AlterNet: Rating the Greatest GOP Sex Scandals of the Past 20 Years

[marmar]

Rating the Greatest GOP Sex Scandals of the Past 20 Years

By Brad Reed, AlterNet. Posted June 26, 2009.

From Clarence Thomas to Mark Sanford, the definitive guide to randy Republicans




Give this to Republicans: They know how to conduct sex scandals in style.

Oh sure, Democrats have their sex scandals, but they're not nearly as interesting. For one thing, most Democrats busted in sex scandals aren't the same type of overbearing moral scolds as your average GOP politician. (The one recent exception was former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, whose work shutting down prostitution rings left him open to charges of bald hypocrisy when he was caught rendezvousing with a prostitute himself.)

Additionally, Democratic sex scandals tend to be of the more vanilla nature: affairs with campaign workers and interns are pretty standard fare as far as modern political culture goes, as are visits to high-priced call girls.

The GOP's deviants, on the other hand, have brought a wealth of oddball debaucheries to the table, from failed bathroom-stall hookups to slimy messages sent to underage congressional pages to rumored S&M diaper fantasies. So let's review the past 20 years of Republican sex scandals and rate each one on a scale of 1 to 10 based on factors such as hypocrisy, legal liability, the damage inflicted upon the perpetrators' careers and overall comedy.

1991: Clarence Thomas

To be fair, none of the allegations against Thomas could ever be proved, and most of the congressional hearings on the matter amounted to he-said-she-said testimony. Even so, Anita Hill's cringe-inducing charges that Thomas allegedly talked openly about pornographic films and pubic hair in the workplace captivated the nation. The hearings also marked the first -- and hopefully the last -- time that Orrin Hatch mentioned "Long Dong Silver" on the floor of the Senate.

Rating: 6. Thomas was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice despite the controversy, so it's not like the scandal had any lasting damage on his career. Also, there's nothing particularly funny about sexual harassment in the workplace, so this rating is only as high as it is due to Hatch's appreciation for Long Dong Silver.

1993: Sen. Bob Packwood

Interestingly, Packwood was a rare Republican who was supportive of abortion rights and was described by Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman as a "friend of feminism." That view changed for the worse, however, when 10 women accused him of sexual harassment or misconduct in the pages of the Washington Post. Packwood's friends tried to come to his defense, but for the most part, they ended up doing more harm than good. Ed Westerdahl, a member of the steering committee for Packwood's first Senate race in 1968, told the New York Times that we should be more forgiving of his old boss' behavior because "20 years ago, at parties, I'd see people doing much more than he's being accused of, and nobody gave it a second thought," and "the pinching, touching, feeling was considered to be friendly, not harassing." Even if we accept this preposterous premise, of course, it should be noted that the Oregon senator was also committing adultery, and I'm pretty sure there are some very old laws around describing that as a no-no as well.

Rating: 2. The lack of overt hypocrisy, and the creepiness of Packwood's advances leave this one without any innate comic value. Sex scandals are only funny if they involve consensual sex, after all. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/politics/140933/rating_the_greatest_gop_sex_scandals_of_the_past_20_years/

[Lilyeye]

1. I'll be sending this to my repuke aunt and cousin who follow the

"party of family values" blindly.

[cali]

2. Now that was a fun read. Thanks.

[rosesaylavee]

3. Somehow I thought there would be more...

But I guess the list was limited to those employed in government.

Clarence, Newt - I think they both deserved better scores. They continue to effect our lives and no amount of disgrace seems to have lessened their power to influence.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Many More Here:

http://www.republicansexoffenders.com/

[rosesaylavee]

9. A new more definitive listing linked here:

http://www.theopalinism.com/blog/

I knew there were more. 123 (as in one hundred twenty three) listed on this list.

[SpiralHawk]

5. "oddball debaucheries" = Republicon Family Values in a nutshell

[no_hypocrisy]

6. An Oldie But A Goldie: Wilbur Mills with stripper, Fanny Fox ca. 1973 or 74.

Cops pulled over Mills' limo and she jumped out and into the Tidal Basin in D.C.

I reveled in that story when I was in high school as the funniest republican implosion at the time.

[lins the liberal]

7. Old Wilbur was a democrat

He was an Arkansas Congressman for a number of years and was the longest serving chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. He had his problems but he played quite a role in establishing Medicare.

[no_hypocrisy]

8. Shoot! Wrong party!

:hi: