I understand, and in some ways can even commend, Michael Gerson’s defense of his friend, disgraced Rep. Mark Souder of Indiana. But there is something that Gerson should understand. When Democrats mock socially conservative politicians who are exposed as less than morally upright, we are not mocking the values they espouse. At least, that is not the case in the vast majority of cases. When Democrats behave badly (as Eliot Spitzer did in betraying his wife with prostitutes or John Edwards did by betraying his family, his supporters, the Democratic Party, and the country in trying to win the nomination why hiding his love child) they are no longer welcome to represent us. Democrats recognize the value of committed relationships and fidelity within those relationships. When politicians cheat on their spouses, Democrats punish them. This is different from what social conservatives typically do. John Ensign cheated on his wife with a staffer who happened to be another’s staffer’s wife. Then he paid them hush money to cover it up. He’s still in office. David Vitter paid a prostitute to dress him up in a diaper, and he’s not only running for reelection but he is currently favored to win. Mark Sanford was allowed to fill out his term even after misappropriating state resources to carry out an affair in Argentina. Republicans get caught not just being morally weak, but caught demonstrating the highest levels of hypocrisy, and then they just mouth some tripe about being a sinner and seeking forgiveness, and somehow they are allowed to continue in office as if nothing had happened.
I know forgiveness is the central message the Redeemer descended to Earth to send, and I’m not arguing against forgiveness. But accountability would be nice. It was refreshing to see Mark Souder resign. That makes it much easier to forgive him. Yet, resignation is the exception among Republicans.
Now, I admit there is an exception. Democrats do mock Republicans who get caught having homosexual relationships if those Republicans have voted against gay rights. And we do so to not only mock their hypocrisy but to show our disagreement with the underlying values they espouse. It often seems that the most intolerant gay-bashers turn out to be closeted gays. If they’d come out in the open and stop thumping their Bible at us, we’d treat them like we treat anyone else. But they attacked the gay community while being gay themselves, and that involves a degree of betrayal along with everything else. That is hard to forgive. And one must first ask for forgiveness before it should be granted.
So, it may be true that decadence is worse than hypocrisy, but Democrats are perfectly willing to condemn immoral behavior. In fact, they are more willing to condemn it than Republicans are.
I often wonder if the Republicans are a Closet Club and maintain their lock-step unanimity by threatening each other with exposure for adultery, homosexuality and/or perversity, whichever applies in each individual case. And because all, or most, of them are guilty of scandalous behavior, they don’t expel those who are caught for fear of being exposed themselves. I can imagine Sanford, for instance, telling Lindsey Graham, “If you pressure me to resign, I’ll tell the world about your boy toy.”
Bush is such a frat boy bully I easily visualized him getting photos of every Repub literally kissing his bare ass and filing them away for future leverage. He probably started his political career with a folder of incriminating evidence compiled by Bush Sr. during his CIA days.
Possibilities:
Maybe more possibilities.
“They really are dog-in-the-manger hypocritical bastards that feel they are above everyone else’s rules”
That is a short accurate description of the C-Street Family theology.
True
I’m convinced that republican voters don’t really give a shit about moral behavior at all. What they do demand, though, is that their politicians preach about it. They just like hearing that crap.
When someone on their side inevitably falls off the moral wagon, they shrug their shoulders and rationalize it as human frailty and forgive. But the most important thing is that the pol spewed their BS. They just need to hear it.
It is called Authoritarianism, nothing new here.
Excellent piece, Boo. Thank you.
“Democrats recognize the value of committed relationships and fidelity within those relationships. When politicians cheat on their spouses, Democrats punish them.”
Speak for yourself. This Democrat/lefty does not give a shit about other people’s relationships or what they do with them. I think that’s the core of what makes our social outlook different than that of the eternally self-righteous Right. Whether it’s gender preference, abortion decisions, or marital behavior, I’m aware that I don’t walk in their shoes and have no special right or competence to judge them — or to delegate some gossip or some enforcer to judge them in my name.
There are some exceptions, though:
— When, like Clinton, a pol I somewhat trusted looks me in the face and lies about it.
— When, like Spitzer, a pol has made career points preaching against, and prosecuting, others for indulging in the very “sins” he himself enjoys.
— When, like Edwards and Gingrich, the pol goes beyond ordinary sexual mores to a brutish betrayal of a victim — in their cases, a dying spouse. Plus, of course, the shameless lying.
If there is a line, it’s forever a fuzzy one. Gerson tries to use that fact to distract from the real issue:
It is not the personal hypocrisy that make Souder and his myriad fellow straying “social values” GOP pols worthy targets. It is their transformation of alleged moral principles into political attack weapons, both in their rhetoric and in their policymaking. They have used their self-righteous moralizing to set themselves up as worthier than others to be granted political careers. When that claim proves false, there is every reason, even an obligation, to call them on it. Their moralistic “ideals” turn out to be lies that they themselves do not honor. They must be exposed.
Gerson spins shamefully when he tries to equate hypocritical “standards” used as self-serving advertising with some kind of “ideals”. They are in fact the opposite. Hypocrisy is not preferable to decadence, it IS decadence. Gerson should be ashamed of himself.
Well, it’s true that Democrats aren’t passing out chastity belts, and railing against premarital sex. But we don’t approve of adultery if in involves betrayal, and we tend to punish it when it happens, unlike with Republicans. We don’t impeach people, we just stop supporting them. Generally, Democratic pols who get busted with prostitutes have the decency to resign. Republicans tend to ask for a Jesus-Mulligan.
Republicans ask for the prostitute to be punished.
About forgiveness, a preacher in the NC mountains once said, “Where there isn’t accountability, there isn’t absolution. Anything else is cheap grace.”