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Are Sanford's Deeds Worse Because He's a Republican?
Patrick Ruffini, a Republican strategist and blogger, had an interesting item Thursday on the GOP and adultery, and the apparent double-standard when it comes to the major political parties and infidelity.
At the core of the Sanford and Ensign episodes is the cloud of "hypocrisy" that hangs over any Republican who strays from the bonds of their marriage. (Quickly forgetting that all who commit adultery are hypocrites, having taken a solemn vow of marriage.) Because Democrats are perceived as more socially libertine, they get off easier.
This is a structural disadvantage that, on the margins, hurts Republican officeholders, forcing them into resignation or disgrace more easily than their equally adulterous Democratic counterparts.
Simply put, it is a strategic error to sanctify the idea that it's worse when Republicans cheat.
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