Mark "I'm Hiking the Appalachian Trail" Sanford Wins SC Special Election

The prior post mentioned the hypocrisy of the far right, especially the Christofascist set which is far too well represented in the South Carolina populace.  How else to explain the win by Mark Sanford - a self-admitted adulterer who ignored his responsibilities as Governor while having sexual trysts - in the special congressional election.  The party of "family values" elects an adulterer to Congress while maintaining its war on women, gays and hard working immigrant families.  The hypocrisy just doesn't get much worse. 

South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer Outed as Gay

My friend Mike Rogers (who I have known since I put him on the trail of Ed Schrock back in early 2004) has scored again - and this time it leaves the South Carolina GOP having to decide whether it wants to retain adulterer and philander Mark Sanford as Governor or settle for a closeted gay man as Governor. Yes, I know there will be whiners who say that Bauer's sexual orientation is a private matter, but given his aggressive Christian Right and anti-gay stances, Bauer's hypocrisy made him a target worthy of being outed. The rule for closet cases should be "Do No Harm to Other Gays." Adhere to that rule and your private life should remain private. However, once elected officials take official anti-gay stances, I am sorry, but they are open game. Here are some highlights from BlogActive.com:

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I am now able to confirm a rumor that has circulated in South Carolina for years. South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer is a closeted anti-gay politician who stands to replace Mark Sanford should Sanford resign or be impeached (a real possibility as Sanford is caught in his own sex scandal.)So, what is the deal with Bauer? I have confirmed and spoken to four individuals who I have no doubt are telling me the truth. These men have been hit on by Bauer, with one of them telling me it happened at least five times since Bauer's election in 2003. To a varying degree I have met with and believe the sources. And, as you'll recall, I have that 100% record.

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This was still not enough for me to report on him. Then another call came in and I met with the source while he was visiting DC recently. "He's gay," the source told me."How do you know?" I asked. "Because I've had sex with him on two separate occasions." That too, was not enough for me to report on without confirmation from others. I was led on a path to chatting with acquaintances of the source and two former employees of Bauer who served on his staff between 2004 and 2007.

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They reported to me that on a total of three occasions Bauer spent hours alone with men in hotel rooms. Each of them explained that the visits were with younger men who were not on the staff of the Lt. Governor nor had any official reason to be with him. The two men each confirmed that they had not known each other and each described similar circumstances under which these interactions occurred. One of them confirmed that he was told by the Lt. Governor's visitor he had a sexual encounter with Bauer.

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His [Bauer's]record? The bachelor is a right wing Christian conservative. He's done everything from defend the state issuing "I believe" license plates (complete with a cross on them) to defending the right of schools to use corporal punishment. In the presidential election he supported Mike Huckabee.

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Over the next week or so, I'll be providing a variety of take action activities to make sure the right people in SC know the truth (and not the rumors) about Bauer. After all, what good is an outing if the right people don't know about it? Ask Mark Foley… Ask Larry Craig… Ask Ed Schrock. Ask them all.

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There is a common thread to everyone Mike has outed - they depicted themselves as Christian and/or hard core conservatives, had extremely anti-gay voting records/track records, and all were secretly having gay sex on the side. I'm sorry, but such hypocrisy needs to be made public.

C Street and the Fellowship Foundation - Face of the Christian Mafia

Many liberal and progressive news sources and blogs have gone after the sex scandal plagued C Street fellowship house owned by the secretive, Fellowship Foundation. Now, the Christian magazine World Magazine is on the attack as well, citing huge sums of money, luxury and questionable theology. Admittedly, nothing is more fun than to watch a Christianist cat fight - especially when sex, large quantities of shadowy money, the peddling of undue influence and corruption all are part of the story line. Personally, it is worrisome when alleged "church" organizations are giving out discount lodging, lunches and dinners, and other perks to elected officials since only a fool would believe that no quid pro quo isn't expected in return. Stated differently, it looks a lot like bribery and unethical influence peddling to me. Here are some highlights from World Magazine (make sure to read the whole article or at least scroll down and check out the high end properties the organization owns):

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—The national press for the past two months has roasted "hypocritical" Christians who live in or meet in a ministry-owned house on C Street two blocks from the U.S. Capitol. Nevada Sen. John Ensign and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, both talked about this spring as potential GOP presidential candidates in 2012, have acknowledged adulterous relationships. Last month a lawsuit in Jackson, Miss., served notice that former Rep. Chip Pickering, also a Republican, may have carried on in the C Street house an illicit affair with a former college love interest. . .

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Sustained media attention has focused on whether the C Street house conclaves had contributed to or condoned the breaking of marital vows: Just what was in the water at C Street to prompt the three—all GOP political and social conservatives who a decade ago called for former President Bill Clinton's resignation—to fall into similar scandals of their own?

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[A] larger story emerged of the group behind the C Street row house: a 60-year-old, globally reaching organization that has muddy theology and a disdain for the established church. The C Street house is one of many properties in the greater Washington area owned by the Fellowship Foundation, which sponsors the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Bible studies, social gatherings, and private retreats, and funds international development.

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"Associates" (employees) of the Fellowship say its mission is to show the love of Jesus to the world's leaders. But it has no website to publicize that work, and those affiliated are extremely reluctant—if not prohibited, say some—to talk about it.

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House members Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.; Bart Stupak, D-Mich.; Mike Doyle, D-Pa.; and Heath Shuler, D-N.C., are reportedly current C Street residents. Senators Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; and John Ensign, R-Nev. reportedly also live there. All have been repeatedly contacted by WORLD in the wake of the scandals and have declined personally or through spokespersons to be interviewed on the record about the group. Others who regularly attend C Street house gatherings or other Fellowship studies reportedly include Reps. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; and Joe Pitts, R-Pa.; along with Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.; Bill Nelson, D-Fla.; and Mark Pryor, D-Ark.

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In fact, said Halverson, "they used to call themselves the Christian mafia—and they would laugh. Meaning one family is in strong power and then other families around that family have some power. . . . I would have been considered one of the families that have power."

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Silver tea sets, pink Italian marble, and overstuffed divans set the scene for elite gatherings. A banquet table serves weekly ambassadorial lunches, and another smaller sitting room allows for private, intimate meetings. Outside are tennis courts under tall oaks and a swimming pool that blends smoothly into the landscape.

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I think readers will get the drift. If this out fit is purportedly a "church" or some other tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity, it should not be giving out favors to elected legislators. The whole arrangement fails to pass the smell test at the very least.

Republican Sex Scandals and the C Street "Ministries"

At first blush one of the strangest stories to come from the recent wave of Republican sex scandals is that all of the adulterers are allegedly "family values" conservatives and many lived at a $1.8 million townhouse in Washington, D.C., owned by purported Christian non-profit entities. On a closer look, none of this should be surprising: (1) it's the sexually repressed Christian Right ass kissing politicians who most want illicit sex - the forbidden fruit if you will and (2) many of the Christianist non-profits organizations give all kinds of in kind gifts to their GOP water carriers in ways that ought to cause them to lose their non-profit status. Hypocrites and liars flocking together so to speak. As for The Fellowship" that owns the C Street townhouse, it represents, in my view, just a small part of the Christian Right political mafia that afflicts politics in this country. Politico has a story that ought to be read by those who have not seen up front how the Christianists funnel money and gifts to GOP elected officials and thereby buy influence. Here are some highlights:

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Lawmakers flock to 133 C St. SE for cheap rent, weekly dinners, Bible studies and spirituality sessions that serve as a sort of group therapy for some of the country’s most powerful men. But now the stately brick house is becoming known for something else: It’s ground zero for Republican sex scandals. In February, Nevada Sen. John Ensign — who lives at the house — was confronted at C Street by colleagues who wanted him to end his affair with a staffer.

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Earlier this month, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford — who lived at C Street when he served in the House — said C Street was where he’d been asked the “hard questions” that were “very, very important” in his decision to admit an affair with an Argentine woman. And last week, the estranged wife of former Rep. Chip Pickering said he carried on a long-term extramarital affair while living at the “well-known C Street Complex.” The trifecta of trysts has made C Street an easy target for charges of “family values” hypocrisy . . . .

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Although titles may not be important, there are plenty of them at C Street. In addition to DeMint and Ensign, C Street residents include Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.). Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) lived in the house before moving to his own condo, and he still attends events there. Former Reps. Steve Largent (R-Okla.), Jim Ryun (R-Kan.), and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have also studied at C Street.

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The large townhouse, valued at more than $1.8 million, is run by Christian network of nonprofits and ministries known as “The Fellowship.” Headquartered in Arlington, Va., . . . By ministering to the most powerful, The Fellowship believes, it can bring Christian beliefs to the larger culture. Jeff Sharlet, who wrote a book about his time in The Fellowship's Virginia headquarters, said the group believes that lawmakers have been "chosen" to lead by Jesus Christ.

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“When you operate in secret in Washington you raise an immediate red flag and then it gets redder when it gets mixed with any ideological agenda,” said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

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Because of the secrecy, it’s hard to know exactly how frank the various prayer sessions are — although it’s clear that Ensign’s affair was a topic of conversation at C Street. Coburn and others confronted Ensign about the affair there last year, and Wamp said that Ensign recently apologized to fellow C Streeters for his indiscretion.

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I'm sorry, but I have a problem with elected officials receiving living accommodations and meals subsidized by far right Christian organizations. To expect there not to be a "pay back" somewhere in return for what amounts to non-monetary gifts is naive. Not to mention the hypocrisy of the adulterer set enjoying the subsidized fruits offered by The Fellowship. Last weekend Maureen Dowd had a great column in the New York Times that looked at the C Street hypocrisy. Here are a few highlights:

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Like cats that have lost their whiskers, the Republicans seem off balance now that they have lost their talent for hypocrisy. . . . Who can forget the glory years, when the Gipper invoked God but never went to church? When Arlen Specter accused Anita Hill of perjury to distract from Clarence Thomas’s false witness? When Newt Gingrich and other conservatives indulged in affairs with young Washington peaches as they pushed to impeach Bill Clinton?

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The religious boardinghouse in Washington where Sanford sought succor from fellow conservatives, where he agonized to pals about his tango with the enticing María, is also back in the news. Affiliated with a secretive Capitol Hill group known as the Fellowship — which also sponsored Bible study and prayer circles attended by Hillary Clinton when she was a senator — the pious dwelling is becoming a tourist attraction, a monument to Republican hypocrisy.

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The C Street house, as the flag-flying brick rowhouse near the Capitol is known, serves as a residence and Bible study retreat for many Christian conservative lawmakers. But it looks as if what these guys were praying for was a chance to get lucky. John Ensign, the Promise Keeper who broke all his promises, resides there.

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Why anyone who is mentally stable and has more than a minimal education believes a word that "family values" Republicans have to say is baffling to me. How do you know when these GOP fat cats are lying? When their lips move.

Wingnut Excuses for Adultery

I swear at times you could not make up some of the wackiness of the fruit loops Christianist set if you tried. Now Mark "I like to Cheat on My Wife" Sanford's "spiritual advisor" is blaming Sanford's apparent multiple cases of adultery on "the power of darkness." I guess this new "Satan made me do it" excuse will sweep like wildfire through the "family values" GOP as an explanation as to why they seem to have a more difficult time keeping their pants up that the supposedly godless liberals or all those heterosexual couples in Massachusetts site of the first gay marriages in the USA. The truth is that Sanford - like so many of his "family values" brethren (think multiple times divorced Newt Gingrich and thrice divorced Rush Limbaugh - is a hypocritical dirt bag who was fortunately exposed. Here are highlights from USA Today:

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Each Sunday afternoon in May, Gov. Mark Sanford and his wife hosted five other couples at the executive mansion for a spiritual "boot camp." Topics discussed during the hour-and-a-half-long sessions included forgiveness and "not loving your wife as Christ loved the church." Group leader Warren "Cubby" Culbertson did not tell the other four couples what he and his wife, Susan, had known for months: The governor was having an affair with a woman in Argentina.

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For nearly six months, Culbertson has been the first couple's spiritual counselor — and their secret keeper. The Sanfords "passed" the Culbertsons' course with flying colors. A week later, Jenny Sanford asked her husband to leave their home.

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In an interview with The Associated Press this weekend at his Columbia office, just blocks from the State House, Culbertson said he believed his friend when he said that this was his only marital transgression. He thinks Sanford was simply caught off guard by "the power of darkness."

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Culbertson helped found the Round Table, a Bible study that, according to a paper posted on the Web, offers men "a safe place to pose their questions, test their assumptions, and know that they will not be alone or stand out as a spiritual seeker." Sanford sought that spiritual refuge on at least a couple of occasions.

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Some who watched Sanford's news conference felt he was insincere, playing to the Palmetto State's religious base to salvage his political future. Janine Driver, a Washington, D.C.-based body language and deception detection expert, said Sanford showed more emotion when apologizing to Culbertson and longtime political aide Tom Davis than he did when speaking of his wife and four sons. She also believes he lied when a reporter asked if this was the first time he had been unfaithful.

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These folk like Sanford and Culbertson make me gag and for the life of me I do not understand why people fall for this manure. They might as well be selling snake oil.

South Carolina First Lady Blames Husband's Affairs on Gay Marriage

UPDATED: A blogger friend/reader has advised me that DiSCust is a satire site much like the Onion, hence the story about Jenny Sanford blaming the gays for her husband's adultery is a spoof. I - and apparently many others - fell for it since it is EXACTLY the type of BS that the likes of Tony Perkins, James Dobson , Maggie Gallagher and other "professional Christians" whine about daily.

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Sometimes the batshit craziness of "conservatives" and self-anointed Christians drives me crazy. First we have South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford confessing that he had "crossed the line" with other women besides his Argentinian firecracker. Next we have his "woman scorned" wife blaming gay marriage for her husband's infidelities rather than admit (a) her husband is a lying scum bag or (b) her own conduct might have led to his wondering eye. Seriously, do these people think the rest of us are blithering idiots or are they just plain crazy? Oh, and never mind that Ms. Sanford was an outspoken opponent of gay marriage even before the public learned that her husband liked to "dip his rod" into other wells. First some highlights from The State:

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After days of assuring the public he was firmly in control after admitting a scandalous affair, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford detailed other encounters with his Argentine "soul mate," dalliances with women before her, and his struggle to salvage his 20-year marriage.

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But as more details of his private life spill out, what Sanford has done in the name of love is too much even for some of his friends in state government. "He's lost the moral authority to lead our state, so he needs to step down for the good of our state," said state Sen. Larry Grooms, who said he called the governor and asked him to resign. Others in Sanford's party predict his departure from public life is just a matter of time, and several state newspapers urged him to go.

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Sanford also said he's "crossed the lines" with a handful of other women during 20 years of marriage, but not as far as he did with Chapur and not since the two met.
"Without wandering into that field we'll just say that I let my guard down in all senses of the word without ever crossing the line that I crossed with this situation," he said, referring to his affair with Chapur.

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Faced with the mounting evidence that her husband is an incredible cad who finds it difficult to honor his marriage vows, what does Jenny Sanford do? She blames her husband's dishonest, sinful trysts on Teh Gays. Here are highlights from The diSCust (Note how prescription drug addict and thrice divorced Rush Limbaugh joins the chorus):

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South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford released another statement today, this time blaming her husband’s affair on the declining moral values in America. “Of course I’m not saying that Mark is gay,” Sanford said, “but he may as well be. The moral decay in this country has claimed another victim and this time it was my family. Our marriage was perfect until these laws started passing around the country. Clearly the slow dissolution of the sanctity of marriage in America seeped into Mark’s psyche until he no longer felt compelled to abide by our vows.”

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It’s finally happened,” said Rush Limbaugh, conservative radio personality. “America, I’ve been warning you for years that gay marriage would destroy the American family and look… there they are, a husband, wife, and four children — destroyed. When is this going to stop America? When will the liberals be satisfied? When all the marriages break up? This wasn’t Mark Sanford’s fault, this was Ted Kennedy’s fault. Sanford didn’t cheapen the value of marriage, he was victimized by the cheapening of marriage.”

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Asked if this newly determined source of their marital problems would impact their chances of reconciliation, Mrs. Sanford was somewhat evasive. “In the end, he is the one who is going to hell and we’re going to have to work through that, but make no mistake, this whole affair can be traced back to the liberals in Washington. We may not be able to save our marriage, but it’s not too late for the rest of America. Say no to gay marriage — the marriage you save might be your own.”

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I'm sorry Ms. Sanford, but I suspect if anyone is going to Hell, it's most likely haters and false Christians such as yourself. Any compassion I might have felt for you as the wronged wife is utterly gone. You are a nasty bigot plain and simple.

Another GOP Hypocrisy Erruption

What is it about "family values" Republicans who whine about the need to "protect marriage" by forbidding us gays to have it while they go out and cheat on their spouses either in affairs like that of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Nevada Senator John Ensign, the use of prostitutes like Louisiana Senator David Vitter, or gay sex trysts like former Congressman Ed Schrock? One almost begins to wonder whether there are any GOP politicians who are not seeking sex on the side outside of their marriages. The hypocrisy factor is off the charts. If these blowhards are so worried about the "sanctity of marriage, why don't they begin by honoring their own marriage vows. Here a peak at CNN's coverage on Sanford:

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South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, just back from a secret trip to Argentina unknown to his staff or his wife, admitted Wednesday he has carried on an extramarital affair with a woman in Buenos Aires, Argentina. "I've been unfaithful to my wife," Sanford told a news conference in Columbia, South Carolina. "I developed a relationship with what started as a dear, dear friend from Argentina."

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The affair began in the last year and was discovered five months ago, Sanford said without elaborating. He added that he and his wife were trying to work through it. In a statement issued later Wednesday, Sanford's wife, Jenny, said she asked him to move out two weeks earlier but was still open to a reconciliation for the benefit of their children.

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As for the larger implications for the GOP - which is fast becoming the party of non-stop sex scandals - here are some highlights from the Washington Post:

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Mark Sanford's summer adventure to Argentina -- no, he was not hiking the Appalachian Trail, as his aides incorrectly told reporters -- is now a full-fledged personal and family embarrassment, a story of infidelity followed by a public confession of the kind that has become all too familiar from political leaders.

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But Sanford's story is more than personal. For a Republican Party down on its luck, the governor's disappearance and subsequent rambling apology to his wife, his family, his close friends and all the people of South Carolina draw more unwelcome publicity to a party that needs but cannot seem to get any good news.

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Coming a week after Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) admitted to an extramarital affair, the scandal will impact the Republicans in several ways. First, it further damages the GOP brand, potentially driving away more voters or at least making it more difficult to win back some of those who abandoned the party in the past two elections. Second, it could disillusion social and religious conservatives -- a critically important part of the Republican coalition -- who may now wonder whether those who share the Republican label truly share their values. Third, the Sanford saga removes one more new-generation GOP leader from the field of prospective 2012 candidates, adding to doubts about the strength of the party's bench.

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One has to wonder when the so-called "values voters" are going to wake up to the fact that the GOP plays them for suckers since its elected officials seem unable to keep their zippers zipped up when outside of their own homes?

South Carolina - Another Jackass State

Fortunately for North Carolina (see my earlier post) it doesn't have the knuckledragger limelight all to itself. South Carolina and at least one of its residents have gone far out of their way to make the state look backwards and small minded. (I guess one way to look at it is that Virginia by default looks at least a bit less backward and reactionary in comparison.) First, there is the father who assaulted his 18 year old son with a baseball bat for being gay. Here's highlights of what the Andersonville Independent Mail is reporting:

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ANDERSON COUNTY — Violence broke out Sunday in Anderson when an 18-year-old man returned home from a gay pride parade and was assaulted by his father. . . . During the assault, the teen's 49-year-old father yelled, cursed, swung a baseball bat, prayed and tried to “cast the demon of homosexuality out of him,” according to the teen's version of events to Deputy S.C. Weymouth, the incident report states. The teen told deputies that his father “has a problem with him being gay and that is why he hit him with the baseball bat Sunday,” Weymouth said in his report.

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Yep, that kind a lunacy will certainly do wonders for efforts to recruit progressive businesses to the state. However, as if that wasn't enough, the Governor of South Carolina has managed to get the state huge negative publicity over the decision to pull an overseas ad campaign to lure gay tourists. What makes the matter so ridiculous is the fact that the total cost of the ad campaign was $5,000. Now, because of Governor Mark Sanford's homophobic behavior, the state has received the equivalent of millions of dollars in NEGATIVE media and tourist travel coverage. Talk about making yourself look like an ass. Now, not only will the state potentially lose gay tourist dollars but also those of people who don't want to vacation in what they perceive to be a backward and reactionary state. Great job Gov. Sanford. Here are highlights from The State:

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South Carolina’s top tourism agency has canceled an overseas advertising campaign targeting gay tourists. The campaign, tied to gay pride week celebrations in London, included ads that proclaimed “South Carolina is so gay.” A handful of other U.S. destinations joined the campaign, including Atlanta, Boston and New Orleans. After learning last week the state had agreed to spend tax money on the campaign — and spurred by a post on The Palmetto Scoop blog — the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism said Thursday it would not pay the tour operator. . . . The agency will not pay the roughly $4,942 fee to take part in the campaign.

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The campaign touts Amro Worldwide, a London-based company specializing in gay travel. The campaign was meant to reclaim the phrase “so gay,” which has been used as a slur, Amro CEO Andrew Roberts said in a press release June 27.

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That press release also included a statement from a “South Carolina tourism” spokesperson noting “we think people may be surprised to see our destination reaching out to the gay market.” . . . Joel Sawyer, spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford, said using tax money to support a social or political agenda is inappropriate.