Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t much care what Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) does in his personal life. What he does in his bedroom is his business.
But these aren’t quite normal circumstances.
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) apologized last night after his telephone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the “D.C. Madam,” making him the first member of Congress to become ensnared in the high-profile case.
The statement containing Vitter’s apology said his telephone number was included on phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates dating from before he ran for the Senate in 2004.
It didn’t take too long for Vitter to fess up. “This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible,” Vitter said in a statement. “Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling.”
The reason this is noteworthy has very little to do with a powerful politician carrying on extra-marital affairs, and everything to do with Vitter holding himself out as a virtuous family man, entitled to lecture those he deems immoral about “family values.”
Stupidity is one thing; hypocrisy is another. The prior is easy to forgive; the latter tends to breed resentment.
Here’s Vitter, for example, on the “sanctity of marriage” in 2004:
“This is a real outrage. The Hollywood left is redefining the most basic institution in human history, and our two U.S. Senators won’t do anything about it.
We need a U.S. Senator who will stand up for Louisiana values, not Massachusetts’s values. I am the only Senate Candidate to coauthor the Federal Marriage Amendment; the only one fighting for its passage. I am the only candidate proposing changes to the senate rules to stop liberal obstructionists from preventing an up or down vote on issues like this, judges, energy, and on and on.” stated David Vitter.
In 2006, Vitter told reporters that “the existence or non-existence of a stable, loving, two-parent household” is the most significant predictor of success in life, and conceded that infidelity contributes to the breakdown of traditional families.
This is what makes the revelations interesting. Vitter shamelessly got on his high horse, condemning those he deemed morally inferior, despite engaging in the same “anti-family” behavior he claimed to abhor. And in the process, he lied, repeatedly, to the public about his own failings.
Indeed, during his Senate campaign, a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee said publicly that Vitter had carried on a lengthy affair with a prostitute in New Orleans’s French Quarter. Vitter called the allegation “absolutely and completely untrue” and dismissed it as “just crass Louisiana politics.”
Other Vitter-related items to keep in mind:
* Vitter championed the Federal Marriage Amendment twice.
* Vitter’s career in Congress started when he replaced former Rep. Bob Livingstone (R-La.), who was forced to resign after a sex scandal.
* Vitter’s wife, Wendy, was asked in 1998 what she would do if her husband strayed. “I’m a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary,” she said. “If he does something like that, I’m walking away with one thing, and it’s not alimony, trust me. I think fear is a very good motivating factor in a marriage.”
And finally, I thought I’d add that back in May 2003, the WaPo’s Howard Kurtz wrote about the personal difficulties of then-West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise (D). Wise has admitted to having an extramarital affair during his term in office and has apologized to voters and his family.
Kurtz wrote about how the West Virginia press was covering the scandal and how those stories may impact state politics, with links to relevant articles and editorials. However, he also felt it necessary to throw in an editorial comment: “Just what the country needed: another Democrat who can’t keep his zipper zipped.”
I wonder if Kurtz might offer a similar comment now about the adulterous GOP.