David Vitter
I know people that know Senator Vitter personally. He is by all accounts a friendly and kind man. I have always had trouble reconciling personal stories of the man with his very distasteful public statements. It reminds me of the times I have spoken with republicans (not the christian right kind) who generally seem like thoughtful and reasonable people that I disagree with, but they aren’t evil. People are going to disagree, that is what makes a democracy work. What is sad is that people like Senator Vitter seem to feel obligated to spew hate in order to get elected. I suspect the senator could care less about the sexual habits of other Americans. Lord knows he would rather we not get involved in his.
What has happened in this country that politics has lost all connection to policy? It seems that both sides are reduced to arguing things they don’t believe and introducing bills that will never pass in order to get their pander on. Then they pass laws to give back to the wealthy donors that bought the TV ads that got them elected. In the end we get nothing. Its a bit like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, normal people get into office and realpolitik sucks out their souls. We have democrats blaming the Iraqi government for not cleaning up the mess we made because they think they can’t say the real problem. And we have Republicans like Vitter privately indulging their sexual tastes while condeming those of others, not because they care but because they think they have to.
July 10th, 2007 16:34
I’ve seen the same public/private dichotomies in politicians, and it is a shame. However, I can also say that I don’t feel a bit bad for Mr. Vitter’s trip to the hot seat right now. He didn’t just mention he was anti-gay in passing, to appease some hard-core haters in the Republican base. He made his anti-gay stance a centerpiece of his political career, and justified his hate by saying HIS take on marriage was morally superior. His hypocrisy deserves to be noted and commented upon, even if he IS a nice person in private.
July 10th, 2007 17:41
You know, you are right Neko. It just makes me sad to think about this. As an email I just got said: poor Wendy Vitter! I also think his hypocrisy is absolutely fair game, its just a new experience for me to see a personal side of it.