Wild and Wacky NY-26

Well, that was quick.

WASHINGTON -- The promising political career of Rep. Chris Lee collapsed Wednesday after an Internet tabloid published a shirtless picture of him that the married congressman had sent to a Maryland woman on Craigslist.

In one of the fastest and most bizarre start-to-finish scandals in recent Washington history, the Amherst Republican submitted his resignation to House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, a mere three hours after the website Gawker ran the suggestive picture and a series of e-mails between Lee and the 34-year-old single woman.

Gory details, too. He claimed to be divorced. And lied about his age. And said he was a lobbyist – which I guess is a good thing to be if you are answering a singles ad in the Washington D.C.-area. But, he did use his real name, so he's not a total liar.

I lived right next door to NY-26, a suburban Buffalo district for a few years. Just a few blocks away from the border.  Nice place. Nice folks. Republican-leaning, but not hugely conservative. But, one of those economically decimated places that continually votes against their best interests.

New York State will lose two seats, though, in the 2012 congressional reapportionment, and the 26th District seat -- with a back-bencher representing it rather than the well-liked Lee -- could be an easy target for elimination.

It's a district with a rich history. The late Jack F. Kemp of Hamburg used his congressional seat as a launching pad to becoming a national conservative icon.

And Reps. Bill Paxon of Amherst and Thomas M. Reynolds of Clarence both represented the district and became part of the House leadership.

Lee succeeded Reynolds, who retired in 2008. A largely unknown business executive at the time, Lee fought a tough campaign against Democrat Alice J. Kryzan and quickly made a mark in Congress.

In 2008, I really thought a Democrat would make it. Tom Reynolds decided to retire, in the shadows of the Mark Foley scandal – the Florida Republican Congressman who resigned from Congress over allegations he sent sexually suggestive e-mails and instant messages to teenaged boys who had formerly served as congressional pages. Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Committee at the time, knew of the accusations and was criticized for not doing enough about it.

Well, the district voted Republican again, and this is what they got.

Will they vote against their best interests again, in 2011?