Sen. John Ensign: Glass House Hypocrite

Ok, Rachel, take it…

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Here we go again, another ultra-conservative, born-again evangelical, Republican Senator manically trying to sweep all those little shards of heat fused silica under the rug.  You see, that’s exactly what you get when you continually lob stones from your crystal cathedral on The Hill.
Affairs of the heart, or any other place for that matter, are not news.  Unfortunately, men and women have been cheating on their spouses since early bipeds could crawl over to the next cave.  What is news, and will continue to be news as long as we have Republican politicians on the planet, is the hypocrisy in which they do it.

Yesterday, Senator Ensign held a press conference to announce his involvement, oh let’s just call it what it is, an affair, with a campaign staffer who was married to an employee of the Republican politician at the time.  Ensign’s rising star seems to have burned out white hot as his commitment to those all too familiar family values comes into question.

Senator Ensign has been an outspoken opponent of gay marriage stating that if gays are allowed to marry it would dilute the sanctity of the institution and destroy the American family.  Senator Ensign, I believe what is destroying the American family is philanderers like you.  I would like to hear your speech now on the virtues of your commitment to your family.  Do you actually believe that your blatant disregard of the marriage covenant and the pain and humiliation you inflicted upon your children from this public scandal is in any way more beneficial than a loving, committed, and stable same-sex household?

Ensign was a vocal conservative voice demanding that Sen. Larry Craig resign after he was arrested in June 2007 in an airport men’s restroom on misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges. Ensign called Craig a “disgrace”.  Interestingly though, when Republican Sen. David Vitter acknowledged having an affair with a DC prostitute, Ensign didn’t call on him to resign.

In 1998, John Ensign called for President Bill Clinton to step down from the Presidency as a result of his affair with Monica Lewinsky.  “I came to that conclusion recently, and frankly it’s because of what he put his whole Cabinet through and what he has put the country through,” Ensign said, becoming the first member of the Nevada delegation to call for Clinton to quit. “He has no credibility left.”

Speaking of credibility, Senator, how much credibility do you have left?
Other examples of Senator Ensign’s hypocritical hit parade…(Thank you www.thinkprogress.org.):

“Mr. President, I rise today to speak on a topic that is very important. That is the preservation of the most important structure in our society. I rise to speak on the topic of marriage and the need for the Federal Marriage Amendment. ” [7/13/04]

“I believe that marriage should be defined as that between one man and one woman. You want to do what is ideal for children and all of the studies show that the ideal for children is to be in a household with a father and a mother.” [4/19/09]

“There’s too many people that paint with a broad brush that we’re all corrupt, we’re all amoral. … And having these kinds of things happen, whether it’s a Republican or Democratic senator – we certainly have had plenty of Democratic scandals in the past – we need people who are in office who will hold themselves to a little higher standard.” [10/18/07]

Yeah, that.