Uber Family Values/Abstinence Only Pushing GOP Rep Resigns in Latest Sex Scandal-BLAMES WASHINGTON!!
Indiana Repub Congressman Mark Souder announced that he will resign from Congress after an affair with a female staffer came to light. Souder just squeaked through the recent Indiana primaries. It didn’t take much political savvy to decide this wouldn’t help him any, especially as Steve Benen notes:
but Souder’s scandal is especially humiliating. The Indiana Republican, after all, has made the “fight to uphold traditional values” the centerpiece of his professional life. His official website declares, “The family plays a fundamental role in our society…. I am committed to preserving traditional marriage, the union of one man and one woman… I am committed to fighting the assault on American values.” Souder has been especially active in fighting against gay rights and for abstinence-only funding
Oops.
Oops indeed. But Souder says it wasn’t his fault! In a statement he released (curiously, in all caps) he says the fault lies with demon Washington.
IT HAS BEEN ALL CONSUMING FOR ME TO DO THIS JOB WELL, ESPECIALLY IN A DISTRICT WITH COSTLY, COMPETITIVE ELECTIONS EVERY TWO YEARS I DO NOT HAVE ANY SORT OF “NORMAL” LIFE - FOR FAMILY, FOR FRIENDS, FOR CHURCH, FOR COMMUNITY.TO SERVE HAS BEEN A BLESSING AND A RESPONSIBILITY GIVEN FROM GOD.I WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN A BETTER EXAMPLE. I SINNED AGAINST GOD, MY WIFE AND MY FAMILY BY HAVING A MUTUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH A PART-TIME MEMBER OF MY STAFF.IN THE POISONOUS ENVIRONMENT OF WASHINGTON DC, ANY PERSONAL FAILING IS SEIZED UPON, OFTEN TWISTED, FOR POLITICAL GAIN.
*sniffle* I mean how can a God fearing guy be expected to keep his pants properly zipped in an atmosphere like that?
Don’t worry Souder, you’re in good company. Steve Benen runs down the roster of fidelity challenged Repubs in recent years.
(T)hose “family-values” Republicans sure do have a lot of sex scandals, don’t they? It’s getting difficult to keep track of them all. Souder is the newest, but his humiliation comes on the heels of Sen. John Ensign’s (R-Nev.) scandal. That came to light around the same time as Gov. Mark Sanford’s (R-S.C.) sex scandal, which came soon after Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.), which itself followed Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho).
If we look back a little further, we also find disgraced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani. If go back a little more, names like Vito Fossella, Tim Hutchinson, Henry Hyde, Dan Burton, and Bob Livingston also come to mind. And those are just the office-holders.
And to add a little insult to injury, TPM Muckraker had a video up of the Rep being interviewed by his mistress discussing the importance of abstinence. Unfortunately somewhere between the time I started this piece and now it was “removed by the user”. Can’t imagine why. ;-)
Posted by marindenver on 05/18/10 at 02:02 PM • Permalink
Categories: Politics • Election '10 • Nutters • Polisnark •
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