DAVID VITTER

The Senator had been illegally frequenting prostitutes and was a regular customer of an infamous DC Madam. The reason this quotation is noteworthy is that it is a stunning example of moral hypocrisy in politics. Vitter ran as a very conservative politician who placed traditional Christian and family values at the forefront of his political philosophy. When his behavior was made public there were calls for his resignation. He refused and instead gave this statement. However, he had been elected to replace Robert Livingston who had been the Speaker of the House but had resigned when he was caught frequenting prostitutes. Vitter’s hypocrisy was all the more hypocritical as he had demanded the resignation of President William Clinton who had engaged in adulterous sex while in office. When he was running for office and his opponent complained that Vitter had been frequenting prostitutes, Vitter said that the accusation was absolutely and completely untrue" and that it was "just crass Louisiana politics”. This reinforced the hypocrisy in that Vitter claimed that one of Clinton’s failings was that he lied about his adulterous affair, while Vitter not only lied, but did so the public for purposes of getting elected. And just a few months before this statement, Vitter proclaimed the importance of abstinence for teenagers and faithfulness for adults. See {625896}.

In September, 2007, Vitter earmarked $100,000 in federal money for a Christian group, the Louisiana Family Forum, known for challenging evolution by means of "teaching the controversy" which promotes intelligent design. When the earmark became public, other legislators pressured Vitter to withdraw is earmark which he did in October of 2007. Vitter had been a major opponent of spending federal money for education, but made an exception for this project. Vitter’s hypocrisy extended to his own behavior as well. See {625898}.

This quotation is noteworthy as it illustrates political hypocrisy and very loose standards of accuracy. Vitter was a supporter and advocate for the idea of reducing teen age pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. However, this was an idea of religious advocates and not one recommended by public health scientists in the same way. To Vitter and the religious right, Abstinence Education, was to be a complete substitute for all other forms of sex education. They opposed teaching about birth control and safe sex procedures at all. The public health scientists generally argued that these were necessary, and that Abstinence Education would also be useful if it worked. But the early data showed that Abstinence Education did not work very well and was certainly no substitute for the other modalities of sex education. For Vitter, his moralistic advocacy of sexual fidelity, was particularly hypocritical as a few months after this quotation, Vitter was found to be frequenting prostitutes—See {625898}.

In September, 2007, Vitter earmarked $100,000 in federal money for a Christian group, the Louisiana Family Forum, known for challenging evolution by means of "teaching the controversy" which promotes intelligent design. When the earmark became public, other legislators pressured Vitter to withdraw is earmark which he did in October of 2007. Vitter had been a major opponent of spending federal money for education, but made an exception for this project. Vitter’s hypocrisy extended to his own behavior as well. See {625898}.

The Senator had been illegally frequenting prostitutes and was a regular customer of an infamous DC Madam. The reason this quotation is noteworthy is that it is a stunning example of moral hypocrisy in politics. Vitter ran as a very conservative politician who placed traditional Christian and family values at the forefront of his political philosophy. When his behavior was made public there were calls for his resignation. He refused and instead gave this statement. However, he had been elected to replace Robert Livingston who had been the Speaker of the House but had resigned when he was caught frequenting prostitutes. Vitter’s hypocrisy was all the more hypocritical as he had demanded the resignation of President William Clinton who had engaged in adulterous sex while in office. When he was running for office and his opponent complained that Vitter had been frequenting prostitutes, Vitter said that the accusation was absolutely and completely untrue" and that it was "just crass Louisiana politics”. This reinforced the hypocrisy in that Vitter claimed that one of Clinton’s failings was that he lied about his adulterous affair, while Vitter not only lied, but did so the public for purposes of getting elected. And just a few months before this statement, Vitter proclaimed the importance of abstinence for teenagers and faithfulness for adults. See {625896}.