Republicans Who Run on the Platform of Family Values Must Practice Family Values

(USA Today) Rep. Mark Souder, R-IN, announced Tuesday that he was going to resign after acknowledging an affair with a female aide. Souder, a supposed religious conservative elected as part of the 1994 Republican takeover of both House and Senate, said he "sinned against God, my wife, and my family" by having what he described as a mutal relationship with a part-time staffer. "In the poisonous environment of Washington, D.C., any personal failing is seized upon . . . for political gain, Souder stated. He said he wanted to avoid putting his family "through that painful drawn-out process." Souder stated he plans to formally submit his letter of resignation to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) spoke to Souder a day before the announcement, according to a Boehner aide. Souder, 59, is the second member of Congress to resign this year amid scandal. Rep. Eric Massa, D-NY, left in March after allegations of inappropriate behavior with a male staffer which became public. Senator John Ensign, R-NV, is under investigation from a Senate ethics panel who admitted to having an affair with the wife of a former top aide. Souder had survived a hard-fought primary this month, just capturing 48% of the month. There will be a special election in Indiana to replace Souder but Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels hasn't set a special election date yet.

I was viewing Jim Sumpter's website and he had a picture of Souder on the web. Sumpter, who hosts the Jim Sumpter show Monday-Friday from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. EST, made the statement that there needs to be mandatory drug testing in Congress. I happen to agree with that. Many of our Senators and Congressmen are undboutedly under some type of substance. Many in Congress drink and I'm certain there's probably some that take drugs and we're not aware of it. With some of the strange behavior in Congress, there's a great possibility that some of them are under the influence of some type of substance. However, the problem I have with many Republicans that give lip service to moral and conservative values is just exactly that--lip service. They don't practice what they preach. We've already had incidents from Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina who has been having an adulterous affair with his mistress from Argentina. I remember back in 2006 when former Senator Larry Craig, R-ID was in the restroom in an airport being suggestive in the restroom stall. It was called the bathroom sex scandal. It's crooked, immoral, and depraved. I do recognize that we are human and nobody is above committing fornication or adultery. I don't desire to be self-righteous about it. However, if these Republicans are going to run for public office and run on the platform of family and Christian values, then the life they live needs to be examplary before all. We don't need hypocrisy in the Republican Party, esp. in the name of Christian values. That just further alienates the voter and their desire to vote. It's people like Larry Craig, Mark Sanford, and Mark Souder who will discourage some voters from voting. The conservative base already can't trust the Democratic Party. When those Republicans that hold the mantle of family and Christian values betray their constituents' trust in them, the voters don't know who to turn to.

As a result of the actions of Mark Souder, Larry Craig, and Mark Sanford, to name a few, there have been voters that have voted Democrat in protest. A large part of the reason why we have President Obama and the Democrats in control of Congress is due to the fradulent Republicans that have been in charge of both Houses of Congress as well as former President Bush. The Republicans were disgraceful when they had leadership control of Congress. They deserved to lose. There are numerous Republicans that are presently serving in Congress who served when they held the majority that need to be voted out in the primary. All counterfeit Republicans that are up for re-election need to be voted out by Republican voters in the remaining nationwide primaries. I know there are some Republicans that didn't run their campaign on the mantle of family values. The Republicans that I'm primarily addressing are those that gave the false impression to the voters that they were socially, morally, and fiscally conservative. Those Republican frauds need to exit as quickly as possible. Thankfully, Utah Senator Bob Bennett was voted out in the primary a few weeks ago. There are several more that need to be voted out.

I have a word to those Republican candidates that run on the mantle of family values. Your life must demonstrate that you believe in family values. It's much more than granting lip service to the voters. Don't fool the voter and pretend you're pro-family and you're unfaithful to your spouse. You're defeating your purpose in running if you aren't going to be consistent in your lifestyle. A person must practice what they preach. Our country is in deep trouble. President Obama and the Democratic Party are working overtime to transform America into a socialist country. They already have control over the banks, General Motors and Chrysler, and now the healthcare industry. The last thing we need are fradulent Republicans that aren't going to stand true to the values they claim to uphold. We need to vote out the incumbents in Congress which are on both sides of the aisle. Fradulent Republican candidates will discourage voters from voting out the incumbents. We can't afford this in the hour in which we live.