Conservatives Have Decided Adultery No Longer Matters

[marmar]

from AlterNet's PEEK:




Conservatives Have Decided Adultery No Longer Matters

Posted by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report at 2:10 PM on February 22, 2008.

To borrow a '90s-era phrase, where's the outrage?



The Washington Post's Michael Gerson, Bush's former chief speechwriter and someone who seems to take the issue of politics and morality seriously, devoted his latest column to John McCain's Vicki Iseman controversy. Not surprisingly, the conservative columnists defends the conservative senator against the charges first raised by the NYT.

Most of the argument is about what one would expect, but I was a little surprised to see Gerson give McCain a pass on the adultery charge, even assuming the allegations are accurate.

Even if the accusation of infidelity were true, this kind of past relationship is hardly disqualifying for high office anymore, given a series of more prurient precedents. An affair between adults is a far cry from President Bill Clinton's exploitation of an intern, which involved not merely a failure of character but also an abuse of power.

This strikes me as wrong on a few levels, and I'm actually a little surprised Gerson would put it in print. It's not the conservative line on sexual morality at all.

First, even on the surface, it's not at all clear that the Lewinsky affair would be qualitatively worse than an Iseman affair (assuming, just for discussion, that the latter actually occurred). The age differences between the participants is similar -- though I think McCain's age gap with Iseman is slightly bigger than Clinton's with Lewinsky -- and everyone was a consenting adult.

What's more, as Jonathan Chait noted, Lewinsky didn't report directly to Clinton during her internship, while McCain "had enormous leverage over Iseman. He was the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, she was a telecommunications lobbyist. Winning his favor had great potential value for her, and alienating him would have been extremely damaging to her career." ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/77535/

[Elidor]

1. It never did matter unless it was a Democrat

The only thing that mattered to them in the 90's was "Get Clinton!"

[End Of The Road]

2. I thought they decided that in the 90s

when they ignored Newt's indiscretions all the while pursuing Bill.

Now I know that family values are fluid.

[wtmusic]

3. Compared to diaper-fetishes and bathroom-stall quickies

why, it's downright WHOLESOME!

[Bluestar]

4. Or, an adulterous affair just means he's normal, not like some of

the more deviant behavior of some Republicans (i.e. kiddie porn)

[Island Blue]

5. Just as in 1992 the Republicans made a huge deal out of

Bill Clinton being a "draft dodger" and G.H.W. Bush having served, yet that no longer made a difference in 2004 when G.W. "AWOL" Bush ran against a bonafide war hero.

[stanwyck]

6. I believe conservatives are the biggest hypocrites ever

How else do you explain a "family values" agenda promoted by serial divorcers? Bob Dole was having an affair with Liddy while married. (Liddy is so proud of her "born again" status. I guess being the other woman and breaking up a 20-ur+ marriage is just peachy with Christ.) Newt was having an affair with wife number three while married to wife number two. Poor wife number one was served with divorce papers while undergoing chemo treatment. Then, of course, there's Guiliani. Ted Olsen. John McCain. Ronald Reagan. (uh, Nancy had one of those REALLY EARLY babies, just 4 months after the wedding. Abstinence programs be damned!).
Here in Georgia we have serial divorcer Bob Barr, fortunately now out of Congress. A man who couldn't spew enough hate about Clinton's indiscretions.
Divorce is a part of life. But these are people who actively promote "family values" which discriminate against others. And Newt wanted divorce (for poor people) to become more difficult to obtain. (except for himself, of course.)
And then let's not even get started on these war-mongers who always seem to have "other priorities" when Uncle Sam needs to send troops to a war zone.
These are people who just don't walk it like they talk it.
Biggest hypocrites EVER.

[demigoddess]

7. heard tucker Carlson on Hardball say " if there is not evidence that he gave her

special favors then it is nobody's business who he sleeps with". I thought , boy have things changed.

[HawkerHurricane]

8. IOKIYAR

It's
OK
If
You
Are a
Republican.

It's a battle cry.

[Wednesdays]

11. Or as Bartcop would put it:

The magic "R" that washeth away all sins.

[LiberalEsto]

9. Oh.

Surprise surprise.

[leftofthedial]

10. repukes are just hypocritical scum

they are parasitic vermin, sucking the life out of our species and our planet.

they should be rounded up, sterilized and put to work cleaning up biohazards, slaughtering animals, working in sewers, etc. No, wait. That would be way too good for them.