At least he's straight in the closet

The DC Madam story has been slow to produce names, and I'm sure there will be embarrassments on both sides of the aisle before it's over. The latest development is that Senator Vitter, R-Louisiana, a bastion of conservative "family values", has become the second name. Don't get me started on family values. Federal prosecutors have been very much against letting Palfrey's phone records get out. Why would the self-annointed party of morality have anything to worry about? You don't suppose (gasp!) that there are any number of prominent Republicans listed there? Say it isn't so!

Interestingly, according to today's NYTIMES, the madam of a New Orleans brothel has said that Vitter was one of her clients in the 90's. She called him "one of the nicest and most honorable men I've ever met." Damned by fragrant praise...

So while he was climbing the political ladder one morality-proclaiming rung at a time, he was living a less than squeaky-clean extra-marital life, and not just in one instance. While conservatives can often forgive lifestyle lapses, unless they are committed by Bill Clinton, nobody likes a hypocrite.

But the news isn't all bad for the Republicans. At least Vitter's indiscretions don't make them face up to another closet gay in their midst. That's just the worst! Drug addicts, gambling addicts, chronic serial monogamists, liars, cheaters, are all welcome in the "family values" party, defender of morality and marriage. Gays, not so much, so they can breathe easy for now.

This is touching on a wind of change that I've noticed recently. Through the last election cycle, a popular conservative refrain was that the liberals "can't agree on their message". Have you noticed that conservatives are having trouble with that lately? Not just in the obvious way, like they pretend to be for values and upright living, while acting like guests on bad daytime talk-shows off-camera. Also, are they for or against stem-cell research? Amnesty for illegal aliens? Benchmarks in Iraq? Increasing the national debt? Abortion? Gun control? Holding traitors accountable? It's getting harder to tell, isn't it?
Andy ><> ><>