* From a press release…
Joe and Laura Walsh have resolved their child support dispute and have agreed to dismiss all pending matters.
They have issued the following statement: “We both regret this public misunderstanding and the effect it has had on our children. Like many families, we have had our share of issues and made our share of mistakes over the years. Having resolved these issues together and cleared up these mistakes in private, we now agree that Joe is not and was not a “deadbeat dad” and does not owe child support. We both have been loving and devoted parents to our children, ages 24, 21, and 17, and are happy to avoid a public legal fight hurtful to our entire family and look forward to caring for our children in private.”
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** Walsh is more pugnacious in this campaign e-mail…
I am glad this is over. I don’t regret not fighting back publicly all these months. Fighting the charges privately and legally was the right thing to do for my kids and it was the fair thing to do to the mother of my kids.
I may have taken some slings and arrows over this issue this past year, but I have no regrets over not waging a public fight. Though there were plenty of days I wanted to scream my side of the story to the TV or newspapers, I always knew my name would be cleared. Both my former wife and I have been loving, involved parents for our three wonderful adult and almost adult children, we shared residential custody equally over the years, and we both did our best to send all of them to Catholic grade school and high school.
With these charges and this issue now behind me, I will focus on continuing to represent the good folks of Illinois’ 8th District and running hard to find solutions for the issues voters care about — finding a job, the price of gas at the pump, keeping their home, and doing something about this unconscionable debt we’re placing on the backs of our kids and our grandkids.
Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and support during this tough period. It hasn’t been easy. I know I made myself a target by being so outspoken once I got to Washington. I won’t change who I am. It is gratifying to finally be able to say again to everyone that their Congressman is not a deadbeat dad.
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- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 10:01 am:
“…and are happy to avoid a public legal fight…”
Translation: “Please go away, please go away, please, please, please, let this go AWAY!”
- How Ironic - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 10:10 am:
I read “does not owe child support.” and think that Mr. Walsh wrote a very large check.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 10:13 am:
Did Laura Walsh suddenly discover the $117,000 she claimed he owed in the couch cushions? Was a it just a years-long math mistake?
I doubt it. My guess is some money is coming in from somewhere.
Helps Joe Walsh, though, a clean bill of health from the ex.
- Pat Collins - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 10:28 am:
we now agree that Joe is not and was not a “deadbeat dad”
Did we miss the “was” above?
- Bill - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 10:39 am:
Every rose has its thorn.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 10:47 am:
Good for Walsh. Sounds like he put on his big boy pants and did the right thing for his ex-wife and his kids.
Although it was fun to have the deadbeat dad issue, Walsh’s actual voting record and his penchant for making outrageous comments are much better material for Duckworth. Getting the child support off the table will help focus on the fact that Walsh is a horrible Congressman and needs to be retired asap.
- Quinn T. Sential - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 10:51 am:
Perhaps it is possible that they had an epiphany about the damage they were doing to their children, and instead decided to resolve it amicably.
When mom slams dad, or dad slams mom, the kids get hurt, because the kids are part of BOTH mom and dad.
Using the children to hurt the other parent does far greater damage to the children than it does the parents, because the kids will likely have to live with the pain far longer than either parent, and the parents themselves may have already innoculated themselves from the potential pain to be caused by the ex-spouse.
There is no antidote for the pain caused to the children however.
It may be that the children solved the problem thesmelves, by guiding the adults how to act.
Perhaps the message that “we hate you both, for what you are doing to us” may have resonated.
- Shore - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 10:53 am:
It takes the issue off the table. There’s not going to be a lot of appetite among voters in a stalled economic recovery for personal nastiness about closed matters.
- Way South of the Border - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 11:08 am:
“It is gratifying to finally be able to say again to everyone that their Congressman is not a deadbeat dad.”
Um, isn’t the person being smeared not supposed to repeat the smear?
Both the press release and email stress the children’s ages. He’s not just pugnacious, he’s anxious about the stigma. Wants to be sure everyone knows that it wasn’t little kids doing without.
- NIref - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 11:42 am:
Looks like there will be a new line item in Walsh’s quarterly PAC report.
- DuPage Dave - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 3:05 pm:
I disagree with Shore- the issue is still on the table as part of Walsh’s character. Similar to his yelling at constituents in public, voters will put this into the calculator when evaluating Walsh.
It is good for the kids that the parents won’t be fighting in public, but no one will forget what has happened.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 3:08 pm:
I imagine that joint statement came with a cost.
- Quinn T. Sential - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 5:02 pm:
{It is good for the kids that the parents won’t be fighting in public, but no one will forget what has happened.}
Anyone who has ever had a front seat to divorce will know what happened. One parent was using their children in an effort to harm the other parent for whom they continue maintain hostility for, years after the marriage had ended.
Marriages come and go; but divorce, especailly where children are involved, is FOREVER.
- Opie from Oak Park - Thursday, Apr 19, 12 @ 10:05 pm:
DuPage Dave is right; character matters, even in a down economy. Maybe especially in a down economy. Walsh didn’t just miss a payment or two. He was a deadbeat, at the same time he was in Congress singing along with House Republicans newfound insistence on balancing the budget (something that never troubled them during the Bush Catastrophe). He followed Bush’s example of taking the Iraq War out of the budget and claiming it was balanced - Walsh took child support out of his own budget and proclaimed himself a fiscal conservative Teabagger. Character matters.