[Vision2020] Conservative Heterosexual Whoremonger Vitter Enjoys Silence From Fellow Conservatives

[Gray Tree Crab aka Big Bertha]

 Where Are Family Values Republicans?
Silent as Sen. Vitter Prostitute Scandal Widens This dude went to see a
prostitute two to three times a week, according to the woman, Wendy
Ellis. Where
are all the phony GOP huffer-puffers of family values? What a double
standard. After moving to Washington DC, Vitter couldn't break the illegal
pay for sex habit--he admits his phone number was on the DC Madam's phone
list. Guess that's Republican-style family values. How sickening.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.
(AP)<http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iujeXCff2HdhLhgMP3tkI7HF16fg>—
A former New Orleans prostitute who will be featured in Larry Flynt's
Hustler magazine appeared at his office Tuesday to accuse Sen. David Vitter
of having a sexual relationship with her in 1999. Wendy Ellis told reporters
that Vitter visited her two to three times a week for sexual relations
between July and November 1999.

Flynt produced parts of an Aug. 22 polygraph test that he said confirmed her
account, but Ellis could provide no financial records, photographs or other
evidence to support her assertion that the Louisiana Republican was a client
during that time.

Vitter has denied those claims.

"I want the truth to be known," Ellis said. "It was a pure sexual
relationship. He would come in and do his business."

<><><><><><><><><>

[image: ABC News] <http://abcnews.go.com/>
Your Cheating Heart: Why Pols Don't Practice What They Preach The Psychology
Behind Hypocritical, Philandering Public Officials By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
[image: Sen. David Vitter]
Sen. David Vitter, R- La., has admitted to using escort services supplied by
Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called "D.C. Madam." Before his confession,
Vitter was known for his socially conservative pro-family politics. (Alex
Brandon/ AP Photo )

 *July 11, 2007 —*

 Once again, a public figure known for his staunch position on family values
has been caught philandering, and once again, the public is left wondering
how these guys keep getting themselves into these messes.

After admitting to using escort services provided by Deborah Jeane Palfrey,
known as the D.C. Madam, Sen. David Vitter, R- La., became the latest public
figure to get caught preaching one thing and practicing quite another.

It is a combination of hubris and denial that allows politicians and other
public figures to say one thing and do the opposite, psychologists told
ABCNEWS.com.

Vitter made a name for himself as a vocal social conservative and champion
of family values.

Speaking last year in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban gay
marriage, Vitter said, "It's often said, but it's very, very true, and it is
worth repeating -- marriage is truly the most fundamental social institution
in human history."

But in a statement released Monday, Vitter issued an apology that made those
previous remarks seem farcical.

"This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course,
completely responsible," Vitter said in a written statement. "Several years
ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession
and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my
discussion of the matter there with God and them. But I certainly offer my
deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any
way."

Vitter is certainly not the first politician to get caught in a sex scandal,
nor is he the first public figure to proclaim the sanctity of the family
while cheating on his wife.

Liberals and conservatives are equally adept at talking out of both sides of
their mouths. Former President Bill Clinton was perhaps the nation's most
well-known philanderer, but even his most vocal critic, Newt Gingrich, later
admitted to cheating on not one but two of his wives.

Psychologists offer several reasons why politicians and other public
figures, such as ministers, say one thing and do the opposite.

 "People can believe in two opposing things. Humans are ingenious in how
they can make exceptions for themselves. 'Practice what you preach' is an
old saw, but there are plenty of charismatic figures who are known to be
mean and nasty in their home life," said Paul Ekman, an emeritus professor
of psychology at the University of California Medical School in San
Francisco.

"These people make an exception for themselves. The very fact of their own
misbehavior is the reason they preach to others," he said.

These men, and most are men, sometimes believe their high station in life
makes them exempt from the rules, and in other cases are trying to work out
their own inner demons by admonishing bad behavior in others, psychologists
said.

According to Judy Kuriansky, a psychologist and professor at Columbia
University's Teachers College, men in positions of power often believe they
are above the rules that they impose on their followers.

"Often the people who speak loudest about something are trying to protect
themselves from their own urges. They act out one way on the public stage,
but inside they have this urge. They feel it's wrong, and outwardly, they're
telling themselves it's wrong. It's as if they're having a conversation with
themselves," she said.

Kuriansky said preachers and clergy who succumb to temptation similarly try
to work out their own issues when admonishing their congregants for the
things they do themselves.

As with elected officials, a preacher's politics has little to do with his
capacity for cheating.

The Rev. Al Sharpton from New York City and Ted Haggard from Colorado
Springs, Colo., both have admitted to cheating on their wives.

Haggard confessed in November 2006 to using methamphetamines and paying a
male prostitute for sex. Haggard had made a name for himself by condemning
homosexuality and opposing gay marriage legislation.

"As with politicians, it's the same psychological phenomenon when preachers
do the same thing. They have to appeal to the public, but it is not
necessarily what they really believe," Kuriansky said.

As for how Vitter moves on from here, John J. Pitney, a political scientist
at Claremont McKenna College in California, said he has already taken the
best first step by admitting his mistake and asking for forgiveness.

"His best bet is to acknowledge responsibility and ask forgiveness. … A lot
of people are going over things he's said in the past. One good piece of
advice is when you're in a hole, stop digging. I'd advise him not talk about
any issues of sexual morality for a while," he said.



Submitted by:
Gray Tree Crab aka "Big Bertha"
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