Politico interviews a few attorneys and political strategists who all concur that Clay might want to make amends with Ivie -- and quick.
"Generally speaking in life, you don't want to poke a stick in the eye of a hyena," Democratic strategist Chris Lehane tells Politico. "And a corollary of that is that you don't want to poke a stick in the eye of a spouse you're separating from."
The article goes on to cite several examples of how angry ex-wives have gone on to sabotage the political careers of their former spouse. For example, there's the case of Betty Talmadge the ex-wife of former Sen. Herman E. Talmadge (D-Ga.) who -- like Ivie Clay -- learned that her husband was divorcing her when she saw an item about it on the local news.
Three years later, she testified under subpoena against her ex before the Senate Ethics Committee about a stash of campaign cash she said they had been using to cover the family's living expenses -- a move that cost Talmadge tens of thousands of dollars, his reputation and his Senate seat.Think that's good? Then consider the case of former Rep. Al Wynn (D-Md.), whose estranged wife, Jessie, made recorded a robo-call for his Republican challenger.
The message stated: "Hi, this is Jessie Wynn, wife of Congressman Albert Wynn. Albert Wynn does not respect black women. He left me for a white woman."
