The Wacky World of Wu

Congressman David Wu (D-Oregon)

Oddball Oregon Congressman David Wu, despite having successfully sidestepped several political pratfalls during his first six terms in the House, is apparently not very convincing in his apologies.

Editorial boards at community newspapers across the state's First Congressional District called for Wu's resignation this week after the Congressman confessed to mostly unspecified regrets over "inappropriate" and "unprofessional" "things" he "said" and "did" during his most recent campaign on Good Morning America Tuesday.

Wu didn't exactly apologize for anything. It was more like hearing excuses. Good excuses. But excuses nonetheless. Campaigns are stressful. Divorce is no picnic. Single parenthood ain't no walk in the park. And caring for one elderly parent while coping with the loss of the other is emotionally draining as well.

During the six-minute interview with George Stephanopoulos, Wu denied that his former staffers had staged what they described as an "intervention" to get him a bed in a psychiatric hospital near the end of the campaign. He did admit to deciding against committing himself to an inpatient mental health program during the campaign because of his family obligations. Since then, however, the Congressman said he has sought psychiatric help, both "counseling" and "medication."

Those revelations were damning, according to The Register-Guard newspaper in Oregon, not because he sought mental health treatment, but because he concealed his problems from the voters:

"It’s easy to understand why Wu and his staff wanted to keep questions about his condition quiet until after the election....Yet at the same time, the congressman’s silence, and that of his staff members, led voters to make their decision without knowing important facts about the leading candidate....Candor might have been costly...Whatever the price of candor, the price of its absence is higher. Wu can recover his health, but public trust is lost forever. He should step down."

Similarly, The Beaverton Valley Times called on Wu to take a leave of absence to focus on his mental health issues, House rules permitting, or resign altogether:

"This week, Wu has emphatically said he is fully capable of representing Oregon’s 1st Congressional District. We don’t agree. Wu’s recent behavior is no longer about odd, eccentric or embarrassing outbursts or actions. It’s about trust. It’s a call for Wu to restore his own mental health and personal well-being. It’s about what Oregon needs from a member of Congress.

We believe that until Wu is able to fully prove his mental health, control his erratic behavior and restore the public’s trust, he should take a leave of absence from Congress."

The Daily Astorian stopped short of calling for his resignation, opting instead only to predict it by comparing Wu to former Oregon Senator Bob Packwood who was forced to resign in 1995 after The Washington Post revealed allegations of sexual harassment against him.

"It would be the better part of smartness for Wu to resign, but political decisions are more often emotional than rational. While The Oregonian has been itching for Wu’s scalp for several terms, an editorial page from this vantage point has to acknowledge that the congressman has served Clatsop County well. Certainly Wu is becoming an embarrassment. So was Packwood. We know how this ends."

Wu in a family snapshot a few days before Halloween, just before his re-election last year. Wu sent this photo and other "bizarre" emails to staffers who became concerned about his mental health and attempted to have him hospitalized.

In political circles,Wu has long been known to be "socially awkward," a condition that has consistently put him in hot water. But according to Jeff Mapes, senior political reporter for The Portland Oregonian, he's always been able to "talk his way out of it." Mapes expounded on how Wu had survived a number of gaffes, political missteps and revelations of bizarre, inappropriate and even criminal behavior during a discussion with Oregon Public Broadcasting's Political Analyst Bill Lunch on Friday. Lunch noted that because Wu won't be up for re-election anytime soon, he'll have plenty of time to "potentially recover...or make things worse for himself."

And it could go either way. If he sticks to his story and doesn't have a meltdown, maybe voters will be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt by next fall. But it might be hard for him to win back the public's trust if he does the kinds of things he's prone to do. Like the brief tirade against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan he gave on the House floor in 2007. He stood at the dais and went on a rant filled with Star Trek references, claiming that there were no Vulcans in the Bush White House, only Klingons, who unlike "real" Klingons from the fictional television show, never had to fight a battle. It culminated with Wu jabbing his finger into the podium and pronouncing: "Don't let faux Klingons send real Americans to War! It's wrong."

The Beaverton Valley Times editorial referenced an incident last fall at a business event in his district when Wu stood up to address the group and "he frantically yelled out a quotation in German made almost a century ago by Prussian Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm II. And then he promptly sat down."

Congressmen as brilliant as Wu can get away with that kind of behavior as simply eccentric. But only until they confess to having mental problems. His brilliance is not in dispute. Wu attended both Harvard Medical and Yale Law school. But now that his mental health has been called into question, the same kinds of things that used to pass without much notice by the voters will be informing their decisions at the polls in 2012.

Revenge of the Nerds at CPAC

Last year's Conservative Political Action Conference confused and frightened me a little. A radical conservative organization that supports equal rights for gays, and a far-right group that has advocated pulling the United States out of the United Nations co-sponsored the conference. The right-wing establishment was openly accepting support from the freaks and geeks way past the fringes of its rank and file. GOP stalwarts of a more traditional bent were naturally nervous, but instead of being glad to see the mainstream movement open its arms to the underground, I too had a sinking feeling.

The religious right was turned off by the queers, and neo-conservatives twitched just thinking about a U.N. dominated by any country but America. Republicans of my father's generation thought these "conservatives" were too socially progressive to be in the club. Meanwhile I worried that these "social progressives" were conservative wolves in rainbow colored sheep's clothes. Bleating "Don't tread on me!" and driving the herd further to the right. At last year's conference the CPAC gurus also honored the Tea Party movement by linking it Ronald Reagan's legacy. The political right was getting more conservative, which makes me grit my teeth.

So this year when I Googled CPAC, I covered my eyes with one hand and peeked through two fingers like a kid watching a slasher movie as I hit return. But I must be desensitized now. Instead of being horrified I'm thrilled to report that the handsome, although slightly cross-eyed, devil pictured above in the skull and crossbones neck kerchief is running for Senate. That's Maine blogger, musician, novelist, and nerd Andrew Ian Dodge.

Dodge, a self-proclaimed "rocker" writes cheesy conservative anthems with titles like "Cry Freedom" which includes the catchy refrain "Don't let the bastards drag you down!," sung with 80s hair-band flair and accompanied by the guitar rhythm associated with the genre. And what follows is a description of one of his novels from Amazon.com:

The year is 2034. Power lies in Europe with the bureaucrats in Brussels and London is the centre for the Western Provinces.

The Supremo Manipulator of this conglomerate of nations is Pius. With no religious connections and a diminishing hold on power the Union is sustained by nepotism, violence and musical chairs of political appointees. The disintegration of the Union is imminent.

Rob, an English tech nerd together with his accomplice David, have to use their cyborg intelligence to survive in this oppressive Euro society in the Western Provinces. The assassination of Teresa, Rob's girlfriend, and a busload of tourists along with the murder of a Czech student at Hull European University, provide the catalyst for Rob and David's dangerous involvement. Together with their minders, Michaela and Kiara, they head full speed into their deadly adventure. Death is catching.

With a touch of humor, a satirical political edge, characters that you come to know well and a flowing writing style take the reader through a techno-thriller deep into the 21st century. We see the ambivalence of the revolutionaries, who never intended serious action, faced with orders to destroy and kill. Europe will never be the same again ...

I can't make this stuff up. This Tea Party affiliate, who announced his Senate run against Olympia Snowe at the conference, actually got a "permit" from the local delegation for Snowe removal. I'll leave it to more witty punsters to say whether Dodge has snoweball's chance in hell. And I probably won't be following his campaign, but I hope The Daily Show with Jon Stewart was paying attention to CPAC this year. Because whatever his political future, Dodge is ripe for parody.