Critique this, please

[auburngrad82]

I'm working on a series of documents debunking the GOP claims that they are the party of "moral values." Please let me know what you think of this and feel free to copy it and mail it to anyone you want. I'm tired of people thinking Democrats are immoral.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do, Part I

Exit polls during the 2004 elections indicated that most voters felt that “moral issues” were the most important issues that influenced their choices when it came to casting their votes. The GOP has long touted itself as the party of moral integrity. Because of this, the GOP picked up seats in both the House and the Senate and, as we all know, won the Presidency.

Unfortunately, the people of the United States have been sold faulty goods. It seems that the credo of the GOP should be “do as we say, not as we do,” when it comes to morality. There are numerous examples of how GOP members do not practice what they preach.

Take Henry Hyde, for example. The Congressman from Illinois had an affair with Cherie Snodgrass that eventually led to the breakup of Ms Snodgrass’ marriage. Mr Hyde attributed the affair to “youthful indiscretions.” Mr Hyde was in his 40s when the affair took place. Just what constitutes “youthful” to the Congressman? Incredibly, Congressman Hyde is still an elected representative for his state.

Then there is the late Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. Much beloved by the members of the GOP, as a young man Senator Thurmond raped and impregnated an African American maid that worked for his family. As far as I can determine, rape has never been an example of high moral standards. The late Senator is a GOP icon and will forever be looked upon as an example of what a good Republican is.

Not all immoral acts by Republicans are perpetrated in Washington, DC. Beverly Russell was the county chairman of the Christian Coalition as well as a member of the South Carolina Republican Party’s executive committee. If you don’t recognize his name, that’s OK. You will probably recognize his step-daughter’s name. Susan Smith is the mother who drowned her two children in a lake in South Carolina in 1994. Court records in Ms Smith’s trial reveal that Mr Russell had been sexually molesting Ms Smith since she had turned fifteen. The molestation didn’t stop until just before the murders, continuing despite two suicide attempts by his step-daughter.

The Republican Party made a big deal about the possibility of homosexuals being allowed to marry and how this would destroy the institution of marriage. They were so adamant about the subject that the Log Cabin Republicans, the gay membership of the GOP, refused to endorse President Bush. It may come as a surprise to find out that the GOP has plenty to hide when it comes to gay members of their party. For example, Roy Cohn, a very famous right-wing attorney and Reagan confidante, was himself a closeted gay with a penchant for boys and booze. Mr Cohn never stopped condemning gays or fighting against gay rights. He was still fighting the day he died of AIDS.

These are just a few examples of GOP “pillars or virtue.” The next time you hear a Republican candidate or activist say that the GOP is the party of moral values and urges you to vote against the immorality of the liberals in the Democratic Party, ask yourself, “can I trust them?”