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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGrayson's wife files for divorce.
Lolita Grayson, wife of U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, filed for divorce Monday in Orange County Family Court.
In her divorce petition, filed by her attorney Terry C. Young of Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed of Orlando, Mrs. Grayson declares their marriage of nearly 24 years "is irretrievably broken."
The Graysons have four children, including one who is 18, so not a party to the divorce. Mrs. Grayson, 53, seeks joint but primary custody of their minor children, ages 15, 13 and 8, their marital home and equitable distribution of all other assets. Rep. Grayson is 55.
Here's a written response provided by his press secretary Lauren Doney:
"Although the Congressman and Lolita have been together for many years, they are now separated. This has been a very difficult transition for everyone involved.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/blogs/political-pulse/os-lolita-grayson-files-for-divorce-from-alan-grayson-20140107,0,5273715.post
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)I hope people leave them be during this. Divorce is hard enough without people poking their noses into it.
shenmue
(38,501 posts)That's very sad.
FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)Divorce is not the career killer that it once was. But nevertheless, with his 2014 reelection, as well as the 2016 Presidential election, it seems like she could have just stayed out of the way for a couple years and let Rep Grayson become President.
OTOH, maybe it is better to get it out of the way.
Fla_Democrat
(2,545 posts)HappyMe
(20,277 posts)Somebody that is utterly miserable isn't going to be very effective in their job. Divorce isn't a stigma at all.
FSogol
(45,356 posts)Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)he can ready himself for the role he was born to play: Supreme Court Justice Grayson.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)would be a scream.
DJ13
(23,671 posts)...... at each other!
ananda
(28,782 posts)..
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)his job." --- from Ruby Fruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)Squinch
(50,773 posts)Number23
(24,544 posts)not only is it ridiculous but I have no idea why it would be dropped so unceremoniously and irrelevantly in the middle of this thread.
Squinch
(50,773 posts)In which it is stated that without the patriarchy, described as "the foundation of all our proud national life" we will all be "pathetic psychological eunuchs who grovel at the feet of their Socialist-Islamist masters." Apparently The Simpsons are a tool of this evil consipiracy being waged by the "liberal Hollywood elites."
This is a Democratic site, right? Sometimes I get confused.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)It no longer surprises me to read things like this on du.
karynnj
(59,474 posts)As to why - that is between them. However Congressional elections are every two years. If there marriage is not working and they want it over, when would there NOT be an election coming up? As it is, this sounds like they are keeping things civil - and if that continues, I would expect that it would have no affect on his 2014 race.
ProgressSaves
(123 posts)He means well, but the DNC is always trying to clean up his messes.
And I lost a lot of respect in his ability to make decisions after losing millions in an investment scheme.
He says all the right things, but the package is all wrong.
ananda
(28,782 posts)..
HERVEPA
(6,107 posts)sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)thankfully it will have little impact on his political career in a country where more than half of all marriages end in divorce.
Right Wingers made that hypocritical error (considering what we found out about their own personal lives) when they went after Clinton as an 'unfaithful' spouse. The public refused to be as hypocritical as they obviously were when a majority were more disgusted by the far right's obsession with other people's sex lives, than with whatever point they were trying to make.
frylock
(34,825 posts)Logical
(22,457 posts)PeaceNikki
(27,985 posts)Whisp
(24,096 posts)FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)Seriously, I wish them well. I know it is a tragedy when any marriage breaks apart.
I was attempting to zing some people who seem to believe that someone like Rep Grayson, Sen Warren, or President Obama need to completely subordinate themselves to the desires of "the people".
Raine1967
(11,589 posts)I am going to apologize for my post up above.
I thought you were serious in your earlier post.
Jeebers, GD is getting so out of hand I can not tell what is serious and what is not any more.
Peace to you FrodosPet. Happy new year.
Raine
FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)May 2014 be the turn around year for the human species!
MoonRiver
(36,926 posts)just sayin'
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)should be lived? We know NOTHING about other people's personal lives and have zero right to comment on them. They're getting a divorce, like half the population does on a regular basis. That's all we know and all we need to know.
I hope both of them live long and happy lives and I hope he wins his next election and the next if he chooses to run.
MoonRiver
(36,926 posts)I've been through a divorce (happily remarried now for 25 years), so I know how tough it is. I wish them both all the best.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)Graysons' case. I am glad you found happiness and hope they will too.
Whisp
(24,096 posts)840high
(17,196 posts)SidDithers
(44,228 posts)Sid
PCIntern
(25,343 posts)I'm dizzy...where am I? I need a drink badly...
Squinch
(50,773 posts)Response to FrodosPet (Reply #3)
NuclearDem This message was self-deleted by its author.
Dash87
(3,220 posts)NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)Raine1967
(11,589 posts)bonzaga
(48 posts)Sarcasm, people. Sarcasm.
Lost_Count
(555 posts)... So it doesn't matter.
polichick
(37,152 posts)Warpy
(110,900 posts)No woman in an unhappy marriage should have to suck it up in the name of politics.
I can tell you she just wants things over and settled and is doing it all sooner rather than later so it won't interfere with his campaign later this year.
And no, divorce isn't a candidate killer unless the candidate is being divorced over being found in bed with a dead woman or a live child. Even that doesn't matter if he's Republican.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)Good luck to all.
None! I wish them both, and the children, well.
In spite of everyone's good intentions, some times it just doesn't work out.
Xyzse
(8,217 posts)This is difficult no matter how amicable things can be.
I wish them well, and that is all I am going to say about this. (I am staying out).
NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)Steph flirts with everybody but he gives me vibes like he loves the ladies...I mean REALLY loves the ladies.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)demwing
(16,916 posts)Dog Latin for New Dem?
why am I not surprised?
NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)You need to stop putting these politicians on pedestals. I agree with 99.9% of his positions but he sounds like a horndog when I hear his interviews on the Stephanie Miller show. So sue me.
There's too much hero worship in politics.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)with your 'horndog' opinion.
NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)HappyMe
(20,277 posts)NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)demwing
(16,916 posts)Last edited Tue Jan 7, 2014, 01:27 PM - Edit history (1)
but when others support him they are guilty of "hero worship"?
NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)We think these guys are going to be our saviors and they're not. Obama is a mediocre 2-term president who squandered the most political capital since LBJ in my opinion. Grayson has great political positions but ineffective. He'll never be a senator, governor, or President where he can affect change.
I don't find him to be serious. Elizabeth Warren at least gets some results like the CFPB.
demwing
(16,916 posts)just Democrats. That, along with a nic that translates directly to "New Dem," and some some "skeevy" criticism of one of our most populist Congressmen, makes for an easy conclusion.
If it was a rash conclusion, I apologize. No apologies, however, for defending Grayson against your personal attacks.
NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)I'm more troubled by our side acting like Republicans.
demwing
(16,916 posts)demwing
(16,916 posts)But legitimately holding politicians accountable (as I know you've done in the past) doesn't equate to calling them "skeevy" based on some perceptions of the tone of their voice on a radio show.
Nor does support of a pol make someone a hero worshiper, and your saying so makes you seem petty, and takes away from your more valid points.
NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)He talks a good game but I don't see a lot of results. Sometimes you just don't like the cut of a person's jib. I'm just hoping we don't have another Anthony Weiner on our hands. He talked a good game too.
demwing
(16,916 posts)http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/07/florida_democrat_alan_grayson_is_the_most_effective_member_of_the_house.html
Alan Grayson Gets Things Done
http://graysonforcongress.com/achievements
NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)I found the Slate article to be more persuasive. He learned from his first term and developed a more effective approach to getting legislation passed where there was common ground (i.e. NSA).
I find his personality skeevy and a little smarmy so what? I can agree with him and not adore him.
HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)Signed up almost 7 years ago and are posting again! Good thing!
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)cheer. No one can make a lying Republican squirm the way Grayson can.
pa28
(6,145 posts)I've added one to my list.
dionysus
(26,467 posts)MineralMan
(146,192 posts)I simply do not understand that.
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)Poor people. What a horrible experience divorce is.
mstinamotorcity2
(1,451 posts)is not ours to peek into or make an evaluation on. Not our business.
JNelson6563
(28,151 posts)B Calm
(28,762 posts)hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)whatchamacallit
(15,558 posts)Freddie Stubbs
(29,853 posts)It was just revealed last month that Congressman Grayson lost $18 million in a fraudulent investment scheme. It was the second time which Grayson lost millions of dollars to fraudulent investments (the first time it was $34 million).
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)actually done or tried to do good things, but in the end he's both a lawyer and the kind of person that has $18M or $34M and still feels that is not enough.
People like that are not generally good to be around because sooner or later they will turn their eyes toward what you have.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)You say that, despite the money he has, he "still feels that is not enough."
If he really felt that way he wouldn't be in Congress. He could make waaaaay more money if he'd stayed in the private sector where he made all that money in the first place.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)(in the first case I replied to) in what turns out to be a scam, the only motivation for doing so is the prospect of gaining a much larger profit on that money than simply parking it in safe places with a guaranteed preservation of capital at interest (even at the current courtesy rate of .5% this adds about $100K). IOW, $30M, or $40M, or $60M isn't enough for him. Why? What could you buy with $100M that you can't have with $20M?
Do you really believe that a Congressional gig isn't incredibly lucrative with no risk? Do you know what Nancy Pelosi is worth today compared to what she had at the beginning of her stint? Do you think that Boehner(?) is donating his time to the nation for $180K a year? Dianne Feinstein has not had a job outside "public service" in 40 years, yet she has somehow, miraculously I'm sure, managed to turn those civil servant paychecks into a financial empire of somewhere in the neighborhood of $100M (no, not her husband, he's a billionaire).
The fact that he placed those sums in risky instruments in order to make even more is indicative of a dangerous personality to be around.
Do you know why most people have the good sense to not try swimming with sharks? Are you really comfortable placing your trust in those that do?
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)First, in many cases like this, the investor was motivated partly by the desire for a higher return but also partly by the desire to help the fund manager, who is usually a longtime and trusted friend. The person with the big bankroll thinks, "I'll help good ol' Joe by investing in this deal he's putting together, and even after his cut I'll still get more money than a CD would pay." Then ol' Joe turns out to have been crooked, or to have started out honest but gotten desperate for money, and the investor suffers a big loss. It's happened to plenty of big-name entertainers and athletes.
(If you want to argue that he made a bad decision about whom to trust, and that THAT's a consideration in his qualification for public office, I'd agree that it has at least some relevance. Being wrong in that kind of personal situation, though, doesn't mean that as President he'd be bad at choosing Cabinet members or Supreme Court judges.)
Second, even as to wanting the highest return, I don't see that as indicating "a dangerous personality". It would be dangerous if he'd been, for example, risking financial ruin if the deal went bad, but obviously he wasn't. I think it's more of an automatic reaction: "As an investor, my correct procedure is to maximize expected return, taking account of acceptable risk." It doesn't have to reflect a craving for a second yacht or whatever.
Third, as to his career choices: Grayson was a lawyer in private practice, left that for the business world (which I think is where he made most of his money), then returned to the law, then ran for Congress. Thus, his two latest major career decisions -- business to law, then law to politics -- each probably involved a step down from the point of view of making money.
Finally, though not all that relevant to Grayson, I don't buy your casual and unsubstantiated attacks on Pelosi and Feinstin. think you have your facts straight about Pelosi. I doubt that her husband is a billionaire. The Center for Responsive Politics website has Pelosi's financial disclosure forms, the most recent being her 2011 form, and it shows a net worth in the range of roughly $8 million to $181 million. The Center states: "Senate, House, Executive branch and Judicial rules require the disclosure of items belonging to the filer's spouse and/or dependent children. When present, those items are displayed on this page and are included in all calculations throughout this section." In essence, her husband is a wealthy private investor and that's where the couple's net worth comes from. I doubt that there's anything shady about any of it. The San Francisco Chronicle reported this in 2007:
Ken Boehm, head of the conservative National Legal and Policy Center in Virginia, spent months last year looking into Nancy Pelosi's financial records, campaign contributions and legislative records, looking for any hint of impropriety.
"There was no sign that she enriched herself personally by her official actions," he told The Chronicle last year. "She didn't cross the line as far as I could tell." (from "Pelosi's husband prefers a low profile / Successful investor has taken care to avoid causing controversy")
If the kind of people who call for impeachment over Benghazi can't find the least little bit of mud to throw at Pelosi, I'm confident that her finances are clean.
Even before I'd found that much about Pelosi, I was thinking that I was spending too much time unearthing specific facts to counter vague, unsupported charges. Moving on to Feinstein, I discovered that her personal financial disclosure form was 347 pages, and I decided to punch out. Feel free to go through Feinstein's form yourself and let us know about any smoking guns.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)I'm not sure which is my favorite, the idea that rich people throw tens of millions of dollars at long time investment banker/hedge fund manager friends to help them out, that the people that have accumulated that kind of money are just trying to earn a bigger dividend after all (completely ignoring the issue I actually raised), or that you are going to get reliable information from a politician's financial disclosure forms (somewhere between $8M and $181M?) try doing your taxes this year with comparable estimates .
I mean really, you actually read what you wrote and expect other people to believe it?
You switched up the husbands, Blum is Feinstein's billionaire husband, and if you were looking for real information rather than regurgitated campaign talking points from years past on Nancy, you might consider a source a little further from her power base than the San Francisco Chronicle (Hell, you might actually look at their decades long mutual support system).
And no defense of Boner? I'm shocked!
So what we come down to here is that you have little to no direct experience with the really rich and powerful, but it doesn't matter in any case because greed is good and everybody's entitled to take just as much as they can for as long as they can so long as they register as a Democrat.
As I said in the very first reply, I love what Congressman Grayson says and most of what he's done and tried to do, but that support doesn't include blinders or abandoning common sense and a lifetime of experience.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)You write, "you have little to no direct experience with the really rich and powerful, but it doesn't matter in any case because greed is good and everybody's entitled to take just as much as they can for as long as they can so long as they register as a Democrat."
I did not say what you claim I said. I do not in fact believe it.
If I could change one thing about DU, it would be the tendency for people to reply to statements that have not actually been made. I will admit that you're far from the only offender, merely the most recent.
Anyway, if you have indeed unearthed devastating financial information about Democratic officeholders, which hasn't been found by government watchdogs reviewing their disclosure forms or by major newspapers or by conservatives doing opposition research, then I congratulate you on your investigative skills. I assure you that I will support prosecution for any crimes that have been committed, even if the perps are Democrats.
TheKentuckian
(24,936 posts)Response to Baitball Blogger (Original post)
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rgbecker
(4,806 posts)VOTE EARLY AND OFTEN!
Response to rgbecker (Reply #66)
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Terra Alta
(5,158 posts)Let Rep. Grayson and his wife handle this in private. My thoughts and prayers are with Rep. Grayson, his wife, and especially their children.
kentuck
(110,950 posts)..when you take it as seriously as Alan does. Best of luck to him and his family.
No one knows what goes on under the roofs of others.
littlewolf
(3,813 posts)but really feel for the congressman. he can not catch a break,
he get scammed out of a bunch of money and now this!
good gravy.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Such a thing didn't ruin Scarborough...and he's been divorced, what, twice?
Rex
(65,616 posts)I hope that everyone can be positive and move forward with life. I am a child of divorce.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)Their revered Saint Ronnie was elected President after having been divorced.