Corruption and hypocrisy out not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today.
- Mohandas K. Gandhi
HYPOCRITE, n. One who, professing virtues he does not respect, secures the advantage of seeming to be what he despises.
- Ambrose Bierce
If you’ve been paying attention of late, it will come as no surprise that Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) is $117,000 in arrears in child support payments to his ex-wife. Walsh’s hypocritical self-portrayal as a defender of family and faith is comical enough. Every time he opens his mouth and opines on the subject, he digs himself in deeper…so you’d hardly think Walsh needs any help in exposing himself as a first class hypocrite, right? Au contraire, mon ami…Walsh is getting a helping hand from, of all people, the Family Research Council. If I can resist the urge to spew coffee all over the keyboard, I’ll try to tell you about it.
It seems that FRC (led by Hypocrite-in-Chief Tony Perkins)), has decided that Walsh is worthy of being gifted with their coveted designation as a “True Blue” member of Congress. (You remember the Family Research Council, right? Yeah, the group that the Southern Poverty Law Center designated as a “hate group” for their disturbingly virulent anti-gay agenda? Yeah, those fine, upstanding Christians….)
Before you begin wondering if I might be having yet another “WTF???” moment, let me just tell the story in the FRC’s words:
“We thank Cong. Walsh who has voted consistently to defend faith, family and freedom,” said FRCA President Tony Perkins. “Cong. Walsh and other ‘True Blue Members’ have voted to repeal Obamacare, de-fund Planned Parenthood, end government funding for abortion within the health care law, uphold the Defense of Marriage Act, and continue support for school choice. I applaud their commitment to uphold the institutions of marriage and family.”
So, let me see if I have this straight. A “True Blue” member of Congress is one who votes to deny healthcare to children, deny reproductive healthcare to women, enforce discrimination against homosexuals, and support an educational system tailored to support parochial schools and those wealthy enough to be able to afford them? Does that sound about right? Them there’s some fine familee valyewz, knowhutimean??
“I am proud and honored to be recognized by the Family Research Council as the only member from Illinois with a 100 percent pro-family voting record,” Walsh said in a news release. “Defending American values have always been one of my top priorities, and this reward reaffirms my dedication to that fight.”
“Defending American values….” Oh, you mean demonstrating your unshakable commitment to the sanctity of marriage by divorcing your wife and then not paying your court-ordered child support payments? THOSE American values??
Of course, I realize that the term “family” as defined and envisioned by FRC is purely conceptual and useful only insofar as it supports their narrow, hateful, self-serving, Jesus-centric agenda. That Perkins’ collection of hypocritical, uber-Jesus-y zealots could somehow find it within themselves to think of and refer to Joe Walsh as a “defender of faith, freedom, and family” only demonstrates the depth of dishonesty and hypocrisy extant within FRC. Of course, Walsh’s honor will make much more sense if you understand that the “family” in “Family Research Council” is merely a word used to dupe the unquestioning, the inattentive, and the reflexively Jesus-y into opening their wallets. The Family Research Council is as much about promoting family values as Jeffrey Dahmer was about promoting the virtues of a vegan diet and lifestyle. FRC is all about FRC and their narrow, hateful, homophobic agenda, just as Joe Walsh is about doing whatever it takes to advance his agenda and ensure his continue employment in Congress. Ultimately, Joe Walsh is all about Joe Walsh: first, last, and always.
I’ve long since come to understand that venting my spleen over Right-wing hypocrisy is akin to determining which hole in the dike I should insert my finger into. Plug one leak, and four more appear. “Right-wing” and “hypocrisy” go together like peanut butter and jelly, or strippers and professional athletes. That may be the sad truth, but I refuse to become inured and numb to it. Sometimes, it just becomes too much to ignore. That neither FRC nor Walsh recognize the undeniable hypocrisy resident in this “honor” should be taken as proof positive of the moral bankruptcy of both.
(Memo to Tony Perkins and the FRC: A true defender of “family values” shouldn’t be someone who can’t be bothered to keep his commitment to his children.)
WE DESERVE BETTER.
