Disgraced former Ohio congressman dies at 79 ("Buz" Lukens)

[OhioChick]

Source: AP

1 hour ago

DALLAS — Former U.S. Rep. Donald "Buz" Lukens of Ohio, once a rising conservative star in state politics before a string of scandals abruptly ended his career, has died. He was 79.

Lukens died of cancer at a Dallas nursing home Saturday, said his sister, Lois Short of Springfield, Ohio.

Lukens was convicted in 1989 of paying a 16-year-old girl from Columbus for sex. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail fined $500.

The scandal cost him the 1990 Republican primary, where he lost to then-state Rep. John Boehner, now the House minority leader in Congress.

Lukens resigned his seat Oct. 24, 1990, less than three months before his term was to expire, rather than face an investigation by the House ethics committee, which planned to look into allegations of sexual misconduct.

Lukens also was mired in legal trouble because of a scandal involving the now-defunct House bank, which benefited Congress members by offering unlimited penalty-free checking overdrafts.

Later accused of taking $15,000 in bribes from two Cincinnati businessmen, Lukens was convicted on a felony charge of bribery in 1996 and sentenced to 30 months in prison.



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[Jackpine Radical]

1. I'm terribly saddened at the passing of such a sterling exemplar

of Republican values.

What heroes will people like Rush and Vitter have to mold themselves on now?

[47of74]

2. If you can't say something nice about a fellow...

...don't say anything at all. Which is the high road I am going to take here.

[bulloney]

3. In my legislative experience, I could work with and carry civil conversations with Lukens.

unlike that a-hole who succeeded him and continues to be an embarrassment to the entire Ohio Congressional Delegation, John Boehner.

[Zorro]

4. I met him many years ago

He was the newly elected representative from my district, and held a "meet your congressman" session one Sunday afternoon at a local high school library.

I asked him one-on-one (no one else was in the library) what his position was on allowing 18 year olds to vote. He was against it, because he didn't think they were mature enough to cast an intelligent vote.

I then asked him whether he thought it was unfair to draft 18 year olds but deny them the right to vote. He said no it wasn't unfair, because that's just the way things were.

Needless to say, I was hardly swayed by the logic of his argument. Pretty much confirmed his dipshit credentials with that exchange.

[Berry Cool]

5. So, he didn't think 18-year-olds were mature enough to vote

but he did think 16-year-old girls were mature enough to have sex...and get paid for it.

Interesting.