Soliciting prostitution; sexual harassment charges; inappropriate conduct with a minor; sexual relations with a minor; adultery; and sexual assault.
This list isn’t what you think it is. It isn’t a rundown of crimes committed by inmates in the local jail. Rather, it’s an inventory of behaviors of leaders in this country, by both Democrats and Republicans. The Republican National Committee bondage bar expenditure debacle that surfaced this week is only the latest in a long list of poor judgments made by elected officials, only this time it was on the Republican side.
Characters in the racy movie “Animal House” acted with more class than leaders of our political parties.
What has happened to our nation’s moral compass? It seems we can’t go more than a few weeks without a new scandal breaking out of Washington, D.C., not to mention the sex scandals that plague Hollywood or sports stars.
Has the immense fame of our nation’s leaders and celebrities led them to insanity? Why would any of them think it would be okay to solicit sex from a minor or to lure young donors with a night out at a bondage-themed sex club?
Maybe because they’ve gotten away with it before. Apologies only come after the offending party has been caught with their pants down. Until then, anything goes.
As a parent, it is becoming increasingly difficult to shield my children from accidentally seeing a news story about someone who engaged in inappropriate behavior and is now groveling for forgiveness. I’d rather not have to explain what certain sexual terms mean to my young children at this point.
You know it’s bad when you have to enter passwords into your Internet filter program on your family computer to read stories about the RNC.
For the Republicans, this latest debacle hurts the party’s image because they are supposedly the party of family values and morals. They pride themselves on standing up for traditional marriage and protection of kids and families. If the RNC was soliciting my husband for contributions, would I really want them to take him to a sex club?
And for Democrats, scandals also damage their party image. When Harold Ford Jr. went to a Playboy party after the Super Bowl in 2005, I’m sure the Democrats didn’t want to explain to their feminist base that he was cavorting with half-naked women.
Both parties need to drop the frat-boy mentality and remember they represent the people who elected them. No one is perfect. We all have our temptations and vices but when people of power espouse certain values in a public arena and then do a 180 in their private lives, it is not only harmful to their image, but also to our country and families.
We need strong leaders, good men and women, to lead this country. It’s offensive when leaders of both parties engage in juvenile and irresponsible behavior and bill it to taxpayers or donors.
The American people will get their chance this year to elect responsible and moral leaders for this country. They will be able to give money to specific candidates and parties and demand fiscal and moral responsibility as to how those funds are spent. It’s my hope that Americans wake up and see what is really going on in government, that they will make the right choices and help get our nation back on the right track and set our moral compass straight once more.
Penny Nance is the CEO of Concerned Women for America, which is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization with chapters in every state.