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Sanford Shouldn't Resign
Submitted by Patrick Ruffini on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 02:09
That title is provocative, and deliberately so. I'd like to play Devil's Advocate and argue that blindly going along with the Dump Sanford crowd could seriously damage Republican elected officials' ability to weather future, hopefully less serious storms.
At the core of the Sanford and Ensign episodes is the cloud of "hypocrisy" that hangs over any Republican who strays from the bonds of their marriage. (Quickly forgetting that all who commit adultery are hypocrites, having taken a solemn vow of marriage.) Because Democrats are perceived as more socially libertine, they get off easier.
This is a structural disadvantage that, on the margins, hurts Republican officeholders, forcing them into resignation or disgrace more easily than their equally adulterous Democratic counterparts.
Simply put, it is a strategic error to sanctify the idea that it's worse when Republicans cheat. The hypocrisy charge exacts a double penalty on Republicans where none exists for Democrats -- first, in the accusation of hypocrisy itself, and second, in the media whipping social conservatives into a frenzy in a bid to belatedly "enforce" their moral code -- exactly the thing the secular media believes you shouldn't do 364 days out of the year -- to hound a Republican out of office.
Some will argue that conservatives should enforce a higher standard upon themselves. In cases of corruption or illegality, I have agreed. The stench of systemic corruption can be grist for severe electoral losses, as it was in 2006, and from a party-strategic perspective must be purged immediately. But adultery is different -- a human failing that strikes Democrats and Republicans equally, and one in which there is a certain presumption of privacy unless there is illegal behavior (Clinton, Spitzer) or it affects job performance (Sanford). Do Republicans want to purge their ranks based exclusively on a test of personal moral conduct? How exactly does this help solve the (inaccurate, IMO) perception of the Republican Party as intolerant and dominated by the religious right?
This is not to say that Sanford's disappearance was not a serious matter. Whether that alone is cause for his departure is a question that will be seriously debated. What I do think is clear is that Sanford's affair cannot be a factor in determing whether he stays or goes. If Sanford had been hiking the Appalachian Trail, would you still be calling for his head?
* * *
It would be a mistake to deny that religious and moral judgments don't impel people to the political practice of social conservatism. But social conservatism has won significant victories only when driven by valid public policy concerns. The breakdown of the family figured heavily in the welfare reform debate in the last decade, and Proposition 8 won because proponents raised the issue of what children would be taught in schools.
When social conservatism is driven by public policy, it wins. Social conservatism has borne more than its fair share of criticism because there is strong public resistance (not to mention GOP elite resistance) to the idea that public policy should be outwardly informed by religious precepts. It is only through a fusion with secular public policy goals (lower teen pregnancy rates, fewer out-of-wedlock births, less poverty) that social conservatism gains broad acceptance. Indeed, social communitarianism is part of what's behind David Cameron's rise in Britain.
There are valid public policy reasons to be pro-life and pro-traditional marriage that are unaffected by someone having an affair. If we fall into the trap of accepting an affair as a threat to these general principles by making our reaction to it the expression of social conservatism in the political/policy realm, we feed directly into the people who would enforce a double standard on Republicans and make it easier for people to destroy Republican political careers (not to mention social conservatism) over personal indiscretions.
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Comments
If the shoe were on the other foot.
Imagine that a Democratic Governor doing all this: going AWOL for six days, leaving the country without informing his staff or the Lt. Gov., having driven to the airport in a neighboring state in a state-owned vehicle, having travelled to a country where kidnap-for-hire is common and having NOT checked in with embassy, causing his staff to issue lies about his whereabouts, and then lying himself to a reporter who spotted him on his return to the airport.
He's toast even before you add in the parts about the sex and the possibility that he traveled on the taxpayer's dime.
The essence of the situation
After getting into a rant yesturday about Clinton this is still fresh in my brain. Let's get abstract.
Senetor A (party not important) has an affair.
1. It's up to him if he resigns. He was elected, he didn't break any laws. Will he get pressure to resign. Sure, but from who and how many will depend on the situation.
2. Republicans get the double whammy (not really, but . .. ) because of the way in which they went after Bill Clinton. I won't defend Clintons womanizing nor his lying, but the issue there was: Do we bring frivolous lawsuites against a sitting president? For Republicans, yes you do. A responsible politic would bring them before or bring them after their term, but don't bring them during.
Democrats have never forgiven the Reps for that, and Reps certainly aren't asking. Reps opened the door, and Dems rightlyfully so are happy to walk in. And they will keep walking in because nothing has changed.
Like all good fueds, unless someone is willing to break the chain, the line of grievences gets longer and the source gets forgotten.
Boxes of shoes have been on the other feet, Nannie.
I have a better comparison, Nannie.
Imagine a sitting President of the United States, who also happens to be a trained lawyer admitted to practice law in several states, engaging in a sexually explicit, morally improper relationship with a college intern and then, while under oath in another lawsuit about another set of morally improper acts, perjuring his testimony after lying to his wife, his ranking Cabinet officers, his corporate (WH) lawyers, his constitutents, the press and anyone else who would listen to another example of his lifelong practice of bullshitting his way out of sexual improprieties... and then he gets to remain in office after being only the 2nd President convicted by the US House of high crimes and misdemeanors.
It'd be far more shocking and almost something one would think was pulled from a Clancy or Grisham novel --not the annals of Democrat Party presidents. And he was largely given a pass, in retrospect, by the press, the usual band of liberal historians, the Democrat Party and world leaders eager to induct him into their own group of corrupted & caught public officials.
Nannie, when you step outside the glass house, you will see that the shoe you'd like to imagine on someone else's foot have already been on both feet of a twice-elected Democrat Party leader and disgraced President. And his wife, who argued it was all a GOP conspiracy, before learning the truth and then sacking her hubbie onto the front porch couch at the cottage on the Vineyard, got away with narry a scrape of disgrace for her own distortions of the truth --especially when she knew SlickWilly had a long, practiced record of screwing more than the legal billing records in Little Rock. She deserved an oscar for playing the victim with the "I'll stand by my man" crap.
Nice try. You'll have to much, much better when clicking and clucking about Sanford because it just ain't credible.
Wow.
Bill Clinton wasn't "convicted" by anyone. He was "impeached" by an uber-partisan House.
Contempt
Clinton was impeached because he was found in contempt of court for giving "intentially false" answers under oath in the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit. He was fined $90,000 by the presiding judge, $25,000 by the Arkansas Supreme Court, had his law license suspended for five years, and agreed to a settlement of more than $850,000 to Paula Jones. The special prosecutor stated he believed there was sufficient evidence to prosecute Clinton, but declined to prosecute in favor of the above sanctions.
Here is a link to the details:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_v._Jones
How is it partisan to find the above conduct unacceptable for any President?
Regardless, that case wasn't
Regardless, that case wasn't decided by the US House. We could argue about Bill Clinton all day long, but I don't consider a lie about a blowjob in the context of a completely unrelated and unfounded investigation to be "high crimes and misdemeanors". You may (probably) disagree.
Impeached First
Clinton was impeached because he was found in contempt of court...
Not true. Clinton was impeached on Dec. 19, 1998 and acquitted by the Senate on Feb. 12, 1999, two months before the judge found him in contempt of court (Apr. 12, 1999).
How is it partisan to find the above conduct unacceptable for any President?
No one found Clinton's behavior acceptable. No one at all. But merely engaging in "unacceptable conduct" is not an impeachable offence. The option for a trial for perjury after Clinton's term ended was always an option. And no Republican then, nor none since, has successfully made the case that impeachment was the better solution.
Your dislike of Hillary Clinton has nothing to do with this case
Hillary Clinton is the issue here? Seriously??
From today's Charlotte Observer:
One thing you don't address, Patrick...
And I know you're playing devil's advocate and you probably don't identify too much with the social conservative wing of your party, but these guys, whether you agree with them or not, are actively trying to shape government policy to change the way people live their private lives. Social conservatives, speaking generally, are in favor of laws restricting homosexual relationships, restricting pre-marital sexuality, restricting the freedom of people to view sexually explicit media - so on and so forth. And generally, the people in favor of these policies live (publicly, at least) lives that conform to those goals - implicitly telling others that their lives are superior and worthy of emulation.
That's where the hypocrisy comes in - when someone makes a grand show at being "better" than others, and it turns out that he is, in fact, not. But in addition it exposes the inefficacy of socially conservative policy efforts - if one of the kings of the movement himself can't conform to his ideals, how can we expect everyone else to?
What Sanford did
doesn't invalidate his positions. It might be helpful to point out to others who pretend that it does that they're engaging in a fallacy.
And, if anyone wants to do something about this, push back against his critics by name, finding examples of them engaging in fallacies and the like in order to reduce their credibility. I try to do that in my field, but I haven't seen anyone do that against Sanford's opponents. (No big surprise)
Sanford on Clinton
Sanford's words when he was a member of the House during the Clinton/Lewinsky saga:
He has also used the "one man, one woman" line as justification for his opposition to same-sex marriage.
But I really think it does!
The point of almost all social conservative policy goals is to legislate restraint. People should have to restrain themselves from being gay, from watching porn, from having sex before marriage. Whether you agree with those goals or not, I think that characterization is fair. In support of those goals the social cons list a number of genuinely good ramifications of the restraint of X - restraint of pre-marital sex, for instance, would cut down on teen pregnancy and STD rates.
Progressives, on the other hand, tend to think that these policies are misguided because people will do the thing despite laws being against it, and the important thing is to deal with people as they are. So, instead of making it harder for teens to have sex and ignoring the consequences, progressives say, teens will have sex regardless, let's make sure it's safe and the potential negative consequences are mitigated as much as possible. Fair?
When a major proponent of moral restraint shows that he is anything but restrained, it calls into question the entire idea of legislating restraint. It shows that even those most in favor of laws on morality are incapable of following those laws.
Agreed, Cory
Patrick: You’re right that hypocrisy is hypocrisy. But I think Corey points out that there’s hypocrisy and then there’s hypocrisy. And the latter is particularly common among social conservatives, who seek to use the arm of the law to bend people to self-righteous moralism (rather than, say, upholding the timeless principle of “live and let live”).
To wit, if you favor tax incentives for married couples, oppose gay marriage, or even seek to criminalize abortion—and you’re caught violating what you preach—your hypocrisy is rightly magnified.
The same logic would hold true for liberals who have admitted publicly to smoking pot, yet continue to support the cataclysmic criminalization of cannabis.
I agree, generally, on pot
but I'd also say that the political environment (fear of the reactions of social conservatives) plays a big role in progressive politicans' unwillingness to confront the drug war issue. I don't think many progressives oppose drug law reform out of anything other than political expediency, which is contemptible in and of itself, but its important to recognize that the constituency creating the political reality in this case is, again, social conservatives.
Missing the Point
Devil's Advocate aside this is exactly the kind of strategy-over-principle thinking that lead the GOP to this place and will keep us in the wilderness.
The hypocrisy isn't the issue - the irresponsibility is.
He's a fricking Governor who went AWOL for several days - I don't care what the reason is, do we really think we are going to restore credibility with voters by supporting electeds who think its ok to flake out whenever they feel like it?
Would anyone seriously expect to do this at their job and not get fired?
right
At this point, the 'hypocracy' thing from the left is as old as is the 'moralizing' on the right. In this case, it's the bizarro nature the whole thing. Had he just admitted the affair, taken a public beating for a year . . . he might have been OK. Now, it's hard to imagine a bright future for him.
Curious
This seems like it should be correct...
...but it is actually correct? Are affairs actually more likely to force Republicans to resign than Democrats? Is there any data for this?
in some ways
im not 100% sure of the clinton timeline, (pre 1996 or after the election) but either way he stayed. edwards stayed in the race, who knows what would have happened if the news broke sooner. mcgreevy and spitzer resigned...but mcgreevy felt more pressure b/c he was gay and spitzer's activity was illegal. vitter is still serving...foley resigned...craig isnt running for re-election is he? ensign resigned from his post but is still serving, same with sanford, but both are being encouraged to resign.
i think there is more pressure on republicans to resign, one reason being the party's view on marriage and the hypocrisy, but i also think they feel more pressure from other republicans. you can't campaign on the "sanctity of marriage" if you are fundraising with an adulterer, ya know? as much as people want to compare, each case is different.
I completely agree that each case is different.
Even more to the point, though, is that he broke his campaign promises to be better than his opponent regarding these values. If he won based on the fact that he represented to the more moral/traditional valued candidate (which I understand was one of his key campaign issues), and it turns out to be untrue, that is definitely a worse offense than someone who didn't run on that issue and did the same thing (e.g. an adulterous Democrat running on public service issues). Of course all politicians say they have great morals, but not all run on that platform. And if a Democrat running on environmental issues was found to be involved with an illegal toxic waste dump, I would expect the same additional scrutiny.
It's not a double standard, it's a double offense. If you're caught breaking a window to rob a place, then you get charged for both offenses (property damage and theft) even though it was part of the same crime. He cheated on his wife and he lied to his constituents. I can't believe anyone would whine that it's somehow double jeopardy for Republicans who runs on the platform. In my opinion it's fair game for a recall since those who voted for him were duped into thinking he was someone he wasn't. But I also think that it doesn't equate to a mandatory step down from power.
However, leaving the country without assigning another executive to take your place is egregious enough to step down over, so it should be game-over time.
Henke
I'm having a hard time thinking of any elected in recent history who has actually had to resign as a direct result of an affair.
I also disagree with the entire premise of the quote you highlighted. Its rarely the action itself that gets people into trouble but how it squares with that individual's public persona.
Its not because Democrats are perceived as more socially libertine, it is because in most cases they are more socially libertine. If you are going to walk around wagging your finger in people's faces, telling them how they should live their personal lives and tend towards advancing policies that seek to use the government as a means to impose a greater degree of morality in the lives of people you'd better make damn sure your house is in order.
If you aren't a hypocrite from time to time then the values and principles you are striving to uphold are probably set too low. Where we get into trouble as a party is when we express such outrage over the personal failings of our opponents and then discuss whether or not outrage is justified when one of our own has stumbled.
All that said the affair is not the issue - it would be ludicrous to demand that any elected official resign because they had an affair, its none of our business. The issue here is that the Governor of a state has such poor judgement that they apparently think its ok to skip town for a few days without letting anyone know where they will be.
Who is forcing? Who gets off easier?
I'm not sure if I'm going to articulate this quite the way I want but . ..
Who is percieving and who is letting who get off easier? Replicans surely haven't let Democrats off easier. Democrats aren't going to let Reps off easier simply out of reciprocity. If there is a structural problem, it's with Reps having used the issue so forcefully in the past. Only Reps can force another Rep out.
And I want to point out the word 'Libertine' and the idea that Libs think adultery is 'OK'. Look for poll data, but I really wonder if Libs are any more accepting of adultery. I would say there is a difference in the place and attitude of the punishment.
Reps ( or Conservatives) have used adultery as a total measure of moral judgement rather than an incident of personal failing. Bill Clinton is a sick and morally reprehensible human being rather than a guy with a woman problem.
Both use it as a political tool to win races. Dems more effectively simply because there's much more of an emphasis on a work / personal life split. What's the difference between Anita Hill and Paula Jones? Both smack of politics.
Sometimes one side uses it more effectively than the other . . . that's really the only difference I see.
Admittedly
...the data is unclear. You could point to McGreevey and Spitzer as counter-examples, though both were egregious cases of 1) appointing your clearly unqualified lover as head of homeland security, and 2) being the target of a federal probe and their resignations were probably inevitable.
What I think is clear is that Republican affairs are used to discredit Republican ideology and as a weapon against the Republican Party politically, whereas Democratic affairs are seen as strictly personal failings. This is the double standard that I think we need to push back on. Republican infidelity is used as a weapon to get people to abandon social conservatism -- an entirely relevant worldview with legitimate public policy goals -- so it's more politically consequential.
Sorry, but no.
Sorry, but no. Republicans are the party that talks about the sanctity of marriage. There is no double standard here.
Sanford's words when he was a member of the House during the Clinton/Lewinsky saga:
Different ideas, different approaches
You bring up a good point . . . and you should check out today's Poltico Arena . . . professional ramifications of an affair. Many people (including conservatives of the libertarian bent) say if the affair doesn't cross professional lines, then . . . public and personal embarrisment fit the crime.
That gets tossed when it compromises a senators job. Both sides should find common interest in persuing these cases. If there was a difference on this I'd be surpised.
Dems can use it to discredit Republican ideology, because there is an ideology. Reps talk about purity of the party, there's a plank. Reps strength is organizing principes such as moral rightness, abortion, second amendment rights, but it's a weakness as well. Dems are much less organized around these issues, therefor can't be attacked as easily.
Reps attack dems from a position of moral certainty, and Dems counter attack the inability to achieve moral certainty. Republican counter the counter by saying at least they have standards. And Dems then say 'lier lier pants on fire'.
It's a beautiful thing really. So it's not a double standard, it really different tactics. I don't think libs want you (necesarily) to abandon social conservatism. Just seperate the State from personal social decisions and all this would be a most non-issue. For example gay marriage. If you think gays are going to hell, fine, that's your right; however, . . . you understand the rest. That certainly works for me (libertarian) and for many liberals I know.
Until then, it's a fight, and fights get fought in ugly ways.
Live by the sword, die by the sword
So I guess this means that everyone who thinks Republicans are unfairly held to a higher standard re: affairs would never pummel someone like John Edwards for claiming to represent the Common Man from atop an opulent perch or Al Gore for smokestacking his way across the globe demanding stricter environmental protections, right?
I don't think its the ideology these types of things are used to discredit - no Democrat is ever going to brag that they have an "open relationship" with their spouse. Its the self-righteousness that we are perceived to possess as a party.
It is not unreasonable to expect that the party that includes the defense of traditional values and the family as a core part of its principles do at least a little better than their opponents at explemplifying those values.
re: Admittedly
I basically agree with this.
I've been trying to think of a politician who resigned from their elected political office (as opposed to some other position) because of an affair (as opposed to other aspects, as with McGreevey and Spitzer), and the only one I can come up with is Rep. Livingston, who resigned his Congressional seat after an affair. I'm sure there are others - probably more at the State/local level - but I can't think of them offhand.
Resignation
Did JFK or Slick Willy resign?????
Blame Obama
Rush has ... link
The 'Blame Obama' strategy loses effectiveness when used indiscriminately.
Why he has to resign
he scheduled an out-of-country trip for TEN DAYS without bringing security, informing anyone, or transferring executive control.
It was incredibly irresponsible act for the chief executive of the state, regardless of party.
Just a few republican transgressions...
So, given that the Republicans seem to think they have a monopoly on values, that they hold the moral high ground, and democrats/progressives are simply godless immoral devious heathens, I want to highlight some Republicans that seem to have forgotten the lofty moral standing they so espouse:
(please forgive the poor format)
Edison Misla Aldarondo, Republican legislator from Puerto Rico, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for molestation of his daughter and her friend for eight-year period starting when they were 9.
Randal David Ankeney, Republican activist from Colorado, arrested on suspicion of sexual assault on a child with force. He faces 6 charges related to getting a 13-year-old girl stoned on pot and then having sex with her. Source Also accused of sexually assaulting another girl.
Dick Armey (R-Texas), former professor, has been accused by The Dallas Observer of sexually harassing female students.
Jim Bakker, televangelist with Pat Robertson at Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting network. Committed adultery with Jessica Hahn and then used charitable donations to pay her hush money. Fellow televangelists say he’s gay. Indicted on 23 federal charges of fraud, tax evasion, and racketeering . Merrill Robert Barter, Republican County Commissioner from Maine, pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy.
Bob Barr, Republican Congressman from Georgia. Sponsored the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, saying “The flames of hedonism, the flames of narcissism, the flames of self-centered morality are licking at the very foundation of our society, the family unit.” Was married three times. Paid for his second wife’s abortion. Failed to pay child support to the children of his first two wives and while married to his third and present wife was photographed licking whipped cream off of strippers at his inaugural party.
Merrill Robert Barter, Republican County Commissioner, pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy.
Robert Bauman, Republican congressman and anti-gay activist from Maryland, was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar.
Parker J. Bena, Republican activist and Bush Elector from Virginia, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography (including children as young as 3 years old) on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000.
William Bennett, Drug Czar under George H. W. Bush, compulsive gambler who has had to wire as much as $1.4 million to cover gambling losses in a 2 month period.
Louis Beres, chairman of the Christian Coalition of Oregon. 3 of his family members accuse him of molesting them when they were pre-teens.
Howard L. Brooks, Republican legislative aide and advisor to a California assemblyman, was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.
John Bolton: George W. Bush’s latest Ambassador to United Nations. Corroborated allegations that Mr. Bolton’s first wife, Christina Bolton, was forced to engage in group sex have not been refuted by the State Department.
Mike Bowers Former State Attorney General of Georgia, prosecuted the famous “Bowers vs. Hardwick” case, based on Georgia anti-sodomy laws. Admitted to a 10-year adulterous affair.
Andrew Buhr, Republican politician, former committeeman for Hadley Township Missouri, was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.
Jeffrey Buley (http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/36931.htm), New York Republican Party’s top lawyer, and senior political adviser to Gov. Pataki (R), arrested for assaulting his wife in a drunken rage. They have two young children.
Ted Bundy campaigned for the Republican Party. Infamous serial rapist who murdered 16 women.
Jim Bunn Congressman of Oregon: With his success due in great part to support from the Christian Coalition, Bunn won his congressional seat, then immediately ditched his wife (and mother of his five children), married a staffer, and put his new wife on the state payroll for the unheard-of salary of $97,500.
John Allen Burt, Republican anti-abortion activist from Pensacola, Florida, convicted of sexually molesting a 15 year old girl at the home for troubled girls that he ran.
Dan Burton, Republican Congressman from Indiana who, while married, fathered a child by another woman.
George W. Bush, Republican president, accused in a criminal complaint and lawsuit of raping Margie Schoedinger, who was later suicided. Accused by Tammy Phillips, a former stripper quoted in the National Enquirer in 2000 saying she had an affair with Bush that had ended in 1999.
Neil Bush, brother or G. W. Bush, in a March 2003 divorce deposition, admitted repeatedly having sex with strange women who just showed up at his room while on an Asian business trip.
John Butler, Republican activist, was charged with criminal sexual assault on a teenage girl.
Ken Calvert, Congressman (R-Ca), champion of the Christian Coalition and its “family values.” Sued as an alimony deadbeat by his ex-wife. Said “We can’t forgive what occurred between the President and Lewinsky.” In 1993 he was caught by police receiving oral sex from a prostitute and attempted to flee the scene.
Charles Canady, Congressman (R-Florida), Judiciary Committee member. Lied to his constituents about his adulterous affair with Sharon Becker, which caused her divorce.
Helen Chenoweth, Congresswoman (R-Id.). Admitted to a six-year adulterous affair with a married associate. In 1995, Chenoweth had denied the affair when asked about it by The Spokane Spokesman-Review, but now she claims a pardon from a higher authority: “I’ve asked for God’s forgiveness, and I’ve received it,” she revealed.
Keola Childs, Republican County Councilman from Hawaii, pleaded guilty to sexual assault in the first degree for molesting a male child.
Kevin Coan, Republican St. Louis Election Board official, arrested and charged with trying to buy sex from a 14-year-old girl whom he met on the Internet.
Roy Cohn, continually condemned gays and gay rights. Was a closet gay who died of AIDS.
Carey Lee Cramer Political consultant and anti-Kerry ad producer, tried for molesting two young girls, one of whom lived with him, and was 8 yrs old; the other starred in an anti-Kerry commercial.
Dan Crane, Republican Congressman from Illinois, married, father of six. Had sex with a minor working as a congressional page.
Paul Crouch Televangelist, Former President of Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). Paid $425,000 in hush money in an attempt to cover up a gay affair.
Randy Cunningham: Federal prosecutors are investigating allegations that Congressman and confessed-felon ‘Duke’ Cunningham was periodically supplied with prositutes. Cunningham pled guilty to corruption charges, and is currently serving jail-time.
Richard A. Dasen Sr., Republican benefactor of conservative Christian groups, convicted of sexual abuse of children, promotion of prostitution and several counts of solicitation, enough to add up to a sentence of 126 years in prison. Investigators estimated that he spent up to $5,000,000 on prostitutes.
Richard A. Delgaudio, Republican fundraiser and Bush pioneer, was found guilty of child porn charges.
Peter Dibble, Republican legislator from Connecticut pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl.
Brian J. Doyle, Deputy Press Secretary for U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On March 12, 2006, Doyle contacted a 14-year-old girl whose profile was posted on the Internet, and initiated a sexually explicit conversation with her. The girl was actually an undercover Polk County Sheriff s Computer Crimes detective. Doyle knew that the girl was 14 years old, and he told her who he was and that he worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. During future online chats, Doyle gave the undercover detective posing as a 14-year-old girl his office phone number and his government-issued cell phone number, so that they could have telephone conversations, in addition to their online chatting. Doyle used the Internet to send hard-core pornographic movie clips to the girl and used the AOL Instant Messenger chat service to have explicit sexual conversations with her.
Nicholas Elizondo, Republican director of the “Young Republican Federation” molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Larry Dale Floyd, Republican Constable in Denton County, Texas Precinct Two. Arrested for allegedly crossing state lines to have sex with an 8-year old child and was charged with 7 related offenses. Age 62 at time of arrest.
John Fund, of the Wall Street Journal, a prominent anti-abortion columnist and GOP fund raiser. He lost his position after it was revealed that he impregnated the daughter of an old girlfriend and then encouraged her to abort his child.
Jeff Gannon Partisan blogger with no journalism credentials and a fake name who got invited to Bush’s Press conferences. Is also a pimp and a gay prostitute.
Jack W. Gardner, Republican Councilman from Pennsylvania, had been convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl. when the Republican Party, knowing of these crimes, put him on the ballot.
Richard Gardner, a Nevada State Representative (R), admitted to molesting his two daughters.
Newt Gingrich, Republican from Georgia, married three times. Gingrich campaign worker Anne Manning admitted that she gave Newt oral sex while he was still married to his first wife. Informed one wife he was filing for divorce while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer treatments.
Philip Giordano, Republican mayor from Connecticut sentenced to 37 years for forcing two 8 and 10 year old girls to perform oral sex on him in his City Hall office.
Matthew Glavin, President and CEO of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, big player in the Clinton Impeachment, and many anti-gay jihads, has been arrested multiple times for public indecency, one time fondling the crotch of the officer who was arresting him.
Marty Glickman, Republican activist, was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a juvenile and one count of delivering the drug LSD.
Mark A. Grethen, Republican activist from Virginia, convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children.
Jon Grunseth, Republican businessman and candidate for Minnesota governor, withdrew his candidacy after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter, and tried to grope one. “I’ve made some mistakes” he said.
Dr. W. David Hager, Bush appointee from Kentucky, member of Focus on the Family’s Physician Resource Council, player in movement to ban the morning-after-pill. Had an adulterous affair, before divorcing his wife he sexually abused her, including sodomizing her in her sleep.
Mark Harris, Republican city councilman from Wisconsin who is described as a “good military man” and “church goer,” was convicted of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
John Hathaway, Republican Senate candidate from Maine, was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media.
Howard Scott Heldreth, anti-abortion activist who gained fame during the Schiavo media-circus, was convicted of two charges of raping a child in 2002.
Mike Hintz, a First Assembly of God youth pastor from Des Moines, Iowa, introduced by Bush on the campaign trail, and promoted his policies. Says he supports Bush’s values. Two months later, this married father of four turned himself into police, charged with the sexual exploitation of a child. Also signed an ad (that called for criminally prosecuting business that sell porn), together with another pastor who was repeatedly busted for public masturbation.
Neal Horsley, anti-abortion activist from Georgia. Has called for the arrest of all homosexuals. Admitted on the Fox News Radio’s The Alan Colmes Show, that he’s had sex with mules. Put photographs on his Web site of naked men engaging in homosexual acts and a nude woman engaging in bestiality amid shots of grotesquely maimed fetuses. Drug dealer convicted of possession of hashish with intent to sell. He calls for “the establishment of a new government, one that can obey God’s plan for government.”
Henry Hyde, Republican Congressman from Illinois, Judge who oversaw Clinton’s impeachment proceedings, prominent opponent of reproductive rights, who had an extramarital affair with a woman who was married and had three children, during the course of which she and her husband were divorced.
Don Haidl, Assistant Sheriff of Orange Country, in violation of California’s rape shield law, led a smear campaign against the child his son poisoned and then violently gang-raped on videotape, adding up to 24 felony counts. He said that his son “acted accordingly” because the child was a “slut”.
Tim Hutchinson, divorced his wife of 29 years to marry a congressional aide he was having an affair with.
Paul Ingram, Republican Party leader of Thurston County, Washington, pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison.
Bill Janklow, former S. Dakota Governor and Congressman, arrested for drunk driving, disorderly conduct, assaulting an officer, and indecent exposure in 1974. Pardoned his son-in-law for multiple drunk driving convictions in 2002. Resigned congressional seat due to a felony manslaughter conviction in a reckless driving incident (running a stop sign at 70 mph)in 2003 that resulted in the death of farmer, Vietnam veteran, and motorcyclist Randy Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minnesota. Janklow served 100 days of a possible 11-year sentence. Janklow sought and received immunity from civil damages on the grounds that he was traveling on business related to his role as a congressman when the killing of Scott occurred. Janklow also petitioned to get back (and was granted) his license to practice law in the state of South Dakota.
Bernard Kerik, had two simultaneous adulterous affairs.
Earl Kimmerling, from Indiana, sentenced to 40 years in prison after he confessed to molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her. Anderson, IN, Mayor Mark Lawler and Republican State Reps. Jack Lutz of Anderson, IN, and Woody Burton of Greenwood, IN, supported him.
Randy Steven Kraft Republican serial killer convicted of 16 murders and suspected of at least 51 others.
Lewis Libby, former Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. In 1996 published a novel containing bizarre sexual content, including bestiality and pedophilia.Full Details (Oh yeah, and he’s also been indicted on obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements, charges adding up to 10 years in prison.)
Rush Limbaugh, triple-divorcee, 30-pill a day drug addict.
Bob Livingston, former Congressman (R-La.), Speaker of the House; resigned from the House in the wake of revelations about his past adultery — at the same time he was leading calls for impeachment of President Clinton.
Donald Lukens, Former Ohio Republican Congressman, was found guilty of having sex with a minor - a girl he was accused of sleeping with since she was 13. Also convicted of taking $15,000 in bribes from the operators of a trade school while he was a congressman. A U.S. District Court jury in Washington deliberated for just one hour before reaching the verdict.
Pat McPherson, Douglas County, Nebraska Election Commissioner. Arrested for fondling a 17-year-old girl.
Jon Matthews, Republican talk show host in Houston, was indicted for indecency with a child, including exposing his genitals to a girl under the age of 17.
Jeff Miller, (R-Cleveland), Senate Republican Caucus Chairman in Tennessee and the sponsor of Tennessee’s Marriage Protection act, getting divorced (as of April 2005) because of an affair he was having with an office aid. Miller described the Tennessee Marriage Protection Act as a means of preserving the sanctity of marriage. He opposed an amendment, however, which stated that “Adultery is deemed to be a threat to the institution of marriage and contrary to public policy in Tennessee.”
Nicholas Morency, Republican anti-abortion activist from Cape May County, NJ, pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor.
Sue Myrick, Congresswoman (R-NC), describes herself as a “devout Christian.” Committed adultery with a married man.
Bill O’Reilly Right-wing conservative talk show host on Fox News, sued for sexual harrassment by his producer. The suit included graphic details, including tape-recordings. O’Reilly’s wife was pregnant at the time. O’Reilly settled and paid millions of dollars rather than have the details become public.
Bob Packwood, Senator (R-Ore.), resigned in 1995 under a threat of public senate hearings related to 10 female ex-staffers accusing him of sexual harassment.
Jeffrey Patti, Republican Committee Chairman from Sparta, NJ, was arrested for distributing what experts call “some of the most offensive material in the child pornography world” - a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped.
Brent Parker Utah State Representative. Arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover officer posing as a male prostitute.
John Paulk, lied about prowling for gay sex while running a fundamentalist group to cure gays.
Mark Pazuhanich, Republican judge from Monroe County, PA, pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.
John Peterson, Congressman (R-Pa), accused of sexual harassment and creation of a hostile work environment by six women. Peterson has refused to admit a crime, saying only “I may have been an excessive hugger.”
Harvey Pitt, SEC Chief under George W. Bush until he was forced to resign in 2002. Worked for New Frontier Media, a firm which distributed teen sex videos.
Ronald Reagan First president to be divorced (from a woman who had been married two or three times before him - the record is unclear, none of which seems to bother the religious right).
George Roche III, carried on a 19 year affair with his son’s wife, while serving as president of Hillsdale College in Michigan, which “emphasizes the importance of the common moral truths that bind all Americans, while recognizing the importance of religion for the maintenance of a free society.”
Beverly Russell, County Chairman of the Christian Coalition as well as a member of the South Carolina Republican Party’s executive committee, sexually molested his step-daughter, Susan Smith, who later drowned her two children.
Jack Ryan, 2004 Republican nominee for US Senate from Illinois, pressured his wife, actress Jeri Ryan, to have sex with other men. Tricked her into visiting sex clubs, where he asked her to have sex with him while others watched.
Rick Santorum, used $100,000 of PA state funds earmarked for that state’s school children to educate his own children, who were not residents of Pennsylvania.
Joe Scarborough, former Republican Congressman from Pensacola, Florida, currently a conservative talk show host. Resigned his congressional seat abruptly to spend more time with his family, amidst allegations of an affair. His intern, Lori Klausutis, was soon after found dead in his office. The medical examiner, who had his license revoked in Missouri for falsifying information in an autopsy report, and suspended in Florida for six years, ruled the case an accident, after giving conflicting information about her injuries. He said he lied about them because “The last thing we wanted was 40 questions about a head injury.”
Ed Schrock, two-term Republican Congressman from Virginia, with a 92% approval rating from the Christian Coalition. Cosponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment, consistently opposed gay rights. Married, with wife and kids. Withdrew his candidacy for a third term after tapes of him soliciting for gay sex were circulated.
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, right wing conservative radio host. Promotes family values, but estranged from her mother; opposes birth control, but has had her tubes tied; espouses saving oneself for marriage, but admits to having had sex before she was married; opposes adultery, but has committed adultery while she was married, and has slept with a married man; opposes divorce, but is divorced and remarried, has posed for nude photos which are available online.
Larry Jack Schwarz, Republican parole board officer and former Colorado State Representative, fired after child pornography was found in his possession. With his political career over, he went to work in the hard-core pornography industry for Platinum X Pictures, owned by his daughter, porn starlet Jewel De’Nyle (Stephany Schwarz).
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican governor, had sex with a 16 year old when he was 28. Numerous allegations of gropings, harassment, in California.
John Scmitz, right-wing republican congressman, who had had his committee chairship taken away from him in the California State Senate after issuing a press release attacking Jews, feminists and gays. Forced out of office in 1982 for having an adulterous affair and fathering two children out of wedlock with one of his students. He was caught because his baby was admitted to hospital for having hair tied so tightly around his penis that it was almost severed. His daughter, Mary Kay LeTourneau, was convicted of having an adulterous affair with one of her students, and giving birth to two of his children.
Don Sherwood, Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 10th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. Eventually admitted to an affair with a woman 30 years younger than him, after she accused him of physical abuse and attempting to choke her.
Tom Shortridge. Republican campaign consultant and former head of the South Bay, CA, Republican Club, was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.
Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr., Republican City Councilman from Wrightsville, PA, pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.
Craig J. Spence, Republican lobbyist, organized orgies with child prostitutes in the White House during the 1980s.
Jim Stelling, Seminole County Republican Party chairman who believes in “family values”, as he told a judge. Filed a defamation lawsuit against Nancy Goettman, a former county GOP executive committee member, for falsely claiming he had been married six times. Stelling has been married 5 times.
Roger Stone, Republican dirty-tricks operative, led the mob that shut down the Miami-Dade County recount; advisor for Bob Dole and Arlen Specter’s Presidential campaigns, owner of Washington, D.C.-based Ikon Public Affairs. Place X-rated ads for group sex with his wife, Nydia. Claimed he was framed, even though the ads were placed with his credit card and used his P.O. Box.
Jimmy Swaggart, televangelist, said during a sermon “I’m trying to find the correct name for it … this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. … I’ve never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I’m gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I’m gonna kill him and tell God he died.” Had an affair with a prostitute.
David Swartz, Republican County Commissioner from Ohio, pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
Randall Terry, Right to Life activist, founder of Operation Rescue, involved in the Terri Schiavo protests. Once imprisoned for sending former President Bill Clinton an aborted fetus. His son Jamiel is gay; his daughter Tila had sex outside of marriage, became pregnant, had a miscarriage - she is no longer welcome in his home; his daughter Ebony had 2 children outside of wedlock and became Muslim. He has campaigned against infidelity and birth control, gays and unwed mothers. Terry himself was censured by his church after committing adultery.
Bill Thomas Republican congressman, had an affair with Deborah Steelman, a health care lobbyist who steered huge campaign gifts to Thomas’ war chest.
Strom Thurmond, Republican Senator from South Carolina and racist, impregnated a 15-year old African American maid.
Robin Vanderwall, Republican strategist and Citadel Military College graduate, convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet.
Robert Waltrip, Bush campaign contributor. Runs a funeral company which had to settle a lawsuit because bodies were being dug up and dumped in the woods. According to Fox News, Waltrip’s company, a cemetery company called Service Corporation International (also known as Dignity Memorial) was “recycling” graves, removing the bodies that were there originally and throwing them in the woods to use the space to house new customers at two Jewish cemeteries in Florida. George W. Bush, who had met with Waltrip, was subpoenaed but refused to testify in the case.
J.C. Watts, Representative (R-Oklahoma), loud champion of “moral values.” Has out-of-wedlock children.
Jim West, Spokane Mayor. Supported a bill, which failed, would have barred gays and lesbians from working in schools, day-care centers and some state agencies. Voted to bar the state from distributing pamphlets telling people how to protect themselves from AIDS. Proposed that “any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person” among teens be criminalized. Had a sexual affair with an 18 year old boy.
Keith Westmoreland, a Tennessee state representative (R), was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to minors under 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children).
Stephen White, Republican preacher. Was arrested after allegedly offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy in West Chester, PA, for permission to perform oral sex on him.
So, they were saying something about "morals" and "values"?!?!?
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Yes, Sanford shouldn't resign
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