Dr. J.'s Commentary: Sanford, Pawlenty, Coulter, and the Future of the GOP

So there is Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, on a Sunday morning talk show, looking like the cat that had swallowed the canary. The question was, words to the effect of, "so, Gov., what do you think about the Sanford mess and the future of your party?" Man, he just ate it up. (This was just a few days before he was forced by the Minnesota Supreme Court to certify the election of Al Franken, an event he was presumably not so happy about, but what the hey, you can't win 'em all.) Here was one big rival for the 2012 GOP Presidential nomination caught up in an adultery scandal.

Not that adultery automatically disqualifies one from seeking a leadership position in the GOP and being taken seriously for it. Rudy Giuliani was a serial adulterer (and may still be, for all we know). He is being taken seriously as a candidate for the Governorship of New York in 2010. But with the current and previous occupants of the post being adulterers as well, hey, maybe in my state that's a qualifier for the post. Newt Gingrich was also a serial adulterer (remember the story about him telling his first wife when she was in hospital recovering from cancer surgery that he was leaving her and he already had her successor lined up?) He's being taken very seriously as a candidate for the 2012 Presidential nomination (at least by himself and from some adulatory cable channel anchors). And oh yes, he's now on his third wife, apparently having committed adultery on, as well as with, his second. Then there is the GOP 2008 Presidential candidate, John McCain. After his return from Vietnam, it has been said that he was kanoodling with the present Mrs. McCain before her predecessor was officially an ex-Mrs. McCain. Then he may well have been doing the same thing much more recently with one of his publicists, with the second Mrs. McCain still very much in the picture (or at least in the campaign pictures).

But in the Sanford case, we have it here and now, right up front and personal, with the South Carolina Governor making it highly personal, and teary, serially right there on the TV. Of course, not only was Marky-Mark Gov. of S.C., but also he was also President (?Chair) of the national Republican Governors Association, a fairly high leadership position in the GOP. And speaking of high leadership positions, there was Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, caught in the adultery trap too. How high a position did he hold? Just no. 4 in the GOP Senate hierarchy, and also, like Sanford, thinking of running for President.

My-oh-my. What a windfall for Gov. Pawlenty, who is also "thinking about running for President." Presumably clean as a whistle on the adultery front, suddenly two of your potential rivals are sullied. Not disqualified, mind you (see above), but sullied. So what do you think, governor, about the future of your party, and the apparent contradiction between what it says it stands for, such as "family values" and the way at least some of its leaders conduct themselves? "There is no place for hypocrisy in our party," the Governor answered crisply. "What we need to do is run on our traditional Republican values."

And that is the theme GOP leaders, at least the non-adulterers, non-corrupt, non-serial gamblers (see Bill Bennett), non-druggies (see Rush Limbaugh), non-fans-of-House-pages, non-restroom-picker-uppers, among them are going to be running on, at least for now. "We are not hypocrites. We stand for our Party's traditional values." If that were somehow to hold, Tim might have only two serious rivals for the 2012 nomination, former Govs. Romney and Huckabee (unless there is news about them still to come out). And boy, have a number of Democratic political consultants jumped on this one. Chris Kofinis, a former campaign manager for Sen. John Edwards (and boy does he know this issue up close and personal), opined on a "Hardball" session that that was the number one problem for the GOP: hypocrisy.

Well, Chris, I beg to differ. Hypocrisy is NOT the number one problem for the GOP. It is rather those "traditional Republican values" that Gov. Pawlenty told us the party must fall back on, adhere to, promote, that are the problem, at least for the rest of our nation. There are hypocritical Democrats too. But THE PROBLEM with (and if countered correctly, for) the GOP is just exactly what those "traditional Republican values" are. If we focus on hypocrisy, we will be missing the boat, a very big one. For if we do, then all the GOPers have to do is say "well you've got yours too," and the argument becomes whose hypocrisy is bigger. Or worse, or what have you. Last week, Giuliani was the designated "political type" for the morning cable shows. On CNN, he was asked about Sanford, and Giuliani spent most of his time talking about -- Bill Clinton (!!!) Two wrongs do make a right, dontchaknow, and if you don't, just listen to Sean Hannity for a few minutes, any afternoon.

No. What we have to focus on is not Republican hypocrisy but what Republican hypocrisy is about. We have to focus precisely on those "traditional Republican values" to which Pawlenty referred. They are what they did and wanted to do when Bush/Cheney were in office, and what they will run on again next time, even more strongly. You know the list. Let's just stick with it and not get sidetracked by the useless "hypocrisy" issue. That's just playing into GOP hands, who simply have to say, "nyah, nah, nyah, nah, nah. You too!" That's just strengthening the hand of Pawlenty, wimpish appearance or no, a total devotee of the "traditional Republican values" list outlines above.

Here are just some of the too well-known elements of their "values list." The promotion of hate (immigrants, Muslims). The promotion of fear ("the next terrorist attack"). Second-class citizenship for homosexuals (the gay marriage ban violates of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution). Misogyny (the no-choice position on abortion). The criminalization of religious belief (as to when life begins). The use of torture as national policy (and the violation of Article VI of the Constitution). The violation of the 2nd Amendment (yes, folks, it's time we go on attack on that one. The 2nd calls for the "right of the people to bear arms" in the context of a "well-regulated militia.") Destroying Social Security. Letting our health care system destroy itself. Cutting taxes for the benefit of the rich and the large corporations. And so on and so forth.

So where does Ann Coulter come in? The little lady who always seems to be wearing a cross pointing directly at her cleavage, which she always seems to pointedly display whenever she appears in public? Well, on the murder of Dr. Tiller, Coulter commented on Bill O'Reilly that it was nothing more than "termination in the 203rd trimester" (I haven't checked her arithmetic). That's supporting the murder of people who are carrying out legal functions that you don't happen to agree with. Coulter is a leading Republican figure. She appears regularly at Republican functions and regularly receives huge rounds of applause and cheers, as when before a South Carolina (!!) state Republican Committee meeting she referred to Sen. Edwards as "gay" and got cheered, loudly, for doing so. Coulter advocates murder for opponents. She previously has advocated execution for liberals, who, in a whole book devoted to the subject, she termed "traitors." In this country, treason is punishable by death.

These policies and practices are the face of the Republican Party. These policies and practices are what we need to go after, hammer and tongs. Every party includes hypocrites. Only the Republican Party has its ideology, practices Republican politics, and promotes its kind of leaders.

Steven Jonas, MD, MPH is a Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University (NY) and author/co-author/editor of 30 books. In addition to being a Columnist for BuzzFlash, Dr. Jonas is also a Contributing Author for TPJmagazine; a Featured Writer for Dandelion Salad; a Special Contributing Editor for Cyrano's Journal Online; a Contributing Columnist for the Project for the Old American Century (POAC); and a Contributor to The Planetary Movement.

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