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- PUBLISHER'S ANALYSIS: Donkeys and Elephants
PUBLISHER'S ANALYSIS: Donkeys and Elephants
- By Roy Douglas Malonson
- Published 06/30/2009
- Editorial and Opinion
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Roy Douglas Malonson
Roy D. Malonson is publisher of the African-American News&Issues.
View all articles by Roy Douglas Malonson
There’s something to be said about the old adage, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Therefore this is not an indictment of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford directly, but rather the hypocritical self-righteousness of the Republican Party itself. Remember, they are the ones who hold themselves out as being the God-fearing ones who are on a mission from God to save everyone else from the evil Democrats.
News of the good governor’s sordir affair with a “friend of eight years,” reminded me of the finger-pointing, “fire & brimstone” Pentecostal preachers who say “all Baptists are going to hell,” and then they are caught red-handed with their fingers in the “cookie” jar (no pun intended. If you recall, Sanford, who by the way served as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, “This is very damaging stuff.” He went on to say, “I think it would be much better for the country and for him personally (to resign)... I come from the business side,” he said. “If you had a chairman or president in the business world facing these allegations, he’d be gone.”
Later as he explained his feelings concerning Clinton’s pending impeachment attempt, he stated, “I think what he did in this matter was reprehensible... I feel very comfortable with my vote.” Hmmm. Reprehensible—bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure; “a criminal waste of talent”; “a deplorable act of violence”; “adultery is as reprehensible for a husband as for a wife.” (the freedictionary.com)
Isn’t it funny how actions are reprehensible when it’s not you or your family? You know when it’s the neighbor’s son who is on drugs; the stranger’s daughter who got knocked up; somebody’s else’s kin who got arrested. But when it’s your family, your son or daughter, your relatives, somehow there’s a difference.
The tragedy of this case has nothing to do with the utter stupidity of his decision to run off for five days and leave the state basically unattended. It lies in the fact that the Republicans still refuse to acknowledge that we live in a real world while handling their affairs in a make-believe one.
Sanford is not the first nor the last politician to trip the light fantastic with someone other than his wife. New York Governor David Paterson (Democrat) admitted that he and his wife have had several extramarital affairs. Patterson took over Governor Eliot Spitzer (Democrat) who paid a prostitute over $4,000.00 to spend some time with him at the Mayflower Hotel. New Jersey Governor James McGreevey (Democrat) announced his resignation after revealing that he was gay and that he had an adulterous affair with a man. Nevada Senator John Ensign’s (Republican) condemned those who had committed similar acts before he admitted to having an affair with a staff member. Idaho Senator Larry Craig (Republican) got arrested and charged with lewd conduct in a public restroom. Louisiana Senator David Vitter (Republican) apologized to his wife after his phone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the “D.C. Madam.”
I could go on, but there’s no point in filling this week’s edition with a list of “Who’s Who” in infidelity. If nothing else, it seems that both parties are bi-partisan when it comes to wrong-doing. I say we all drop our stones, admit that we all have faults and work together to get us out of the economical mess we are in.
News of the good governor’s sordir affair with a “friend of eight years,” reminded me of the finger-pointing, “fire & brimstone” Pentecostal preachers who say “all Baptists are going to hell,” and then they are caught red-handed with their fingers in the “cookie” jar (no pun intended. If you recall, Sanford, who by the way served as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, “This is very damaging stuff.” He went on to say, “I think it would be much better for the country and for him personally (to resign)... I come from the business side,” he said. “If you had a chairman or president in the business world facing these allegations, he’d be gone.”
Later as he explained his feelings concerning Clinton’s pending impeachment attempt, he stated, “I think what he did in this matter was reprehensible... I feel very comfortable with my vote.” Hmmm. Reprehensible—bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure; “a criminal waste of talent”; “a deplorable act of violence”; “adultery is as reprehensible for a husband as for a wife.” (the freedictionary.com)
Isn’t it funny how actions are reprehensible when it’s not you or your family? You know when it’s the neighbor’s son who is on drugs; the stranger’s daughter who got knocked up; somebody’s else’s kin who got arrested. But when it’s your family, your son or daughter, your relatives, somehow there’s a difference.
The tragedy of this case has nothing to do with the utter stupidity of his decision to run off for five days and leave the state basically unattended. It lies in the fact that the Republicans still refuse to acknowledge that we live in a real world while handling their affairs in a make-believe one.
Sanford is not the first nor the last politician to trip the light fantastic with someone other than his wife. New York Governor David Paterson (Democrat) admitted that he and his wife have had several extramarital affairs. Patterson took over Governor Eliot Spitzer (Democrat) who paid a prostitute over $4,000.00 to spend some time with him at the Mayflower Hotel. New Jersey Governor James McGreevey (Democrat) announced his resignation after revealing that he was gay and that he had an adulterous affair with a man. Nevada Senator John Ensign’s (Republican) condemned those who had committed similar acts before he admitted to having an affair with a staff member. Idaho Senator Larry Craig (Republican) got arrested and charged with lewd conduct in a public restroom. Louisiana Senator David Vitter (Republican) apologized to his wife after his phone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the “D.C. Madam.”
I could go on, but there’s no point in filling this week’s edition with a list of “Who’s Who” in infidelity. If nothing else, it seems that both parties are bi-partisan when it comes to wrong-doing. I say we all drop our stones, admit that we all have faults and work together to get us out of the economical mess we are in.