News Flash: Another Gay Male Exposed as Family Values Republican

Yes, I ripped off the headline from The Onion. But the long list of GOP scandals tramples on and on, from financial scandals like Jack Abramoff (and folks under investigation like Ted Stevens and Rick Renzi) to a growing line of sexual scandals. Mark Foley, David Vitter, once-trusty ally Ted Haggard and now men’s room denizen Larry Craig are digging the hole deeper.

What the Republicans really need now is some kind of leader who can unite them and set them straight, similar to the tough love “coach” approach John Feehery discusses in this story. With an unpopular president, an equally unpopular war and religious firebrands as a base, it’s getting increasingly difficult for the GOP to defend its position and relevance to mainstream America. It’s been distressing and fascinating at the same time to watch the once-disciplined party unwind.

At the same time, there’s a schadenfreude aspect to watching Bible-toting, homosexual-hating and moralizing firebrands like Foley and Craig get their just desserts as we learn what their real family values are. The same people who denigrated both Bill Clinton and gays for their sexual exploits are now ironically caught in their own moral web. Americans are aware they are imperfect people, and tend to resent anyone from Kathie Lee Gifford to Martha Stewart and Larry Craig who presents themselves as perfect and infallible. Resentment at these so-called perfect people can quickly turn to glee when they suffer misfortune, often by their own doing.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve lived my entire life in the Northeast, but I also believe Americans do not want to be told how to live their lives and will rebel against anyone who tries to limit or take away their freedoms. If someone in Washington starts railing about family values and morality, their own house had better be in order. Nothing will ruin a public figure faster than exposing them as a straw man, especially if their now-phony platform threatened a liberty that people cherish.