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Sympathy for Sanford? Nah.
I was feeling sort of sorry for Mark Sanford. His emails to Maria indicate he was deeply in love with her, and, thus, he was in a difficult situation. These things happen--even to conservatives. And, yes, he was a blazing hypocrite, voting for the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act and claiming that he knew the true meaning of marriage:
As Jenny and I are the parents of four little boys, we've always taught our kids that marriage was something between a man and a woman.
Still, I wondered how tough we should be on a fellow caught in these circumstances. Until I watched the video of Sanford's speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference last March.
His address was red meat for empathy-free conservatives. Sanford, taking a Palinesque view, proclaimed to the crowd of conservative activists that the United States has reached a historic moment in which the "battle line" is between "government on one side" and "liberty...on the other." In what now comes across as a poignant observation, Sanford noted that the toughest problems to contend with are "internal problems," such as "your personal life." His contention was that the United States now has a serious internal problem:
We literally do live at one of the most pivotal points in American history. Every one of our threats, or pretty much all of our threats, have been external in nature. I mean, what were the British going to do to us? Or what were the Germans going to do to? Or what were the Japanese going to do? It was always what was somebody going to do to us. But the real quesiton of our times is, what are we going to do to us? I mean, it is a very different question, because as we all know external problems at times aren't all that difficult to deal with. Internal problems--whether in your personal life, whether in business, whether in government--are the real problems that are hard to get your arms around. And what we have right now is a problem of internal. [sic] And the question is, what do we do about it?
Sanford defined this internal problem as too many Americans depending on government for guidance and assistance. He pointed to the victims of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy and asked, "Did you see people who saw themselves as lions or gazelles?" His point: too many of the Louisianan residents clobbered by Katrina and the failure of the levies viewed themselves as needy gazelles, not strong and independent lions, and actually expected government to help them. For Sanford, this sums up the "internal problem": Americans have become weak and unable to assist themselves because government has become too big.
His ideology-driven lack of sympathy for these people was not charming. After viewing this video, I lost any empathy I might have had for Sanford. If he's going to judge others so harshly on the basis of what he considers to be their weaknesses, then he deserves similar treatment. Yes, "internal problems" in one's personal life are hard to handle, but try dealing with 20 feet of water on your block.
You can follow David Corn's postings and media appearances via Twitter.
What happened to Kevin Drum?
If there's not Friday Cat Blogging tomorrow, there's going to be trouble.
if you're searching for Kevin D. . . .
Steve, Kevin Drum is still there -- just click on the Kevin Drum tab.
oops, my bad, Steve:
oops, my bad, Steve:
Kevin's gone for a few days. He says he's in NYC, but I wonder if he's off hiking with South Carolina Republican Governor Mark Sanford. During this brief sabbatical, I will be filling in. Feel free to let me know how you think I'm doing in the comments section. By the way, I should let you know this: I'm allergic to cats. -- David Corn
Curmudgeon
This is so right wing retro, like being against equal rights for gays. Young people today totally approve of a person having spice in a triad or vee.
http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-062209-poly-side1,0,4447981.story
There are endless permutations of polyamory, and every relationship has its own rules.
Here's a peek at some poly terminology.
Triad
A relationship involving three partners.
Vee
A type of triad in which one person (the "hinge" of the "V") has a stronger relationship with two of the partners than they have with each other.
Quad
A four-person relationship.
Compersion
(also known as "frubble")
"Feeling joy in the joy that others you love share among themselves, especially taking joy in the knowledge that your beloveds are expressing their love for one another," according to the Web site for the Colorado-based polyamory magazine Loving More (lovemore.com).
Polyvangelist
A person who thinks polyamory is the best lovestyle (another term) and tries to convert the monogamous.
Polyfidelity
A group of partners in which everyone is faithful to one another; group marriage (think "Big Love," but with women also able to have multiple partners).
Spice
Plural of "spouse."
Loving More
Yes, I totally agree with polyamoury and all that. I remember the great Kerista commune. Boy, was that a hot idea.
As for Sanford I hope they replace him with another one of their good pseudo moral anti-people hypocrites. I know there are plenty of them.
sex in government
Kevin, although I agree with you regarding the hypocracy, I must say that, in my view, a lot of this dialogue stems from our inability to refrain from bringing peoples' private sex lives into the public domain. An alternative is to recognize that the republicans use their hypocritical pronouncements to play to their base, and having recognized this, to simply leave it up to the common sense judgements of the independent voters to reject the republicans' hyprocracy as just so much political maneuvering. If we can't rely on the discernment of the voters when it comes to the republicans' holier than thou statements, then this experiment in democracy is doomed anyway. In any case, I would revert to the statement: let him who is without guilt cast the first stone.
If the only thing he did wrong was leave the state without a governor for a week, I'm not moved. If he lied to everyone about his sex life, I'm not moved. If he is a knowing hypocrite, then I'm not surprised considering what his political base is like. Beyond this, what is there ? If the voters in his state find this too much to take, well they can do whatever they like. In any case, I could care less about his hypocracy. It's probably a 10,000 year old habit.
resign like a Democrat would
If Sanford had resigned from his elected position, like a Democrat would, then his frailty could be viewed as typically human. Instead, Sanford not only wants to retain his elected position, but his moral authority to deny civil rights and economic security to others. His typically Republican hubris deserves the wrath of the gods and the voters.
Yes, "internal problems" in
Yes, "internal problems" in one's personal life are hard to handle, but try dealing with 20 feet of water on your block.
And for that matter, see whether even a lion has much ability to control its destiny in 20 feet of water.
The fact is, we're interdependent. The only way you can have a complex civilization where only a small fraction of the population grows food or makes tangible goods is if everyone is good at some small part of the interlocking puzzle that makes up our economy. None of us are going to be lions in all possible situations.
I work at a desk, and am glad of it. If civilization were to break down entirely, I'd be hard pressed to survive: I may be fit for my age, but I wear eyeglasses and have limited survivalist-type skills. But you know what else? If I'd been born into a world where civilization had *already* broken down, and if I had been a 'lion' in that world, I'd be OLD at my current age of 55, rather than being still well within the prime of life.
So yeah, when the hurricane comes, I expect the government, and the power company, and all those other outside agencies to be there and do their part. If that makes me a 'gazelle' at that time, that's fine with me. Because a world where we can all take care of ourselves in any eventuality is not a world where there would be such a thing as 'national politics' where people like Mark Sanford could posture about lions and gazelles, rather than pulling a living out of the ground with the sweat of their bodies.
Interesting that he admires
Interesting that he admires predators - but he misunderstands the relationship between predators and prey - the lions are dependent on their prey, the gazelles would get along nicely without lions.
Another Conservative Man-Child
I'm tired of these whining GOP babies who preach responsibility for others but never take it on themselves. This attitude reminds me of my children when they were four years old.
Rush, Newt, Sanford, Vitter, Craig etc. All children. A bunch of hypocritical whiners.
And Sanford should resign for being AWOL from work. Most of us would be fired for such behavior.
Internal Problems
He sorta glosses over a little "internal problem" there in his historical analysis. Ever heard of the Civil War? Then again, he's from South Carolina so I suppose that might count as an external threat to him.
when first we practice to deceive...
These people are not self-aware. Empathy exists only for their own kind. Their world is divided between us and them, and black and white is the color of everything.
I could feel sorry for Mr. Sanford if I thought that he wasn't calculating every thought and movement for his own self interest.
Early culling of the presidentail candidates
Palin...gone
Sanford...gone
Ensign...gone
others?
Somebody out there is culling the herd to make it easier for themselves later-on.
David, never forget empathy...
it's what differentiates liberals from others. In particular, it seems clear to me that there are people who are physically, mentally, and emotionally unable to imagine themselves in another person's shoes. And that inability colors their politics. And just because Sanford can't do it, and yes, he's a blazing hypocrite, doesn't mean that he isn't human.
Certainly it is fitting to investigate whether public funds were used on these adventures of his. Certainly it is proper to expose the hypocrisy, and consider the risks he put on the state government because of his disappearance (it is hurricane season). It is also reasonable to criticize Sanford for not resigning. For the citizens of South Carolina, there must be a reckoning. For those close to Sanford, even more so.
But beyond that, for the rest of us all, we have our own lives and families, and the fights we wage to make things better for our kids. Let the battle return to the realm of ideas, and away from the sensational and personal.
"Every one of our threats,
"Every one of our threats, or pretty much all of our threats, have been external in nature. "
seems odd that a governor SC would forget about the Civil War.
it is easy to forget inconvenient facts, though.
Seeking to put the ball back in play
Oh thank mercy that he can be deemed a fiend so that the tribe can resume applying its war paint, sharpening its spears and making sure to interpreting everything convenient for inflaming the belly in the worth faith possible.
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Sympathy
I'll show Sanford exactly as much sympathy as he showed to the unemployed people in SC == NIL
http://radamisto.blogspot.com/2009/03/compassionate-conservatism-in-acti...
Mark S.
A little Bob Dylan for Sanford: "How does it feel...?"
No hypocrisy here. …
No hypocrisy here.
… we've always taught our kids that marriage was something between a man and a woman.
And adultery likewise. Where's the problem?