The Herman Cain Controversies — Utah Senator Orrin Hatch Says Cain Mistreated By Media, Praises GOP Family Values. HUH?
Longtime Utah Senator Orrin Hatch has his shorts in a bunch about the media coverage of the Herman Cain allegations, claiming, among other things, that conservatives get worse treatment from the press in matters sexual scandally than the Dems. Personally, I don’t keep track, but I do enjoy this kind of news regardless of party affiliation, although I’m truly ashamed. It’s not Hatch’s belief about press treatment that gets my shorts in a bunch, though. It’s what he said next that was exceptionally misleading. . . .
Here’s the portion of the story related to what Hatch believes about press coverage of GOP sex scandal allegations:
Senate GOP rips media for Cain story, alleges double standard
By Alexander Bolton – 11/01/11 02:45 PM ET
Conservative politicians like Herman Cain come under more media scrutiny than liberal candidates, several Republican senators said Tuesday.
The GOP senators ripped the media for its handling of anonymous sexual harassment allegations against the Republican presidential candidate, and asked whether a Democrat would face the same kind of reporting in the absence of a public accusation.
“It’s easy to take potshots at conservatives,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who described the media’s treatment of the Cain story as “overdone.”
Hatch argued conservative candidates often get harsher treatment from the mainstream media.” [To read the rest just click here]
I never looked into this double standard allegation until today when I needed to thanks to Senator Hatch and his GOP cronies. Being a kindhearted soul, I limited my research to allegations of scandals amidst presidential races since the Cain controversy seems to be what caught Hatch’s eye. What I found refutes Hatch’s sense of (typical right wing GOP) victimhood:
- In 1987, Gary Hart’s affair with Donna Rice created a media feeding frenzy, culminating in the infamous “Monkey Business” photo that, a week later, forced Hart out of the presidential race
- In early 1902, prior to the New Hampshire primary, Bill Clinton’s affair with Jennifer Flowers was trumpeted with enormous energy throughout the media.
- John Edward’s extramarital affair . . . well, let’s forget about that one. . .
I think most of us can recall the media shark attack the followed these. The press treatment of these Democratic presidential candidates was far from minor as Hatch and others would have us believe.
Here’s what Hatch said next that does not pass the smell test:
“Conservatives are family oriented, for the most part religious, they believe in raising children and they believe in marriage.”
O.K., I’ll bite. Let’s check this out, using past and present GOP presidential candidates since 1992. I think you’ll see a pattern.
Gary Bauer (2000)Dan Quayle (2000)
It’s not the sexual scandals themselves that steam me, we’re all human (well, most), and our fidelity synapses are not well-developed, but seemingly our sex wiring is full-blown manic (pardon the pun). So, as Donald Rumsfeld might say, “Sex happens.”
What rankles most – for all of us, I think – is the hypocrisy involved. This thought, of course, is a common criticism of the right by the left. But it’s still worthwhile to remember that, for decades, “family values” has been at the core of the Republican party image. They’ve touted it from pulpit to campaign stops to the floor of the House and Senate. Entire libraries could be filled with their scribblings about “family values.” Worst of all, they’ve deigned to haughtily instruct us.
Yet, as far as actually living family values rather than merely talking about them, well, as Gertrude Stein said about Oakland, California in the 1930’s, “There’s no there there.” And, Senator Hatch, more than anything else, that energetic hypocrisy is why they get hammered in the “lamestream media.” And who should be surprised by that?
