Why the Left Misjudges GOP Sex Scandals

[R. P. McMurphy]

(edited for copyright purposes-proud patriot Moderator Democratic Underground)

Why the left misjudges GOP sex scandals

By Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young Nicole Hemmer And Neil J. Young – Wed Jul 8, 5:00 am ET

Evansville, Ind.; and Princeton, N.J. – Google "Mark Sanford" and "hypocrite" and prepare to sort through some 53,000 results, many from liberal websites reveling in the story of yet another family-values Republican yielding to temptations of the flesh.

But liberal glee at such scandal will be short-lived if the left continues to misjudge conservatives' reaction to their fallen heroes.

When a Republican affair is exposed, the left seems to assume that the religious right, with the exacting moral standards it tends to laud, will have one less general leading its "pro family" brigade.

But practice shows us otherwise. While for Democrats, adultery often leads to ruined or constrained careers – think Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, John Edwards – Republican adulterers from Newt Gingrich to David Vitter have lived to see another political day, still championing their hard-line conservative positions.

Their survival isn't in spite of the GOP's evangelical base, but rather because of it. And while liberals tend to see continued support as hypocrisy from both the politician and his supporters, what matters to conservative Republicans is not so much the behavior of their leaders as the repentance they show after their fall from grace.

In the rambling announcement of his affair, Mr. Sanford said little about politics and a lot about his faith. At times he sounded like a preacher expounding on the nature of God's law, of self, and of sin.

link to article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090708/cm_csm/yhemmer


I know many good people who are conservatives. Although I can't condone or understand many of the positions they take, this article illustrates that they do not see themselves as being wrong or hypocritical as long as the offender is on a path to redemption. Maybe that is why they see progressives as being wrong -- there are certain things they abhor and would outlaw that we believe are best left to an individual's private judgment and must be protected.

We really are two different cultures. Sometimes it seems that they believe that its okay to sacrifice the helpless, or the ones who have made poor choices for themselves or the ones who for whatever reason are unable to fit within the bell-curve of "normal" society. Maybe the herd is made stronger by thinning out those who are at the margin. I believe, and believe that most here would agree, that we are made stronger by protecting those who are vulnerable.

I know this is rambling and probably doesn't make much sense; but I see the gulf that separates us and it really isn't that far across. Take abortion for example. I can't believe that anyone here really WANTS a woman to have an abortion. We all understand that it is necessary in some instances and recognize that the right must be guaranteed. Who here among us though wouldn't hope that the unborn child could be saved and grow up to live a happy, productive life. Both sides would like for there to be no more unwanted pregnancies. Both sides would rather see a pregnancy continue to term and the child be given to a loving adoptive parent(s).

We are so close on so many issues but we see them through different lenses. And we will continue to demonize each other. And all this will continue.

I am not suggesting that we progressives backtrack on any issues. We must protect the rights and freedoms of those who can't protect themselves. We do have a responsibility, though, to listen to the other side and acknowledge them when they are right, and to hold ourselves to a higher standard.

Change will not come from the other side. If it comes it will be because we have found a way to frame the issues in such a way so that we assuage their fears and make them understand that we are not so different after all. I know we can't win them all. In fact I'm quite weary and am not at all hopeful that much anything can be changed. In the end though, we are one people, on one planet, and things could be so much better.

Thanks for your time.

End of Rant.

[Turbineguy]

1. It's worked a few times for Jimmy Swaggart.

Maybe liberals take umbrage to making fools of themselves.

[sandnsea]

2. Horseshit. It's all about the R or the D

Otherwise Bill & Hillary would be their heroes.

[Nay]

4. Agreed. No Democrat gets a pass, no matter how much he repents. See: Clinton

He's as reviled by the right as he ever was, even though he's a Baptist, stayed with his wife, and generally tried to act contrite about the BJ.

But any Republican just has to whimper a few Bible phrases and he's off the hook. Some of the R's don't even have to do the Bible thing, like Newt. Newt is a coldhearted bastard, but by God, he's still got that R.

[Mist]

5. Yes, Dems get no pass on 'fessing up and keeping their marriages going. Repentence is only

for Rethugs, it seems. Yes, it IS all about the hypocrisy.

[The Wizard]

10. For Republicans

the party is their religion, and they're zealots. They have become a cult.
Thank Zeus I'm a Democrat.

[mwb970]

18. Once they purge all the moderates, the republican party will be pure.

That way, the party can be their race as well as their cult religion. Think of it: all white, all Christian, all extremely conservative. You can't get much purer than that!

At some point this will get into their DNA and they will be unable to reproduce with anyone other than their fellow republicans, or whatever they will be calling themselves then. Two cultures? I'm seeing two species!

[Still Sensible]

3. I really think it is simpler and it comes from

the right's hypocrisy. All they care about is that the person drank the kool-aid and can regurgitate the dogma. The actions don't matter. So long as the right wing sinner humbly spews the correct words and proves they "believe" like the fundies, all is forgiven... and a democrat can never be forgiven because he/she clearly doesn't believe (even if they recite a lot of the repentance dogma as WJC did a decade ago).

It's "US vs THEM,"
It's "You're either with us or you're against us."

[Demeter]

15. Hell, They Never Forgave Jimmy Carter

and his only sin was being a Democrat.

[Still Sensible]

24. Absolutely true. Part of his election was due to his

evangelism, but his presidency coincided with the (right-wing exploited) schism over abortion following Roe v Wade... he was the first that suffered from this we-don't-care-how-Christian-you-are-if-you-are-a-democrat-you-are-the-enemy.

To the cynical leaders of the right wing fundamentalists, the whole abortion issue has been nothing less than a godsend for more than 30 years... an emotional issue that they can use to stoke up the base, raise copious amounts of money and build their little--or sometimes not so little--power bases.

[rpannier]

6. Actually the article is spot on

To borrow from Jesse Jackson, "God isn't finished with me yet." (after his Hymie-town comment)

This is at the heart of what they see and believe.

People here who fail to see that are the one's who after an election that we lose (at any level) are left wondering how we lost and how they could be so stupid to vote for that hypocrite.

Sun Tzu has taught us, "That to defeat your enemy, is to understand your enemy."

Too many on the left are missing that part and we suffer for it

[Citizen Worker]

7. Left?

Left, what Left? The complete absence of any movement that appears at all Left is what's missing. Now, if you mean liberal, there's plenty of that movement but nothing at all that could be considered Left.

[DCKit]

8. Though I agree with most of what you say, the abortion analogy is flawed.

The Right has proven time and again it's the fetus they cherish, not the child. We commie, pinko dirtbags, on the other hand, value both.

Further, if they were truly pro-life, there would be no death penalty and our social services for all people would be properly funded and greatly enhanced.

And don't get me started on the absence of Christ or Christlike behavior in their hate-filled brand of Christianity.

They are barbarians: The Ugly Americans.

[orwell]

9. It is R or D...

...pure and simple.

The Palin sports analogies are indicative of the mindset - my team or your team.

This is what politicians and the ruling class have used to divide us for millennia. Whether it is the King or the Church or the Nation, it is the same gameplan. Identify with a team and everything else is "the other", suitable for demonization.

Through fear comes control and the suspension of logic.

If Ensign, Palin, Vitter, or Sanford had a D by their name they would be excoriated by the Evangelicals for their transgressions.

I just don't buy this explanation.

I agree with your sentiments, but I think we are in the minority.

[Mr. Sparkle]

11. For me the worst part is how the media cover these scandals.

The GOP seem to be able to push the right buttons as if to control level of aggression in the media on these scandals. That for me is where the double standard lies.

[Doctor_J]

22. that's because the media is owned, run, and represented by all repukes

with a very few exceptions.

[alarimer]

12. The cognitive dissonance is huge with this group.

All of them are a bunch of fucking hypocrites.

"Redemption" my ass.

We need to stop coddling the lunatic fringe.

[troubledamerican]

13. "Why The Right Misjudges The American Public" -- a headline you'll never see in the MSM

Ever seen ANY headline containing the term "Right-Wing" or "the Right"?

[Demeter]

14. The "Herd" Would Be a Lot Stronger If the Delusional Were Filtered Out

Path to Redemption My Aunt Fanny!

The path to redemption means you stop sinning, stop hurting other people intentionally. It doesn't mean sobbing about how sorry one is through the media enablers.

I'm the first to acknowledge when someone is right. And I've been waiting a long time for the opportunity.

[ThoughtCriminal]

16. Who cares if we misjudge conservatives' reaction

This is one of the reasons that the "Values" conservative base is shrinking. They are clueless about how this looks to the rest of the country. They just go into "Bbbbut, but... Bill Clinton!", mode and have no idea why everyone in the room is looking at them that way.

[Sherman A1]

17. The GOP is the Party of Hypocrisy so

this should be no surprise. They are the party of "do as I say, not as I do". "You over there tow the line, but we your leaders get to fudge a bit along they way". It not about even holding their leadership to a higher moral standard than everyone else it's about holding them to the very standards they themselves spout from their own podiums.

Be a Republican, know how to play the repent card and you can do and say as you please.


:freak:

[Soylent Brice]

19. i stopped reading after "repentance they show after their fall from grace."

it comes down to two things:

more often than not most people don't know about it. believe it or not. my repuke in-laws, with the exception of one, still have no clue who Mark Sanford is - let alone what he has done. None of them know who Foley, Vitter, or Ensign is either. None of them knew about Gingrich's or McCain's skeletons until i was kind enough to point it out. Ignorance. plain old ignorance to reality. you can blame that on media obfuscation, or just plain ol' stupidity.

the second thing is that they are lockstepping zombies. even after they find out they'll still pull the lever for whomever the guys on the FAUX picture box tells them to.

[jeremyfive]

20. David Vitter and the 'Hos

That prostitute's john David Vitter has been allowed to continue as a representative in Washington is an indictment of the whole system. Mark Sanford, Larry Craig and Mark Foley are more the same garbage--let them work out their moral problems somewhere other than Washington, D.C.--where representatives are presumed to hold themselves to a higher standard.

We need to start over sith honorable men. But that would elminate the entire GOP, wouldn't it.

[Bgno64]

21. You know what,

scr*w these people.

The only way to win is to let them win? Eff that. WE have to change, WE have to frame the issues differently, because they won't. No. This is a two-way street; if there is to be a reduction in partisanship in this country, the other side has to give as well.

And if the other side won't give, they can go to h*ll. I am sick of having to hold hands, I am tired of being willing to change my approach where the other side isn't, I am sick AND tired of trying to reach compromise - and being the only one willing to reach for it.

Enough. If the cultural right in this country wants to extend forgiveness to their own fallen politicians, good for them, but they have NO right - no right at all - to preach to ME about the fallen on this side of the fence. What the Vitter and Sanford and other scandals shows is that cultural conservatism is no guarantor of more ethical/moral behavior; that even those who have preached the loudest about sin succumb to it, and so religious conservatism as a whole either needs to start taking a softer line toward the issue entirely - being willing to forgive people on this side of the fence, and not insisting that moral failings on the left are indicative of some sort of inherent character flaw related to liberalism - or it needs to shut up.

We're all fallen? Yeah, we are. You too. So stop focusing on the speck in my eye - and we'll get along just fine.

[Doctor_J]

23. I don't know anyone who misjudged their reaction

We all knew that all the Repukes would get a free pass from the "Christians", and they all did.

:shrug: