Family Values, Republicans and Hypocrisy: The Case of Mark Sanford

Today’s lead story in The New York Times is titled, “Ending Mystery, A Governor Says He Had An Affair.” It describes the admission of an affair by Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina after he was missing for five days including the Father’s Day Weekend. It turns out that he flew to Argentina to be with another woman.

When he was in Congress, Governor Sanford was one of the strongest opponents of President Clinton during the Lewinsky affair. Yesterday, he conducted a rambling press conference and didn’t mention his infidelity until after seven minutes. His wife, Jenny, did not attend the event, and it turns out that they had been separated for more than two weeks.

In my opinion, I recognize these events as an unmitigated tragedy. I feel for Governor Sanford as a person but am unable to separate him from the Party to which he belongs. The idea that pride goes before a fall applies to organizations as well as individuals, and the Republicans are inescapably guilty.

I’m sick and tired of the Republicans lecturing to us about family values as if they had some monopoly on morality. While scandals show no preference for Party, at least the Democrats do not evince a holier-than-thou attitude with condescension to all the rest of us ignorant sinners.

The Republicans deserve all the condemnation they are receiving. I have sympathy for Mark Sanford but not the group who says they are better than Democrats because of their family values. Family values indeed!