Martha Robertson (D CAND, New York-23) to accept fundraiser from child molester.

You would think that Do not accept political favors from somebody who once molested a kid would be one of those basic Rules Of Life.  You know: the sort of thing that people don’t need to be told about, before they start out on a federal Congressional career.  Apparently not:

Peter Yarrow, who rose to fame in the 1960s folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, is set to do a fundraiser for [New York] Democratic congressional candidate Martha Robertson later this month in Ithaca – even though he infamously pleaded guilty in 1970 to a charge of “taking indecent liberties” with a child.

Not surprisingly, Republicans are making Yarrow’s appearance an issue in Robertson’s spirited race against Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning, in the Southern Tier district that includes Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties. The Reed-Robertson race is expected to be among the hottest congressional contests in the country next year.

“It is absolutely deplorable that Martha Robertson would kick off her congressional campaign by having a convicted sex offender headline her fundraiser,” said Ian Prior, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Look, I will conceal nothing from you: that last quote is the sort of quote that any competent spokesman or spokeswoman for any political organization longs to be able to use against a political opponent.  And do you know why? Because it is absolutely deplorable that Martha Robertson would kick off her congressional campaign by having a convicted sex offender headline her fundraiser. Peter Yarrow was 31; the girl was 14.  It took a Presidential pardon from Jimmy Carter (completely coincidentally, Yarrow was at the time married to Eugene McCarthy’s niece) to make said conviction go away.

Whether New York Democrat Martha Robertson likes it or not; normal people get a little touchy when they hear about grown men preying on young girls. If the Democrats don’t want this sort of thing to be brought up, hey, maybe they shouldn’t encourage convicted child molesters to do fundraisers for Democratic Congressional candidates.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: Oh, yeah, let me make this clear.  A Presidential pardon doesn’t mean Peter Yarrow didn’t do bad things to that girl.  He did. Yarrow was convicted for it.  Simple statement of fact.

PPS: Hey! Tom Reed doesn’t hang out with people who molest kids! …Heck of a thing when that can become a bumper sticker.