangelical World Magazine, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) described living at C Street as “one of the best parts” of life in Washington.

“We kind of make that commitment to each other to get together once a week,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s a Bible study; we always have a spiritual or scriptural thought. But sometimes we just talk about each others’ lives, try to get to know each other, remind each other that we are not important, that it’s just a title.”

Although titles may not be important, there are plenty of them at C Street. In addition to DeMint and Ensign, C Street residents include Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.). Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) lived in the house before moving to his own condo, and he still attends events there. Former Reps. Steve Largent (R-Okla.), Jim Ryun (R-Kan.), and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have also studied at C Street.

Rep. Chip Pickering & His Scorned Republican Wife:

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Do Republicans wives suffer from an inability to accept and or place blame squarely at where it belongs? In a new twist surrounding the well-known C Street Complex, apparently now suspected to be a Cat House, the wife of Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.), has filed a lawsuit against his alleged mistress, claiming the adulterous relationship ruined their marriage and his political career.

While Leisha Pickering is suing Elizabeth Creekmore Byrd, her husband’s alleged mistress, for alienation of affection, it is more likely that the basis for her lawsuit is for the alienation of the money and lifstyle that comes when your husband has a lucrative career in Washington.

Leisha Pickering says in her lawsuit that Creekmore Byrd originally "met and had a romantic relationship with [Chip] Pickering which ended prior to their college graduation."
The Pickerings were married after that, but Leisha Pickering now says that, unknown to her, "Creekmore Byrd for a number of years met and rekindled her relationship with Pickering." Leisha Pickering charges that the adulterous relationship between her husband and Creekmore Byrd ended both their marriages. Yet she doesn't seem to place any blame at the feet of her falandering husband.

Leisha Pickering alleges that Creekmore Byrd’s "extramarital relationship" with Chip Pickering began again while he was "a United States congressman prior to and while living in the well-known C Street Complex in Washington, D.C."

Chip Pickering, like Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, has lived in a Christian fellowship home on C Street. Both Ensign and Sanford have been the subjects of adultery scandals in recent weeks. Ensign had an eight-month affair with a former campaign aide, Cindy Hampton, and he resigned his leadership post after admitting to the relationship. Sanford secretly left the United States to met his Argentine mistress, setting off a national furor over his disappearance.

Leisha Pickering also charges that Creekmore Byrd secretly rented a lodge near the Pickering family while they were on a ski vacation and that somehow her husband bares no responsibility for driving his happy ass over to the lodge to visit Mrs. Creekmore. It's as if Mrs.Pickering is saying that if Mrs. Byrd hadn't rented the lodge then Chip wouldn't have been tempted to go over there and dip his pen in her ink.

And she claims that Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour offered Chip Pickering the seat of former Sen. Trent Lott in 2007 but Creekmore Byrd "insisted that if Pickering accepted the position in the Senate that their relationship would not be able to continue." Barbour eventually named then-Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) to Lott’s seat. Once again, her husbands choice to pass up a senate seat in order to maintain his relationship with his mistrees was her fault and therefore, she is responsible for the loss of income that she and her horny husband suffered.

It's sick! - It's just plain old sick a twisted the way that these women rationalize their own failures.

"I still believe it is in the best interest of our five boys if our differences are resolved privately and before the appropriate court and not in the media," Pickering said in a statement, according to The Associated Press. So she wants to do this "privately", but is giving quotes to the God Damn Associated Press! -

Pickering is now a lobbyist for Cellular South, a telecom company owned by Creekmore Byrd’s family. Perhaps Mrs. Pickering should simply come to terms with the fact that she picked the wrong man to be her husband and that if it hadn't been Mrs. Byrd, it would have eventually been someone else.