Friday, June 26, 2009
As someone who comes from hardy, old-fashioned Republican stock, I have some advice for today’s Republican Party: Drop the “family values” schtick.
It’s ringing hollow.
For the second time in as many weeks, a Republican who carried the banner of family values and was seen as a White House prospect for 2012 has acknowledged cheating on his wife.
It raises the question: Just what does “family values” mean anyway? Does that mean it’s wrong for two people of the same sex to marry but it’s OK to cheat on your wife and satisfy carnal desires with, say, a call girl? Is it less of a sin if you just cheat on your wife with someone who’s not a call girl? How so?
How about sleeping with the wife of one of your employees? Forget family values. Is that even smart?
How about lying about your whereabouts when you’re Mark Sanford and governor of South Carolina? Do family values include misleading constituents and staff, hinting that you’re hiking the Appalachian Trail when you’re actually down in Argentina with a mistress?
Ah, the Democrats
Sure, the Democrats have had plenty of sleazy philanderers, too, including presidential candidate John Edwards. Infidelity doesn’t begin to describe what this guy did to his wife and thousands of supporters who believed in them both.
Yes, I leave Bill Clinton out of all this. Voters knew he was something of a rake when they elected him president in 1992.
His shameful affair with a White House intern overshadowed a fairly significant presidency in which he got our fiscal house in order and reformed welfare.
Incidentally, he managed much of this by working with U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican intellectual whose life has been messier than even Clinton’s and ripe with affairs and divorces.
When Gingrich stepped down as House speaker, a panic ensued among Republicans because the very first one tapped to succeed him, Robert Livingston, was promptly exposed as having cheated on his wife — and just as the GOP was blasting Clinton for his transgressions.
Livingston is now a lobbyist, supposedly also a sin, but that’s another column.
Incidentally, Livingston was replaced in Congress by David Vitter, another Republican proclaiming family values. He later got caught up in a prostitution scandal.
All this is more damning for Republicans than Democrats when they get into similar fixes. The failure of so many prominent Republicans may not just be in breaking the Seventh Commandment but repeatedly committing the stinging sin of hypocrisy.
For instance, Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican who loudly demanded that Clinton resign after his relationship with a White House intern, doesn’t seem to feel having an affair with a campaign aide and setting himself up for possible blackmail by her husband (who also worked for Ensign) is comparable.
Amazing, and the very definition of hypocrisy, among other things.
Why do people who presume to know what’s best for us pull these things? A Republican friend of mine who served in the Texas Legislature once told me it had to do with the trappings of power, the sensation of feeling invincible when you have supporters rallying all around you, staff safeguarding your every move and adoring constituents making entreaties to you.
I understood what he was saying. He was talking about the arrogance of power. That’s a sin, too.
In this nation, we still expect our leaders to walk the talk. It’s part of their most fundamental connection with us — abiding by the same laws and same customs that we do and, yes, living up to our oaths, even if it’s only a simple wedding vow.
When you preach family values, when you assume a holier-than-thou approach in vanquishing opponents, you risk setting yourself up for a very long fall if you falter.
Maybe it’s time that the GOP temporarily shelve all this family values banter till its prospective leaders can measure up.
Maybe, too, the Republican Party should confine itself instead to the sterling merits of fiscal conservatism for the near future. Unfortunately, party officials have a lot of explaining to do there, too.
Comments
By Tom T
Jul 1, 2009 12:03 AM | Link to this
Hey Ed Patton,
That is sure where Bill Whitaker belongs. Well, maybe he belongs out of Texas. The Trib sure screwed the goose when they hired this moron. The Trib went downhill when Whitaker was hired. He was responsible for some of the paper's best writers leaving, along with Becky Gregory their managing editor, *****. Whoever buys this paper, if ever, sure as hell needs to get rid of Whitaker, Gregory and Carlos Sanchez. Some of the other editors are good people along with a few of the reporters.
By Butch Miller
Jun 30, 2009 3:55 PM | Link to this
The sad commentary in all of this is the direction that this nation has gone and continues to go. The things that were disgraceful a few years ago are now considered commonplace, and what is worse is that our government falls in line with them to get their votes. The bulk of mainstream America does not get heard because they are busy making a living and raising their families. They do not realize all of the garbage that gets added to these bills that are setting them up for a radical takeover of America. Especially, the young adults that elected Obama, they haven't figured out that they are the ones that will have to pay the bills as they come due!!! Old foggies like me will long be gone, but they will be living on the streets because Obama destroyed our nation.
By sammy
Jun 28, 2009 10:12 PM | Link to this
BooBy: It's highly hypocritical to single out Republicans for hypocracy [sp.] considering the sorry history of infidelity/philandering of Democrat presidents and other politicians, to wit: FDR, JFK, LBJ, WJC, McGreevey (homosexual affair), John Edwards (w/love child), Eliot Spitzer, Barney Frank (his homosexual "partner" ran a male whore house out of their apartment, beknownst to Frank; his constituents are so understanding and forgiving), et al.
Let's hope Obama has been and remains faithful to his wife and children. (Don't count your chicks just yet, BooBy.) If not, we'll never know.
The State-Run Media will keep it quiet, just as they did (at the time) with FDR's White House live-in mistress (no joke, it's true); JFK's whore-mongering (required Secret Service agents to pimp for him and bring the whores to him) and Marilyn Monroe affair, among others; and LBJ's affairs. The S-RM have always been Democrat suck-ups and always will be. They have a proud tradition to uphold.
By BobB
Jun 28, 2009 8:06 AM | Link to this
Thanks, Bill ...
The point isn't that some people stray from their vows - that's a weakness of human nature that cuts across party lines. The infidelity, in itself, is primarily a personal and family tragedy.
The political black eye comes from the deep and ugly hypocracy of Republican leaders who criticize, impeach and demand resignation of opponents who stray, loudly preaching 'family values' while egregiously violating them.
The real 'family values' family is in the White House.
By Ed Patton
Jun 27, 2009 9:06 AM | Link to this
I still have my Bill whitaker for Editor of the Abilene
Reporter News yard sign!
By sammy
Jun 26, 2009 1:54 PM | Link to this
From 1 Timothy: "1Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer [bishop], he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer [bishop] must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable...4He must manage his own family well...5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)"
I'd agree that anyone occupying or aspiring to a high elected office, whether local, state or national, has the same responsibility to the people to maintain himself/herself in the same state of trustworthiness (actual, not merely perceived) as that cited above from Paul's first letter to Timothy. Even though secular and not religious, these high offices are held in trust, and basic decency, honesty, and morality are/should be required.
When the voters elect a candidate with a known history of questionable moral behavior, the voters deserve whatever they get (ie Clintons [it was just about sex]; Bush-43 [alcohol]; Gore & Obama [drugs]). Unfortunately, all citizens suffer the repercussions, not just those who voted for such candidate(s).
By KDF
Jun 26, 2009 12:27 PM | Link to this
Republican or Democrat, many have dropped the ball in the Family values area, even John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, lest we forget. If a man cannot keep his family in order, how can we elect him to run our country?? As crazy as I may sound, let us not drop Family values from our candidates requirements. Look at local, state and national crime levels and attribute this to poor family values. Yes, Family values are very important to me, and my background for years was not worthy, but it has been since I abandoned my old self and have a renewing of the mind. <
By Virginia Crilley
Jun 26, 2009 10:58 AM | Link to this
Amen to this! The hypocrisy of all of this is what turns people off about any values. You said it so well! Thanks!
By BDDH
Jun 26, 2009 9:37 AM | Link to this
I would say that the internet, twitter, e-mail, and blogs are all helping to clear some of the riff-raff who win office. At one time, our "leaders" probably thought they could keep affairs secret because there weren't watching eyes and camera-ready cell phones everywhere and newspaper stories could sometime be squelched. Perhaps we, the voters, using technology can clear our own government of people who would prefer to party than to do work for us.
Good op ed, Mr. Whitaker. It's not too much to ask our leaders who should be examples for our children and grandchildren to uphold their vows at least while they are in office.
By tony
Jun 26, 2009 9:20 AM | Link to this
Without any "Family Values" these republicans would just be democrats. It's good that these 'leaders' are being busted. They are causing more harm than good. High standards are needed in leadership positions.
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