What Common Fault Do These Men Share?
I would to say that the common fault shared by these former American presidents is that they tended to like having sexual relations a lot. Unfortunately, most of the women they were attracted to for the purpose of engaging in said erotic pleasures, are very often not the ones they're joined in holy matrimony with.
Now the American political scene has to come to grips with a new ominous rising tide, that of leaders who are scandalously expressing a leaning toward relations outside of their Heterosexual unions.
So What's Wrong with These New Republicans?
The Larry Craig (R-Idaho) scandal of recent has made it absolutely clear that hypocrisy is alive and well in Washington D.C., and be they Republican or Democrat, its name is...All of the above.
In fact, it makes one wonder what the Independents have hiding in their closets: I don't know about you but, personally, I'm afraid to open that door. But without doubt, in the run up to the "Hypocrites of the Year Awards", the Republican Party hold's a commanding lead and gives every indication of maintaining it.
On a January 24, 1999 edition of "Meet the Press" Senator Craig tore into the character of then politically beleaguered and morally besieged, President Bill Clinton, referencing his exposed affair with White House aide, Monica Lewinsky. In fact, his exact words were: ".... Bill Clinton is probably even a nasty bad naughty boy!" Now, Craig finds himself in a far worse dilemma, having pled guilty to making a homosexual proposition to an undercover police officer in the men's room of an airport.
It is very tempting at this point to try to make lurid comparisons to the acts committed by the two men, but in the name of decency and fair play I will refrain from doing so. For although I have never thought that Bill Clinton's extra marital sexual transgression was ever worthy of the millions of taxpayers dollars spent on investigating it, I have also never been an apologist for his sexual transgressions. But as far as the Republicans go, however, one is naturally drawn to the opinion that they are holding party meetings in a men's room for, without doubt, their 'double edged' moral philosophy has all the earmarks of having been formulated in a smoke filled 'hypocritical toilet.' They appear to have cultivated a double standard of - do as we say, not as we do.'
After the Mark Foley scandal of 2006, it was naturally expected that the GOP would, somehow or other, strengthen its 'defense shields', by quickly weeding out those among their sacred ranks who have violated the party trust. Instead they chose to rally around and shield those responsible for covering up the evolving scandal, namely then Speaker of the House Dennis Haseart. After all, it was his 'duck, conceal and do nothing' choice that allowed a sexual pervert to run unchecked in the corridors of Congress, harassing young male senate pages - all to 'shield' the party from notoriety. In other words, acting in the same reprehensible manner of 'organizational protectionism' as the Catholic Church with its never-ending supply of homosexual child molesting priests.
Then to make matters worse for them, they had to deal with the affair last July of Florida state Rep. Bob Allen (R) (co-chair of the Mc Cain campaign), who was arrested in a Titusville public restroom on charges of solicitation. In his arrest report an undercover police officer testified that, after engaging him in a conversation, it was agreed that Allen would pay him $20 cash to be allowed to perform oral sex on him.
Of course it all doesn't end there, for if that wasn't enough the GOP had to contend with the affair of Senator David Vitter (R) La, whose name, telephone number and sexual acts of preference (like being diapered before engaging in sex) were recently found cataloged in the customer list of a notorious D.C. madam.
Until this embarrassing disclosure, Vitter had been a rising star in the Republican social conservative movement. In a printed statement released after the public revelation, Vitter said the following:
"This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible. Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in professional counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep the discussion of the matter there with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way."
However, with no intent to pour salt into his moral wounds, one has to reference remarks made by Vitter's wife, after his successful 1999 campaign to replace designated House Speaker Rep. Bob Livingston (R) La., after he resigned upon disclosures of numerous sexual affairs. When asked if she would forgive her husband after an extramarital affair, as Livingston's wife had done, Wendy Vitter made the following statement to the Times-Picayune:
"I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary [Clinton]", she said. "If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me."
So far she apparently hasn't followed up on the promised threat, but you can bet her husband does not sleep easily while she makes that slow decision between the alimony... and the other thing.
Finally, or all we know to date, we have the almost unbelievable case of 74 year old councilman and former pastor, Coy Privette (R) NC. He has been a long time participant in North Carolina politics, having spent eight years in the state house, and nine years as Cabarrus County Commissioner. He is well known and respected as a staunch social conservative and, until recently, was president of the Christian Action League.
Unfortunately, Privette employed the services of a local prostitute and, incredible as it may seem, paid her with several blank personal checks. Hey folks, I didn't make this up, its real news.
Privette's affair came to light when his chosen lady of the night (and apparently daytime too), Tiffany Summers, tried to cash one of the checks at a local bank. Bank tellers became suspicious and alerted management, who then called in the police and arrested the woman on suspicion of forgery. However, upon her interrogation, the entire affair came out and Privette was later arrested and pled guilty to six counts of soliciting a prostitute.
I can only guess that they don't have any laws on the books in North Carolina to prosecute him for 'stupidity', but after this you can bet they'll be thinking about it. Out and out stupidity in public officials should be deemed criminal and bear a penalty.
The North Carolina GOP, having just barely recovered from a slew of other state representatives having to face corruption charges, did not need the Coy affair. Now they are furious with him for digging in his heels and refusing to resign from his position as commissioner - immediately.
The New and Old Democrats Are No Winners Either
JFK
So why don't the Democrats get caught in such embarrassing sexual affairs? Well, upon even casual historical examination, for the record, it would appear that they do... virtually all of the time. But despite this career penchant for lurid behavior, they don't suffer the long term, almost fatal, image damage the Republicans do. Why? Because, let's face it, from the vantage point of sexual morality, Democratic politicians really don't seem to care. And the reason for their generally cavalier attitude toward disclosure of their extra marital activities is that, for the most part, have rarely presented themselves as choirboys. Look carefully at their revealed sexual affairs record for confirmation. It's all there for everyone to see.
To shamefully paraphrase Gertrude Stein's most memorable poem, "A rose, is a rose is a rose...", I say "A man, is a man, is a man...and a lot of them are Democrats with ravenous sexual appetites - perpetually on the make."
A perfect example would be the late President John F. Kennedy (D) and his brother, the late Senator Bobby Kennedy (D). Both men had an incredible number of extra marital assignations that they managed to keep 'secretly' in the public eye. In fact, at times they seem to actually poke the public in the eye with their notorious sexual escapades. I won't take the time to go into all of their affairs, but one instance in particular does come to mind as a perfect example of the openness of their dalliances.
On 1962, then President John F. Kennedy was feted at an extravagant televised party in honor of his birthday. As a surprise actress Marilyn Monroe came on stage unexpectedly in a sexy tight fitting sequined dress, and in a husky come hither bedroom voice overflowing with knowing intimacy, she sang to him "Happy birthday Mister President."
How open was this display of affection to the viewing public played out on all of the nation's black and white television sets at the time? Well, let me put it this way, as my 56 year-old Aunt Emily (who had never married and was well known to have never dallied) viewed the show, as Ms. Monroe finished her musical birthday tribute to the president, she turned to the rest of the family with a knowing look and said, "There's something going on between those two!"
Yes! That's how open it was. Everybody knew - even my Aunt Emily!
So to understand the nature of this very popular president, it is important to make note of the rumors of his many sexual adventures that ran rampant through the country at the time:
Yes, JFK did actually have on his White House staff two 'highly untalented young women of questionable qualifications as office assistants. The Secret Service playfully referred to them as 'Fiddle and Faddle.'
He had a long affair with part-time actress Judith Exner, the wife of actor William Campbell, and a more than occasional sexual squeeze of a well-known crime family kingpin.
Close celebrity friend Frank Sinatra once introduced him to actress Angie Dickinson and, reportedly, they had an affair of some intensity and duration. And there is now mounting evidence that he did indeed give a quick one to the attractive wife of a visiting South American dignitary in a cloakroom, as his wife Jacqueline gave a tour of the White House to her husband.
He had a very torrid longtime affair with actress Marilyn Monroe, and when he tired of her, he passed her along to his married brother Robert.
Yet despite his sexual foibles, John F. Kennedy was a decent caring president who maintained his own sense of morality; every woman he engaged in sex with first said - yes! And to boot he was a competent Head of State.
Also let it be known that I have no intention of editorially delving into the numerous extra marital affairs of the late president's younger brother, Ted Kennedy (D) MA, since over the years of his many senate terms, that area has been so well documented in the press.
The Others...
If there was ever an example of a Democrat who virtually threw a career to the wind for sex, that award had to fall to former Senator from Colorado, Gary Warren Hart. He ran for president twice (1984 and 1988), and on his second run as the odds on favorite to gain the nomination, the fun loving married senator was photographed seated at the stern of a campaign contributor's yacht with one, Donna Rice, enticingly planted on his lap. Needless to say, Ms. Rice was not Hart's wife, and if things could not have gotten any worse for the senator they did: the name of the ship prominently displayed in the revealing photograph was - Monkey Business.
Today, Hart is mostly remembered for allowing that incredibly 'stupid' incident to come about, and one comment he later made to the press during an interview after his political career had crashed around him:
Quote: "If we make marital fidelity a standard for leadership, we will have mediocre leaders."
Needless to say, many Americans, myself included, don't agree with him. But it is important to note that the disagreement is fragmented into varied points of non-acceptability on select levels. In other words, many of us don't follow that we have to throw a reasonably good - though not perfect - baby out with the dirty bath water.
Does anyone remember Rep. Wilbur Mills (D) Ak and the infamous Tidal Basin Incident? This incident is sometimes referred to as the Fanne Foxe Incident, and she very often as the "Tidal Basin Bombshell." Mill's longtime girlfriend was a burlesque dancer whose birth name was Annabell Battistella, but she was to go down in the history of Washington scandals by her stage name, Fanne Foxe (also well known for her 'specially caressed lollipops that she threw to her adoring audiences during her act).
On the evening of October 7, 1974, after a night of intense partying, Mills and a couple of friends, which included Foxe, were stopped on their way home for speeding by the U.S. Park Service Police. For whatever reason (still unknown), Foxe suddenly jumped out of the car, ran to the nearby Tidal Basin, partly stripped and before the startled police officers could get to her, dove in. Unfortunately for Mills, there was a TV news cameraman on hand, and the entire incident was caught on film.
Surprisingly, Mills politically survived that incident, but was later forced to resign from the powerful Ways and Means Committee after another highly publicized incident involving Foxe. Mills declined to seek reelection to the House of Representatives in 1976.
GNP: The Gay New Party
Yes indeed, homosexuality is beginning to play a greater role in political scandals and, needless to say, the Republicans are not the only party plagued in this manner. The Democrats have some of their 'Gay' folk coming out of the Senate closet also. The most noted to date are Rep. Barney Frank (D) MA, and the late Rep. Gerry Studds (D) MA.
It should be noted that Studds first elected in 1972 was the first openly Gay member of Congress. He came to a sort of notoriety in the 1983 Congressional Page Scandal. He was accused of having consensual sexual relations with a 17 year-old male page, as was Rep. Dan Crane (R) Il. for having sexual relations with a 17 year-old female page.
During his hearing before the House Ethics Committee, Studds made the following statement:
"It is not a simple task for any of us to meet adequately the obligations of either public or private life, let alone both, but these challenges are made substantially more complex when one is, as I am, both an elected public official and gay."
The House Ethics Committee censured both men, and stripped them of key chairmanships. Crane was defeated for reelection, but Studds was reelected six times before he retired in 1997. It should also be noted that Studds was in an illegal homosexual marriage with one Dean Herra.
Then of course we have the matter of the married former governor of New Jersey, James Mc Greevey (R), who has recently come out of the closet. But then, there's no reason to detail that affair, since the affair has been well covered. It would appear, however, that in our present permissive moral climate, even the Homosexual factions in public service are fooling around outside of normal or homosexual liaisons.
Marital Infidelity and the Political Equation
All of the evidence to date seems to indicate that the reason Democrats do not have political problems with marital infidelity, is that they don't include it in the political equation: more to the point, they never have. Think about it, for the most part they don't even make a major part of their political advocacy. In fact, in Washington among the 'paid' campaign fund raising hostesses, they are indeed known as the 'bad boys' of politics. And maybe, just maybe, we may need to remove the mantle of Marital Fidelity from the equation for all politicians.
Clearly, if we want any kind of government at all, we cannot continue to use such a marker. The disruption to the governing process is highly damaging, if for no reason other than - we never know when it's going to rear its ugly head. Congress should limit itself to running the government of the most powerful nation on earth, not that of being elected marriage brokers.
The Solution Is...?
Make no mistake about it, I don't mean to make light of this subject, for a National Sense of Morality is very important to a country and a society; it backs up our word and what we stand for. But we must always be extremely careful and suspicious of those who 'politically' campaign to define it. And we must always remember that 'morality' is a natural thing not subject to religious or political crafting or engineering. And like a California Redwood tree, morality must be nurtured from within and given time to grow. Unfortunately, in the present state of world and this country, that's time we simply don't have.
In short, I have no solutions to our present moral dilemma as a nation and, despite protests from both extremes of the political landscape, and neither do they.
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