Alabama’s very own self-proclaimed “family values” governor might get the boot for a very un-family like reason. According to ThinkProgress.org and multiple media outlets, Gov. Robert Bentley is accused of allegedly having an extramarital affair. Bentley’s wife, Diane, filed for a divorce last year.
Divorce is actually fairly common in the United States; researchers estimate that about 40 to 50% of all first marriages, and 60% of second marriages, will end in one. Still, when you consider that Bentley has run his election campaigns on protecting family values, and specifically the sanctity of marriage, the irony is borderline cliched.
“From the beginning of his second term he has done nothing but lie and deceive the people of Alabama and now we are seeing basically the fruits of that,” said state Rep. Ed Henry. “If we are going to do anything for the next two years as far as economic development, bringing in industry, being effective if you will, we will have to do it without Robert Bentley as the governor.”
Late last month the 73-year-old Bentley admitted to having sexually suggestive conversations with 44-year-old Rebekah Mason, his senior political advisor. His “admission” was far from a matter of coming clean on his own. His wife Diane released the recorded conversation to AL.com, which made the conversations public.
Despite the public outcry, Bentley has remained defiant in his position to not resign from his post. In fact, he even tried to downplay the whole situation, saying that his actions were not “all that egregious” and that he would “work through all the difficulties.”
If an extramarital sex scandal isn’t enough to garner impeachment, there’s also the matter of the “unique employment situation” of Mason. That’s how AL.com characterized the governor’s top advisor in an earlier report that discovered how she was technically not employed as a state employee even though she worked directly in the governor’s office. By not being a state employee, she does not have to disclose financial information to the Alabama Ethics Commission, which has led to speculation about potential misuse/abuse of government funds.
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