Oh my — yet another sordid, steamy political scandal is sending the blogosphere off the deep end. The latest? A conservative Marine reservist who received a presitigious award at last weekend’s CPAC:
I never imagined that I could become a “public figure” without facing scrutiny. And I sought attention. I’m the first to admit that I want to be heard, read and taken seriously. But some issues are complex, and some really are simple. People complain of a lack of depth in public discourse and the way complicated debates get compressed into meaningless sound bites. Well, porn is just … porn. Self-explanatory and without depth. The pictures do the talking, and however many pictures there may be in video stores or warehouses or online, they still don’t have anything interesting to say. I am concerned, though, that they may make some people feel inadequate. As a conservative, I like to insist on equal opportunity, even if some do start off with more than others.
C’mon — admit it. That’s funny.
Being female, of course, I’m not affected by feelings of comparative inadequacy, Freudian theories notwithstanding. However, it’s often said that the best defense is a good offense, and Cpl. Matt Sanchez is clearly on the defensive — with (imho) good reason: his past has come back to haunt him. Like many, many people lately, he’s discovered that old red meat is apparently edible forever.
He’s being blasted online as a hypocritical sycophant suffering from self-loathing — with an accompanying level of vulgarity (language warning) that churns Polimom’s sensitive stomach.
The volume and heat are so high, in fact, that it’s hard to tell whether people are more upset that he was in porn, or that he is gay…. or maybe was sort of gay, except he says not, or perhaps isn’t….
Since I’ve seen nothing to indicate Sanchez is still in the “adult entertainment” industry — or has been for many years — I find myself both bemused and disgusted by the reactions from both sides of the aisle.
Some conservatives (like this one) seem to feel that Sanchez’s past should have been more carefully scrutinized before handing out such a prominent award. Evidently, if one’s life was not lived by the Wholesome Family Values Creed, one should not be permitted to rise above that. We’ll let you work for our side (the thinking seems to be), but you’ll always be just a bit dirty.
Even those conservatives who are not inclined toward judgmentalism, though, can see that CPAC, and the conservative movement, has fairly earned the label “hypocrites”. It’s obvious that social conservatives have branded them homophobic…. and it’s their own fault. That’s what pandering gets you.
It’s the liberal reactions, though, that are the most telling — and damning — because for many on the left, this has clealy become a one-issue kinda’ world.
If you’re gay, you must support the left… because you are your sexual identity. You cannot — are simply not permitted to — find value in the traditional conservative positions that pre-date the party’s social hijacking. A gay person is his or her sexual orientation, and everything else has to take a backseat. It’s just too bad if the rest of the liberal agenda isn’t agreeable. If you’re gay, there’s only supposed to be one issue.
Period.
Just ask Mary Cheney.