June 24, 2009

Another conservative for family values for other people

Turns out that SC governor Mark Sanford wasn't hiking the Appalachian trail, after all. And his wife wasn't lying when she said she didn't know where he was. He was in Argentina supposedly breaking up with his girlfriend.

Look, I am not an idiot. I know this kind of thing happens. It doesn't make it right, but it is part of the human experience. What bugs me the most is the hypocrisy of the right wing. When the Clinton or Edwards affair came to light, the right wing was absolutely merciless. Including, of course, good people like Mark Sanford. Newt Gingrich criticized Clinton's affair even as he had an affair. Promise Keeper John Ensign had an affair with his staffer's wife. All of these people love to play the family values card, but when those values are broken by Democrats, the knives come out and phrases like "if he can't be truthful to his wife, how can I trust him in office." When Republicans are caught doing it (heterosexually, of course), then Republicans call for tolerance and forgiveness.

I am all for that. Let this family manage this trauma. Those young boys and wife are not props for political gain. But maybe discover some compassion for others, and save the self-righteousness. Eh, Sally Kern?

1 comment:

leighton said...

I'm inclined to think even the compassion is misplaced. It's not my place to forgive (or not forgive) him for his marital indiscretions; that's between him and his family. What he certainly doesn't deserve compassion for is abandoning his duties and lying to his staff about his whereabouts. I don't expect he'll receive any--his political career is most likely over. It's just weird to me that the conservative establishment (aided and abetted by the media) wants to make sex the main issue and scandal here, even when job abandonment is on the table.

Though I guess it's possible that he deserves sympathy for winding up in the middle of a media feeding frenzy. There aren't many people who deserve the stress of that.