PrintOctober 6, 2006
Foley's Rehab
A Brief History of Slime
Politicians and peccadilloes —— to butcher a lyric from Sammy Cahn without regard for rhyme —— go together like a horse and carriage. And claiming that the Devil —— or, more accurately, Demon Rum —— 'made me do it,' is surely not without precedent, either. Take, for instance, the saga of Rep. Wilbur D. Mills, D—Ark, and a stripper named Fanne Foxe.
In October of 1974, the then 65 year—old and quite married Representative was involved in a scandal involving an Argentine stripper, a Tidal basin and, you guessed it — alcohol. Mills was chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and was often referred to as the most powerful man in Washington, having held that chair longer than anyone in history. In the face of this shame, Mills acknowledged his alcoholism, quickly checked into a nearby clinic, and actually managed to get reelected to Congress the following month.
Surprisingly, this tactic...(Read Full Article)
