I'm still amazed on how so many Republicans win elections just by telling people that they love God, have family values, are pro-life and are anti-gay marriage. They play the Christian "moral" card.
"Vote for me. I'll be a good role model for your kids and will move this country in the manner God would want. I know, because I magically lived life back when Jesus did and wrote most of The Bible on his behalf."
The reason I think this is so ridiculous is that every person makes mistakes. We can preach all we'd like that we're "one with God," yet that doesn't make it so and doesn't negate any mistakes we've made or will continue to make in our lives. Also, when we go in for job interviews, while it'd be preferable that the potential employees aren't rotten people, most all employers will be more focused on hiring people whom they feel can move the company forward from a business perspective as opposed to hiring people they feel are "good Christian individuals." So, again, voting due to "morals" doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
When candidates play the moral card, they're also setting themselves up for more sever backlash if they act inappropriately while in office. Just ask late-night talk show hosts/comics what kind of politicians make for better punchlines - candidates who don't run on morals and values and act inappropriately or candidates who do run on morals and values and act inappropriately. The latter group typically provides for a stronger punch comically than the former. Especially in this day and age when we can see and hear such hypocrisy spoken on the radio, television, newspapers and Internet, those contradictory moments are far more prevalent than in years past and with that increase in prevalence is an increase in humor.
That brings me to Tennessee Republican Congressman Scott DesJarlais. He is a Tea Partier, who has long claimed to be very pro-life and possess strong family values. Well, not long ago, word broke that this family-values man was quite the philanderer. Not only that, but a released transcript revealed that one of these women he impregnated, and being the good pro-life man he is, demanded she have an abortion.
Part of the transcript reads as follows:
DesJarlais: "You told me you'd have an abortion, and now we're getting too far along without one."
One of his special lady friends: "You told me you would have time to go with me and everything."
DesJarlais: "I said, if I could, I would, didn't I? And I will try. If I can [find] time, you're saying you still will?"
Special lady friend: "Yeah."
Here's another lovely portion of the transcript:
Special lady friend: "This is not fair to me. I don't want you in my life."
DesJarlais: "Well, I didn't want to be in your life either, but you lied to me about something that caused us to be in this situation, and that's not my fault, that's yours."
Special lady friend: "Well, it's [your] fault for sleeping with your patient."
I left that part out, didn't I? Yeah, she was a patient of his. This good, family-oriented, pro-life Christian doctor cheated on his wife a number of times, including with a patient, whom he impregnated and demanded she have an abortion.
Politicians can claim all they'd like that they're "decent," "moral," "Christian" people, yet those words mean absolutely nothing when those words aren't backed with solid evidence. Why they mean so much to other voters is beyond me. Would they truly rather have a person who talks a good moral game, but is hypocritical or one who doesn't talk much of a moral game, but proves with their actions that he/she is a decent person? Perhaps it's time we all, instead of voting on the notion that one candidate is more moral than the other since it's inevitable neither is perfect and will make mistakes while in office, we vote on which candidate will help move this country, like a company, forward.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/scott-desjarlais-abortion-pro-life_n_1953136.html
"Vote for me. I'll be a good role model for your kids and will move this country in the manner God would want. I know, because I magically lived life back when Jesus did and wrote most of The Bible on his behalf."
The reason I think this is so ridiculous is that every person makes mistakes. We can preach all we'd like that we're "one with God," yet that doesn't make it so and doesn't negate any mistakes we've made or will continue to make in our lives. Also, when we go in for job interviews, while it'd be preferable that the potential employees aren't rotten people, most all employers will be more focused on hiring people whom they feel can move the company forward from a business perspective as opposed to hiring people they feel are "good Christian individuals." So, again, voting due to "morals" doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
When candidates play the moral card, they're also setting themselves up for more sever backlash if they act inappropriately while in office. Just ask late-night talk show hosts/comics what kind of politicians make for better punchlines - candidates who don't run on morals and values and act inappropriately or candidates who do run on morals and values and act inappropriately. The latter group typically provides for a stronger punch comically than the former. Especially in this day and age when we can see and hear such hypocrisy spoken on the radio, television, newspapers and Internet, those contradictory moments are far more prevalent than in years past and with that increase in prevalence is an increase in humor.
That brings me to Tennessee Republican Congressman Scott DesJarlais. He is a Tea Partier, who has long claimed to be very pro-life and possess strong family values. Well, not long ago, word broke that this family-values man was quite the philanderer. Not only that, but a released transcript revealed that one of these women he impregnated, and being the good pro-life man he is, demanded she have an abortion.
Part of the transcript reads as follows:
DesJarlais: "You told me you'd have an abortion, and now we're getting too far along without one."
One of his special lady friends: "You told me you would have time to go with me and everything."
DesJarlais: "I said, if I could, I would, didn't I? And I will try. If I can [find] time, you're saying you still will?"
Special lady friend: "Yeah."
Here's another lovely portion of the transcript:
Special lady friend: "This is not fair to me. I don't want you in my life."
DesJarlais: "Well, I didn't want to be in your life either, but you lied to me about something that caused us to be in this situation, and that's not my fault, that's yours."
Special lady friend: "Well, it's [your] fault for sleeping with your patient."
I left that part out, didn't I? Yeah, she was a patient of his. This good, family-oriented, pro-life Christian doctor cheated on his wife a number of times, including with a patient, whom he impregnated and demanded she have an abortion.
Politicians can claim all they'd like that they're "decent," "moral," "Christian" people, yet those words mean absolutely nothing when those words aren't backed with solid evidence. Why they mean so much to other voters is beyond me. Would they truly rather have a person who talks a good moral game, but is hypocritical or one who doesn't talk much of a moral game, but proves with their actions that he/she is a decent person? Perhaps it's time we all, instead of voting on the notion that one candidate is more moral than the other since it's inevitable neither is perfect and will make mistakes while in office, we vote on which candidate will help move this country, like a company, forward.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/scott-desjarlais-abortion-pro-life_n_1953136.html
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