Knowing When to Fold Them

Additionally if a Senator conducts an Appropriations Committee hearing and allows, even encourages, the audience to heckle a respected U.S. General – perhaps it is time to end an already too long political career.

What are you talking about here, Tom?

Are you referring to the heckling that Gen. Peter Pace received from what appeared to be members of Code Pink? Have you even watched the clip of that incident? If not, you should. If you have, then I have to wonder about your ability to process information.

No rational person could watch that clip and conclude that the heckling took place at the encouragement of any member of that committee. Senator Byrd tried mightily, and in vain, to bring order to the proceedings so that Gen. Pace could complete his statement. When that proved impossible, he suspended the hearing and scolded the hecklers in very strong terms.

Your characterization of the incident is the essence of disingenousness. You do not do yourself or your readers any favors with such blatant misrepresentations.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

Why do you conveniently overlook David Vitter (who, it should be noted, Tony Perkins defended why his situation was revealed)? Is heterosexual prostitution no longer outside of your "values," FRC? Or is it just that avoiding a Dem replacement nominee from Dem Gov. Blanco is more important than standing for your beliefs across the board?

I appreciate this is just your opinion and as long as it's just an opinion and not something you desire to be mandatory I see your point. However I don't share your opinion.

Obviously criminal acts that lead to jail time require the lawmaker being replaced, but for other indiscretions I have no problem if they resign or not.
While it would be nice for lawmakers to live by principles they supposedly stand for I feel no need for them to resign. This doesn't mean that I don't disagree with them resigning if they so wish.
What of lawmakers who don't share your values? Should they resign because they live by their values and not yours? If they didn't run on a "moral platform" they can't be accused of misleading the electorate.

The voters are the ones who choose if they stay or go come election time. I understand the frustration this may cause if election time is a way off but then we don't have a perfect system.
The price of living in a free society with freely elected government of the people and for the people is that sometimes the people re-elect candidates we as individuals don't like.

Absolutely agree with you. Our elected representatives are supposed to uphold the laws they pass. Furthermore if they are elected by the Moral Values Voters, they need to live up to the moral values.

No rational person could watch that clip and conclude that the heckling took place at the encouragement of any member of that committee.

From Dana Milbank's column today in the Washington Post:

Byrd's angry theatrics made for a performance reminiscent of Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman." And Byrd did Pacino one better: He invited the audience in the room to join him in heckling the witnesses, creating a responsive Greek chorus.

Milbank must not be rational either, eh?

Politicians should be chosen on the basis of their policies and their competence, and allowed to stay on those same grounds. If a politician does his job well, then his personal life is none of the publics' business unless it might influence his political decisions. Accountability is to the voters, not the tabloid media.

Those who gained power by an appeal to the self-declared moral vote should be held to the standards they claimed to uphold, otherwise they would be deceiving the voters. Those who made no campaign promise to live up to particular code of values should be judged on position and competence only.

To G-A-Y

I'm of the opinion that David Vitter should resign as well.

I think we should expect and demand that our officials be people of integrity regardless of their political affiliation.

Of course Tony Perkins will not condemn David Vitter. The two of them are friends. Plus, Vitter earmarks federal money for Tony's causes.

Was there a specific reason why the Vitter scandal was not referenced here, Mr. McCluskey?

"I think we should expect and demand that our officials be people of integrity regardless of their political affiliation."

Nice princible, but impractical, because there is no agreement on what integrity means. There are a few well-agreed aspects, like honesty. But... a lot of things would be considered terrible crimes by conservatives and harmless by liberals, or vice versa.

The solution I see is to take it out of the legal framework entirely: Let politicians do whatever they wish, so long as they remain within the law. But when election day comes, its the voters they will answer to for their scandals.

Joe Carter wrote:

From Dana Milbank's column today in the Washington Post:

Byrd's angry theatrics made for a performance reminiscent of Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman." And Byrd did Pacino one better: He invited the audience in the room to join him in heckling the witnesses, creating a responsive Greek chorus.

Milbank must not be rational either, eh?

That's correct. If Milbank saw or heard Sen. Byrd inviting the audience to heckle Gen. Pace, then he is not rational.

Again, just watch the clip. Sen. Byrd did not heckle, nor did he encourage anybody else to heckle Gen. Pace. It simply did not happen. If it had happened, it would be visible and audible on the clip. It is not there.

How is heckling "deviant"?

I see I must be approved to express an opinion,granting it's an opinion you aprove of.
I wonder if Jesus would approve of such biased judgement.Picking and screening his audience in order not to be embarrassed or ridiculed. It is sad that your "faith" is so fragile that it cannot stand scrutiny and discussion but as all true Christians know, faiths based on judgemental marginalization and condemnation of any of God's children will never better the world. Shame on you and your organized bigotry.

I am concerned that so many politicians who got elected as conservative and family values oriented get in trouble time and again, over and over. In supporting and endorsing these candidates can't we do a better job of investigating them beforehand?