Ore. Rep. Wu (D) Admits 'Inexcusable Behavior' (toward an ex-girlfriend)

[Khephra]

Ore. Rep. Wu Admits 'Inexcusable Behavior'
Tuesday, October 12, 2004; 12:00 PM


PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Democratic congressman in a tight re-election race admitted Tuesday that while he was a college student 28 years ago, he was disciplined by school officials for "inexcusable behavior" toward an ex-girlfriend.

The admission by Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., came immediately after a report published in The Oregonian newspaper saying a former girlfriend from college once claimed Wu tried to force her into having sex. The lengthy report said the woman, whom the newspaper did not identify, declined to comment.

In a statement, Wu said he had a "two-year romantic relationship that ended with inexcusable behavior on my part."

"I take full responsibility for my actions and I am very sorry," Wu said. "I was disciplined by Stanford University for my behavior, and I worked with a counselor. This single event forever changed my life and the person I have become."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26654-2004Oct12.html

[WI_DEM]

1. because of this in all probability Wu is done

especially if it really is a close race.

[Carla in Ca]

24. Here is another GOP sicko, for balance

<http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=339>

[depakid]

25. Oh, hogwash

that's ridiculous.

The race is not that close (trust me, I live in the f***ing district) but the right wing Oregonian has it out for Wu and they think in their arrogangance that they can affect this particular election. That's one of the reasons why they endorsed Kerry... aside from the fact that they know he's going to carry the state by 7-10% points.

[GHOSTDANCER]

27. I'll take Wu over those Koolaid drinking Bush Worshipers any day

But this might spell trouble for him.

[olddem43]

2. This seems very meaningless -

He "tried" to. He was disciplined. It was 28 years ago. George Bush was still drunk and on coke at that time.

[dolstein]

7. Since when is attempted rape "very meaningless"?

The allegation was that he tried to force his girlfriend (possibly ex-girlfriend at the time) to have sex with him. Clearly, if these allegations were true, they could hardly be dismissed as meaningless.

[Tempest]

3. A real "youthful indiscretion"

Unlike Bush's DUI at age 40 that he tried to blame on a "youthful indiscretion".

[dolstein]

8. Since when is attempted rape a "youthful indiscretion"?

The allegation is that he tried to force his girlfriend (possibly ex-girlfriend) to have sex with him.

I suspect that if Bush were accused of the same thing, you would not dismiss it as a youthful indiscretion.

[IndianaGreen]

9. Who is your witness?

The lengthy report said the woman, whom the newspaper did not identify, declined to comment.

<snip>

Wu was not arrested. The woman ultimately declined to press charges and did not file a formal complaint with the school, former Stanford officials said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26654-2004Oct12.html

Unless you get the woman to talk, you have nothing here!

[dolstein]

10. Were all of Arnold's accusers "on the record"?

Sorry, but you guys are clearly behaving like flaming hypocrites. And you know damn well that only a faction of actual rapes, much less attempted rapes, get reported, much less prosecuted.

You have Wu himself admitted that he engaged in "inexcusable conduct", and he specifically avoided denying the substance of the report in the Oregon paper.

And yet you still have the gall to deny that anything actually happened? It's one thing to argue that that Wu's conduct 28 years ago ought to be weighed against his behavior since. But to simply deny that anything actually happened, or that it was a mere youthful indiscretion, is just plain ridiculous.

[cally]

12. Several of Arnie's accusers came out publicly

and the behavior was recent and while he was married.

I don't excuse attempted rape but I do think if you make amends, change, and the woman is not making accusations then it is a mistake. One act does not taint someone forever if they truly change.

[sandnsea]

18. And the right ignored it all

Behavior that went on and on and on, probably still going on. We can't ever win if we quiver every time the right throws something at us. David Wu has more than proven himself to be a decent human being. I think it would be a shame to let them win with what is nothing more than another smear campaign. It's all they ever do because they know Democrat's sense of fair play will kick in. Is Texas rising up against Tom Delay? Hell no and he's pulling his shit right now. Don't fall for this stuff, it's gutter politics and nothing more.

[depakid]

26. You have the gall to make unsubstantiated allegations

without having seen the evidence. Frankly, you're being reactionary- and none too smart, if you're relying on the Oregonian....

[RivetJoint]

16. Looks like WU is his/her witness

Since he admitted he did something "inexcusable" and was punished for it by the Univeristy.

[Parche]

4. David WU

Looks like Goli Ameri is getting desperate
We all do things that we would like to forget in our lives
I have met David WU, he is my congressman, he is fantastic
and to bring something like this up, smells of desperation
on the part of the trailing Goli Ameri, the Republican from Iran
which is part of the so called axis of evil

[northzax]

21. I too have met David Wu

before he became a congressman, and within the last ten years. Frankly, from what I witnessed then, this doesn't really suprise me. (that said, this is only a personal comment on my interaction with him, I will not discuss what happened, since it is a personal matter and, like this, irrelevant to his service to the good people of Oregon.)

that said, it's frankly irrelevant. Almost everyone I know has done things at that age, including myself, that will look real bad in 20 years. Most of the men I know are guilty of rape, from a certain perspective (anyone had sex with someone too drunk to give legal consent? the fact that she appeared willing at the time, or that you were drunk as well is no excuse. heck, the fact that she didn't complain in the morning doesn't change the fact that it was legally rape.) I once had a two year relationship with someone that started this way. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone does stupid things, most of us just get away with them and learn our lesson. If David Wu accepted his punishment and has never repeated the behaviour, I'd say that this becomes one facet of his life to look at, but the remainder can outweigh one mistake. Can does not mean DOES, it means CAN.

look for patterns, not outlying incidents. If this is part of a pattern of abuse, violence and sirespect towards others (Like Arnold, mulitple incidents over multiple years with no punishment) then you have an issue. If this was a once-off stupid incident that he has spent the last 20 years trying to make up for, then I'd reduce the importance in light of more recent behaviour.

[Syncronaut Seven]

5. Nooooo...... Not David!!!!

Wu had a girlfriend !?! First big dog, now this?

David Wu does a good job for us here in Oregon, I bet the gal in question has forgiven him.

Like the line I like to spring on freepers at bars RE: Clinton: What? you never cheated on <i>YOUR</i> wife?

Ummm... er... stutter, silence.

I'm pretty sure Wu has attoned for his sins by now.

[IndianaGreen]

6. 28 years ago?

If people can vote for Arnold, whose "transgressions" were far more recent in time, why can't they vote for Wu who is not today the man he was back then.

Did the GOP candidate spill his seed in violation of the Bible?

[dolstein]

11. Nobody's saying people can't vote for Wu

But in case you've forgotten, there weren't many DU'ers making the argument that Arnold's transgressions were trivial or that they didn't disqualify him for public office.

It seems that a lot of DU'ers have a double standard when it comes to sexual harassment. Apparently, it's ok when Democrats do it, but not ok when Republicans do it.

[cally]

13. No double standard at all

Arnie has never admitted what he did nor asked for forgiveness. He did not attack one woman, but many over his public career. There is a difference here.

[Parche]

14. wu

I dont think people are saying that
Arnold had a reputation for continuing to do those things
David WU made a mistake, and he admits it
Like i said ,we all make mistakes we are all human,(except Republicans)

[central scrutinizer]

15. Contrast this with the Oregonian on Packwood

The Oregonian had the story on Packwood's sexual predation but sat on it until just after the election in 1996? 1998? Packwood won re-election in a close race with Les AuCoin then had to resign later because his actions were so egregious and wouldn't go away.

[gratuitous]

17. Let's see, 28 years ago . . .

No formal accusation. No criminal charges. Incident investigated and dropped. Wu has admitted his behavior was inexcusable. Wu has apologized for the behavior (something that Republicans, who often apologize for being caught or apologize in case anyone was offended). Wu claims he has changed, and there don't appear to be any more recent occurrences.

What's the correct punishment? And is punishment necessary in a case where the offender has apparently reformed? What would be the purpose of punishment at this time? There is no credible "deterrent" argument that can be made. The point of bringing this up now, when Wu is in the middle of a tight race for re-election is . . . what, exactly?

Apparently the Oregonian, which gave Bob Packwood a pass back in 1996, and gave Neil Goldschmidt a pass up until this year, has determined not to let another allegation of sexual impropriety pass again. At least, not if it's a juicy non-story that can hurt a Democrat that it didn't endorse.

[Drifter]

20. Jeeeze, what was AWOL doing ....

28 years ago. You can bet he was drunk and coked up.

Cheers
Drifter

[BiggJawn]

19. To what extent did he "Try to force" her?

did he have a knee in her chest while he tried to rip her panties down, or was he going "C'Mon, babe, you KNOW you wanna" for 3 hours until she threw him out? That's important. Did he physically try to force his attentions on her, or was he trying to whine his way into her pants?

'nuf clarification for you, Dolstein?

28 years....Shit, I was still a virgin then!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. I don't know how old you are, Dolstein

but I was a college student in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and there was NO consciousness of "date rape" then. Several times I had to fight off guys (successfully, thank goodness) who thought that buying me a movie ticket and a slice of pizza entitled them to sex, even if there was no chemistry. Especially if there was no chemistry, it seemed.

If this were a story from eight years ago or even eighteen years ago, then my attitude would be different, but social mores were different back then.

By the way, I met David Wu before he was a Congressman and before he was married, and he did NOT set off my very accurate "creep detector."

[onenote]

23. I bet

that slug drudge picks this up and runs with it, but ignores the story breaking about the more recent bad behavior of a NY repub congressional candidate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x900018

onenote