It's the Hypocrisy, Stupid
Posted by Dov Benjamin on 07.01.2009
Another social conservative is caught philandering and the mainstream media is more interested in appearing "fair and balanced" than exposing the fraudulent leaders of the so-called values movement.
How many more Republicans need to be caught cheating on their wives before they finally feel embarrassed for claiming to be the party of morals and values? And when is the so-called liberal media going to point out this hypocrisy? If the media was as liberal as the GOP claims, why are they bending over backwards to make the Mark Sanford story bipartisan? Why do I need to see footage of Bill Clinton, John Edwards, and Eliot Spitzer every time a prominent Republican is involved in a sex scandal?
Yes, members of both parties commit adultery. But only one political party thinks that it is grounds for impeachment. Only one party thinks it is the government's responsibility to protect marriage from "activist judges." In the span of two weeks, Governor Mark Sanford and Senator John Ensign have confessed to having affairs with mistresses, and both have asked for forgiveness (and supposedly they were also both prospects for the Republican Party presidential nomination in 2012). But what these two clowns really have in common is that they both are gaybashing, self-righteous hypocrites who wanted Bill Clinton's head on a silver platter.
When a public figure engages in marital infidelity it is certainly newsworthy (unfortunately), but when the adulterer is a bible thumping, social conservative, the so-called liberal media always neglect to mention the elephant in the room. To provide context to the Sanford story, the news media often recall previous sex scandals involving Republicans (ie. Larry Craig, David Vitter, Mark Foley), but they always make sure to bring up past scandals from Democratic politicians as well. But is this a story about how people in positions of power are gluttonous or is it a story about how pious Republicans do not practice what they preach? Instead of replaying images of Clinton wagging his finger during these news segments, wouldn't it be more useful to show footage of Ted Haggard and Jimmy Swaggart? These two might not have been elected officials, but they have more in common with Sanford than any of the above mentioned Democrats.
The foot soldiers on Fox News and talk radio have been so persistent in their role of intimidating journalists that when a Republican scandal occurs it is now systematic for the media to also include stories of Democratic malfeasance. This is done not only to appear fair and balanced, but to avoid being called "liberal." So the media will never call the Republicans out on their hypocrisy because they are too afraid of the L-word and they also fear that if they are too aggressive in their coverage that conservative watchdog groups and right-wing talking heads will accuse them of being hostile to religion. But maybe there have been enough mistresses, sexually harassed congressional pages, and homoerotic games of footsy in airport bathrooms that the Republicans will at least put a moratorium on the morals and values crusades for the time being.
You're assuming those politicians caught for extra marital affairs represent all conservatives. That's like me saying Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid represent all moderate liberals.
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 01:01 AM
"Yes, members of both parties commit adultery. But only one political party thinks that it is grounds for impeachment"
No just when you lie under oath (which last I checked, was a felony).
And while I agree that it is hypocrisy, it's no more than claiming you are the party of the "little guy" and then imposing the biggest tax increase in american history on them. So you're right, it IS the hypocrisy stupid.
Posted By: gwpbrian (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 01:16 AM
"Yes, members of both parties commit adultery. But only one political party thinks that it is grounds for impeachment"
No just when you lie under oath (which last I checked, was a felony).
Why were they asking him about bjs?
And yes both parties are hypocrites, I'm glad you admit that, so why are you still a republican then? Maybe you are just an apologist/independent like BillO? Under republicans deregulation have helped destroy this country in so many ways I care not to list them for you, it's depressing. Please do not mention felonies, the last time you checked apparently was not when the last 4 Republican presedents were in office. I'm just saying maybe you should stop defending the group which helps create domestic terrorists via the national media.
Posted By: L I A M (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 02:56 AM
Sanford needs to be gone. We deserve better from our elected officials. And Dov is still a useless fucking wanker.
Posted By: Puhleeze. (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 03:27 AM
gwpbrian,
You are making a big deal about him lying under oath. However, that question had no reason to be asked. The Republicans were just head hunting because they are self-righteous hypocrites.
Posted By: David (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 04:47 AM
You're assuming those politicians caught for extra marital affairs represent all conservatives. That's like me saying Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid represent all moderate liberals.
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 01:01 AM
They do.
Posted By: poffo316 (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 05:55 AM
Personally part of the reason that I loved Sanford was the fact that he wasn't a strong social conservative. In fact when McCain was still choosing his running mate I kept hoping for Sanford but kept reading that the campaign wasn't considering him because they wanted someone more in line with the Religious Right. Sanford has always been primarily a fiscal conservative and what he has not changed my desire to see him run for President. However I recognize that now he wouldn't get a lot of the votes he would need. It is such a shame really because there aren't enough idealistic fiscal conservatives like him at the top of the GOP.
Posted By: ChErikS (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 08:13 AM
seriously, i think you should brush up your political knowledge just a bit, then come back and write this. the media is so liberal that they make nancy pelosi blush. and to be honest, i think they did do a fair job covering this. this column is complete garbage, and was complete waste of my time.
Posted By: hartfan (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 08:15 AM
WOW.. REALLY?!...
Michael & gwpbrian... please take your heads out the sand; what in the BLUE HELL does Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and taxes have anything to do with the article at hand? Own up to what YOUR PARTY of hypocrites are, and stop trying to bring alongside the liberals/democrats with whatever the conservatives/Republicans are being caught on their crap. SERIOUSLY… REALLY?
Posted By: Independent4Obama (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 09:11 AM
The American people are sheep, that's why they bought Obama's tax promises. All they care about is Obama's smile and personality.
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 09:12 AM
Don't forget that Fox News has a bad habit of identifying Republicans who get caught cheating as Democrats. Mark Sanford was "D-SC" (as was his Lt. Gov. when he first appeared days before Sanford's return when he was critical of the missing governor - apparently anyone who badmouths a conservative is a liberal too). Mark Foley was also "D-FL."
gwpbrian: what is this biggest tax increase in American history you're talking about?
By the way, Clinton wasn't found guilty of lying under oath. But by your standards we should have impeached Bush and Cheney for lying under oath to get us into a war.
Notice I didn't criticize 411mania or its editors in this comment, so hopefully it'll be posted.
Posted By: GaryML (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 09:30 AM
And here go the conservatives trying to change the subject. What else can you do when you have no point? For weeks I have ripped into Obama despite voting for him. He hasn't kept his word, and he doesn't get a free pass just because he was my guy. I've even blasted apologists trying to blame everything on Bush. But when yours are exposed as frauds, it's "hey look what this Democrat did!". No wonder you're not mad. Sanford is no bigger a hypocrite than his defenders.
Just once, try holding the guy YOU voted for accountable. Trust me, you'll feel like a better person for it.
Posted By: Shockmaster (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 09:42 AM
Several state-level Republican elected officials in South Carolina have called for Governor Sanford to resign. I do not know of any Democrats that have called for his resignation.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/19912952/detail.html
Posted By: J. Alexander Mitchell (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Both parties are worthless, and both are the exact same thing. They don't really govern any differently.
Posted By: Guest#5854 (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 10:38 AM
..well said, Shockmaster. I'm 100% behind what you have posted.
Posted By: Independent4Obama (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Hypocrisy is implying that adultery by the republicans is somehow worse that adultery by the democrats.
We live in a culture that embraces sexual deviance as normal. As a conservative, I am profoundly embarrassed when those who supposedly represent my viewpoints behave the same way as those who don't.
Posted By: Mikel (too lazy to log in) (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 11:45 AM
As a country I would hope we are better than this. I mean both parties are garbage at this point...most cant get with the republicans socially and the other half dont like the dems for there governmental policies.
You got the hypocrite's on the right acting holier than thou telling you how religious they are and how family is important and the meanwhile they are sleeping around and meeting guys in airport bathrooms to do some homosexual stuff that they themselves find immoral.
Then you have the democrats who talk about making BIG changes to health care, environment, etc.. then they dont have the balls or backbone to actually make some real change. At least Bush pushed through legislation he believed in REGARDLESS of how the other side felt..Obama doesnt seem to have the backbone to do that. He was elected on change and yet he has delivered very little and has tried WAY to hard to appease everyone.
So as a country we are better than this and having people fight over my side is better than yours is all BS when both teams suck at the moment
Posted By: saywhat (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 11:54 AM
I don't see Sanford being a hypocrite or inconsistent with "family values".
The argument is that infidelity irreparably damages families and that those who do not commit adultery have stronger more stable families.
His behavior simply validates the argument.
Sanford couldn't be more correct.
Posted By: AdmChesterMynutz (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 12:05 PM
...I like Obama's smile.
Posted By: The 8th Samurai (Registered) on July 01, 2009 at 12:13 PM
sent a post last night, must have hit home it never got posted. That's a shame, it must have hit home. It sucks being wrong
Posted By: chris (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 01:04 PM
The ol' "us Dems never claimed to stand for family values so that gives us permission to cheat on our wives, accept bribes, etc" argument. Well played.
Posted By: Stone Cold (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 01:06 PM
Hey Michael,
Were Americans also sheep when they bought Bush's "Iraq has WMDs," Cheney's "we'll be greeted as liberators," and Rumsfeld's "we know exactly where the bombs are?"
Were those who believed Palin was qualified to govern also sheep?
Posted By: Brandon Crow (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 01:28 PM
Get used to it, Chris. Whoever is moderating comments now doesn't like certain things being brought up. The real hypocrites are the editors that post that they're looking for writers and encourage people to comment and then when people write something they don't like it gets "lost."
As for this column, I'm not sure why so many people are having a problem understanding why Sanford is a hypocrite. Sanford called for Clinton to resign over his affair, not the perjury. Sanford admits to an affair that effected his role as governor - so why should he not follow his own call to resign?
It seems so simple. Then again, these same Republicans demanded Spitzer resign for admitting sex with prostitutes yet applauded Vitter when he admitted the same. Dem Spitzer was forced to resign - Repub Vitter is one of the leaders of the Senate. And that's why Republicans tend to be hypocrites, especially when it comes to "family values" and "morality."
Posted By: GaryML (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 01:35 PM
"The ol' "us Dems never claimed to stand for family values so that gives us permission to cheat on our wives, accept bribes, etc" argument. Well played."
----
Well you see if your ENTIRE political platform for the last 8+ years was to get the social conservative vote AND get the evangelical Christians on your side then yeah it's VERY hypocritical, and trying to compare the two is frankly a losing argument.
The points about democrats..well your right they do it and its not any better, but this isn't part of there social of political platform...its not what they run campaigns on, they don't thump there chest and say HEY look at me look how PIUS I AM...Look how EVIL those gay people are...or look at how EVIL that bill Clinton guy is. Oh how COULD he do something like that we would NEVER DO THAT!! Really now??
How about being fair and calling your own out on their bullshit? Or we just going to keep bringing up Clinton's name whenever one of the republicans gets caught out there with his pants down or on his knees?
Posted By: billy (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 01:47 PM
Compare the reaction of liberals when Clinton was being criticized (and rightly so for lying under oath) to their reaction to Sanford's infidelity. Clinton was a pimp to liberals while Sanford is a disgrace.
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 03:20 PM
Spitzer's downfall and resignation had nothing to do with the Republican Party. He went after the families of certain bankers in his Wall Street equity research witch-hunt. That was a no no.
How did Spitzer get caught. Patriot Banking Regulations. You withdraw $10,000 cash your account gets flagged for review. When Spizter withdraw cash to pay for services, his account went immediately to the top of the SAR review.
Posted By: AdmChesterMynutz (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 04:20 PM
You're assuming those politicians caught for extra marital affairs represent all conservatives. That's like me saying Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid represent all moderate liberals.
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 01:01 AM
They do.
If you think either of those two are moderates you're an idiot. Fact.
Stop pointing fingers. The guy fucked up. If his voters want him gone, they will get rid of him. That's it. Not up for any of us. Still think he's a scumbag.
To all of you pointing fingers at the other party's miscreants, here's a protip: They all do it, and you all look like cretins when you side with your guys by throwing the opposite party's assclowns under the bus.
'Hey Michael,
Were Americans also sheep when they bought Bush's "Iraq has WMDs," Cheney's "we'll be greeted as liberators," and Rumsfeld's "we know exactly where the bombs are?"
Were those who believed Palin was qualified to govern also sheep?'
The answers to all of the questions raised are yes. You can also pool all of the spineless worms who voted for the Patriot Act into the 'sheep' bin.
I can't wait for people to wake up and realize that both political parties use their pundits to keep these shouting matches going between the informed citizens while shoving a giant metal rod up all of our asses.
When it comes to politicians:
Democrat = Republican
There are only a few exceptions, and lo and behold, their fellows view them as the lunatic fringe.
Posted By: The Man (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 04:58 PM
I am about as conservative as they come and while the liberal double standard troubles he,it does not change the fact that Sanford lied and cheated.He needs to go.
Is that consistent enough for you?
Posted By: John (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 05:07 PM
independant4obama... the title of the article was about hypocrisy. If you've read my other posts in the other articles that have been written on the subject, you would see that I don't condone Sanford's actions at all. However, if you're going to say that those who commit adultry after preaching family values is a a hypocrite, then it is equally absurd to suggest that the democrats in the house claim to be for the "little guy" when they do NOTHING but hurt them. And I don't have to defend the republican party being that I'm not a republican. I am right of center and happen to think Sanford should be kicked out of office, but not because he had a side dish, but because he abandoned the post.
And David, the House DID impeach Clinton, and it wasn't just conservatives that voted for him to be impeached. Of course, a GENIUS like you probably already knew that. And I don't care if you're left, right, republican, democrat... PERJURY IS A BIG DEAL. End of story.
Posted By: gwpbrian (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 08:55 PM
Gary ML, there is no conspirasy against you, maybe your posts are not aren't inspiring to anyone except yourself.
By the way still awaiting for you to act like a man and apologise for your lame post on Zimmers twitter article. You remember don't you? You said I said Hoekstras comments didn't matter becuase i didn't know who he was.Any one here can read that I attributed the statement as "insanity" and"stupid" on two different posts.
Your not a man though, your just a little boy throwing a fit becuase no one likes you or gives a shit about what you have to say.
EPIC FAIL Gary
Now go shut up and play with your imaginary friend.
Posted By: John (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 10:30 PM
"Were those who believed Palin was qualified to govern also sheep? "
I'd say the people who are constantly trying to shift debate to Palin, whose only elected responsibility is to the people of Alaska and who has ZERO impact on any legislation currently being drafted in congress or approved by the White House, are incredibly "sheep-ish". Every time one of you guys goes off on a PDS rant or drops a snarky comment it just illustrates how easily lead you are by your partisan political hack shepherds.
Or let me put a way you'll understand, Crow:
Baaa baaa baaa.
I thought you put yourself out to pasture. Go eat grass.
Posted By: Guest#4372 (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 11:20 PM
Baaa baaa baaa.
I thought you put yourself out to pasture. Go eat grass.
Posted By: Guest#4372 (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 11:20 PM
Well well well it looks like our sheep has finally became a goat.
Posted By: Guest#4353 (Guest) on July 02, 2009 at 04:12 AM
"And David, the House DID impeach Clinton, and it wasn't just conservatives that voted for him to be impeached. Of course, a GENIUS like you probably already knew that. And I don't care if you're left, right, republican, democrat... PERJURY IS A BIG DEAL. End of story."
Well, I understand that perjury is a big deal, but I think you are missing the point. Bill Clinton was on trial for lying about his private life. The Republicans had no reason to ask Bill Clinton those questions. It wasn't their place to ask. That is an issue that needs to be left behind closed doors. Kenneth Star was just going on a little witch hunt.
Posted By: David (Guest) on July 02, 2009 at 06:48 AM
You either lie under oath or you don't. I'm not even saying I necessarily disagree with you about the witch hunt either. Fact remains though, he lied under oath, and that is the reason he was impeached by the house.
Posted By: gwpbrian (Guest) on July 02, 2009 at 10:37 AM
John, don't talk about things you don't know about. The editors here know they've intentionally prevented some of my comments from going up, and when they post some of this other rambling nonsense it's clear they don't like someone criticizing how they run the site.
And I'm not about to apologize for not doing anything wrong. But man alive - GET A LIFE! You seriously remember all that stuff? Scary.
Posted By: GaryML (Guest) on July 02, 2009 at 10:50 AM
By the way still awaiting for you to act like a man and apologise for your lame post on Zimmers twitter article...EPIC FAIL Gary...Now go shut up and play with your imaginary friend.
Posted By: John (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 10:30 PM
I'm confused. How is he supposed to apologize while shutting up? Seems like it has to be one or the other.
I will now wait for John to once again demonstrate his clearly-high level of intelligence while calling me a "cumburp." Genius. Hopefully he at least learns to put a space in between the end of one sentence and the beginning of the next. Hopefully.
Spell-check wouldn't hurt, either.
Posted By: Talon (Guest) on July 02, 2009 at 05:34 PM
Talon,
Actually I probably went a little overboard with the cumburp stuff,sorry.
As for typos, I was on my blackberry, lame excuse I know.
As for Gary, he has been running his mouth for days know about me. He will not correct the record when he is clearly wrong and a have proven it.
As for him shutting up, read about the conspiracy against him by the editors, its comical.
Posted By: John (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 01:36 AM
Poor John. Still obsessing over me I see.
It's not a conspiracy. I'm just saying that if you dare criticize 411mania and how they don't issue corrections on articles they change, they won't post your comment. Call someone a cumburp? That's fine. Just don't point out that when they edit an article title to avoid controversy they don't admit they've made the change, and it won't get posted.
And again, there is no point in apologizing to someone who didn't have a point in the first place. I wasn't wrong about anything. I offered my opinion on why you posted something. You've taken it VERY personally and won't let it go, to the point of bringing it up in other threads. Why are you so defensive about such a pointless observation about why you do the things you do?
Or maybe I was right all along and you can't stand that someone called you out for being the phony that you are, John.
Posted By: GaryML (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 09:16 AM
God Gary you are such a tool.Clearly I have been much more consistent on my thoughts compared to you. What do you say?Democrat good, republican bad.You sound like Keith Olbermann.
Myself on the other hand,I was critical of Sanford, critical of your buddy Hoekstra twice in response to your sorry ass.See I judge things on their merit, you..............not so much.
Look at it this way, there are left wingers on here that I disagree with but respect becuase they have strong arguments and cogent thought.You,everything is conservatives fault and 411 editors are out to get me.Its PATHETIC.Take a lesson from Crow,shockmaster, hell even Rivett.They comunicate their stances without sounding like they work for MSNBC.You on tother hand sound like your a member of the hardball club.
I am done with you, you are dismissed.
Posted By: John (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 07:40 PM
And yes both parties are hypocrites, I'm glad you admit that, so why are you still a republican then? Maybe you are just an apologist/independent like BillO? Under republicans deregulation have helped destroy this country in so many ways I care not to list them for you, it's depressing. Please do not mention felonies, the last time you checked apparently was not when the last 4 Republican presedents were in office. I'm just saying maybe you should stop defending the group which helps create domestic terrorists via the national media.
Posted By: L I A M (Guest) on July 01, 2009 at 02:56 AM
....and this guy's vote counts as much as mine.....terrifying.
Posted By: Raisemytaxesplease (Guest) on July 07, 2009 at 01:47 PM
STAY CURRENT