What Can We Say?

TourkGate Blog Roundup 1:30pm: SF Republican intimates some bad things about Ruby. From the right, we hear from Houston Republican, RightWingCafe. From the gossip world, Popsugar.com and Starked SF. Then there's Viewpoint Journal and The Binary Circumstance. The Wall freaks out about finding another "Moderate" candidate. Watching the Wall freak out is such a guilty pleasure. Elsewhere, BoiFromTroy is sad to announce that Gavin is a breeder. Someone called Japadamus. Seth Gitell on Newsom vs. Boston Mayor Menino. Whew, this is exhausting. We might have to give it a rest for awhile. Okay, two more: the Mayor & the Hair offers to go out with Gavin and take him to Legally Blonde: the Musical. And Beth Spotswood takes the news hard but show serious resolve and gumption.

TourkGate Update 12:30pm: Press conference coverage is everywhere: SFist live blogs it, the SFGate news blog has comprehensive coverage. Also SFGate, ABC-7, and KCBS has a podcast, DailyKos has several posts. Steve Jones is somber. KRON piles on about the "underage girlfriend" and the "Scientologist," as well asthe olympics, 49ers, but ignores SFistGate and Question Time. KTVU blatantly appropriates "Gavin Newsom Watch." Hey KTVU, we called dibs. We're putting you on notice.

TourkGate Update 11:00am: Gavin is having a press conference at 11:30. The article includes quotes from Ed Jew and Ross Mirkarimi.

TourkGate Update: Wow. Gavin Newsom had an affair with Ruby Rippey-Tourk (pronounced Turk), wife of his campaign manager, Alex Tourk, who resigned today. We're looking around and seeing that the whole world is watching Gavin, so for now, we're going to sit back and watch with them.

The Chronicle broke the story. Fog City Journal reports that Ruby Rippey-Tourk is considering a sexual-harassment lawsuit. CBS-5 has video coverage, including interviews with Phil Matier, Chris Daly, and Willie Brown. The Wall and the Junto have their say. So do SFist, the SFGate blog and NWZCHIK, with comments galore. The DailyKos community weighs in, and with the exception of a few comments, shows themselves to be predictably tone-deaf about San Francisco politics. The AP has picked this up, so check Google news to watch the story spread across the nation.

Daniela Kirshenbaum alludes to other even more sordid rumors that are out there and pleads with all the parties involved to come clean. We'll echo her sentiment. Please, can we avoid the bunker mentalities and the lawyering-up and the spin doctoring and deal with this mess in as frank and mature a manner as possible?

And to any Fox News readers who happen to stumble onto this corner of cyberspace, we ask you to not believe the hype. This has nothing to do with "San Francisco Values" or gay marriage. This is plain, old-fashioned human weakness. Original Post: Fog City Journal and the SFGate NWZCHIK are reporting that Newsom campaign manager, Alex Tourk is resigning for "personal reasons." First Steve Kawa, now Tourk. Whew, watching Gavin is turning into a full-time job. The brain trust seems to be down to Mike Farrah, Eric Jaye, and some guy name Byorn. Who's next?