I am not running for the US Senate because I am an adult entertainment star. I am not running for the US Senate for the same reason that so many dedicated patriots do not run–I can’t afford it.

—Stormy Daniels, announcing that she will not run against “family values” hypocrite Sen. David Vitter (R-LA).

I think, quite frankly, character is displayed in a variety of different ways.

– Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), who achieved national infamy for having sex with prostitutes.

• Ew. More than half of foodworkers surveyed admitted to the FDA that they don’t wash their hands before handling food. I wonder how we all got the swine flu? (Quad City Times via CityDesk)
• Hillary Clinton was poor (like the rest of us) after losing to Barack Obama, but now she has millions of dollars again! (NY Daily News)
• Former Rep. Tom Davis (R-Fake VA) also says that the southerners are ruining the GOP. Wonder if David Vitter will teach him about values too? (Political Wire)
• While there may be some debate over whether Sgt. James Crowley acted racistly when he arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr., the Boston cop and National Guard commander who called Gates a “jungle monkey” is definitely racist. (ABC News)
• According to Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), it is racist for Democrats to nominate a minority to the Supreme Court and then point out that most Republicans voted against her. (TPMDC)

In contrast to the kind of luvfest David Vitter is used to, this trip was legal, public and no money changed hands.

– Louisiana Democratic Party spokesman Kevin Franck, responding to Sen. David Vitter’s attacks on possible challenger Rep. Charlie Melancon.

BROOKS: You know, all three of us spend a lot of time covering politicians and I don’t know about you guys, but in my view, they’re all emotional freaks of one sort or another. They’re guaranteed to invade your personal space, touch you. I sat next to a Republican senator once at dinner and he had his hand on my inner thigh the whole time. I was like, ehh, get me out of here.

HARWOOD: What?

BROOKS: I can only imagine what happens to you guys.

O’DONNELL: Sorry, who was that?

BROOKS: I’m not telling you, I’m not telling you.

Whaaaat? David Brooks, you are such a tease! We know it’s not John Ensign or David Vitter because they go out of their way to fuck ladies, even ladies they are not married to. Stop being a jerk and just tell us who the gropesaurus is, already!

When Bill Clinton’s adultery came to public light, Ensign not only voted to remove the president from office, but insisted the president should resign as a result of the personal scandal. When former Sen. Larry Craig was caught up in a sex scandal, Ensign not only called for Craig’s ouster, but led the charge against him.Ensign has also been a fierce opponent of marriage equality, and supported a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. In 2004, the Nevada Republican lectured his colleagues, “Marriage is the cornerstone on which our society was founded. For those who say that the Constitution is so sacred that we cannot or should not adopt the Federal Marriage Amendment, I would simply point out that marriage, and the sanctity of that institution, predates the American Constitution and the founding of our nation.”

And did I mention that Ensign is a longtime member of the Promise Keepers, a conservative evangelical group that promotes strong families and marriages?

It’s truly incredible that for as much as conservatives go on and on about “family values,”  family values Republicans (and Ensign certainly falls into that category) never have to hold themselves to the same “Christian” standards that they would apply to the rest of the country. And that’s what really ticks me off about people like John Ensign, that they always seem to exempt themselves from their own self-righteousness.

While I’m on the subject of the Ensign affair, though, it’s worth noting that the Louisiana Democratic Party has an interesting take on the situation:

The Louisiana Democratic Party is today calling on Sen. David Vitter to resign his leadership position in the Republican Party after Sen. John Ensign stepped down from the chairmanship of the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth ranking spot in Senate leadership. Sen. Ensign resigned after confessing to an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer. Sen. Vitter confessed to a “very serious sin” involving illegal activity after his name was mentioned in the federal investigation of the D.C. Madam prostitution ring, and the Louisiana Democratic Party is calling on him to resign his Deputy Whip position in the Senate.

As always, IOKIYAR.

Morgan Johnson, president of the United Auto Workers local representing General Motors workers in Shreveport, said Friday that Sen. David Vitter’s role in blocking an auto bailout indicates “he’s chosen to play Russian roulette” with Louisiana jobs and the national economy.

“I don’t know what Sen. Vitter has against GM or the United Auto Workers or the entire domestic auto industry; whatever it is, whatever he thinks we’ve done, it’s time for him to forgive us, just like Sen. Vitter has asked the citizens of Louisiana to forgive him, ” said Johnson, president of Local 2166. Otherwise, Johnson said of Vitter, it would appear, “He’d rather pay a prostitute than pay auto workers.”

[Republican House candidate Ali] Hasan’s campaign publicist and former girlfriend filed for a temporary restraining order against him, alleging that he tried to hack into her computer and tracked her whereabouts after their personal relationship soured.

Hasan, the scion of one of the state’s biggest Republican fundraisers, countered by hiring the same high-priced law firm that defended basketball star Kobe Bryant in a sex-assault case.

The publicist, Alison Miller, dropped her effort for a permanent order but said it was under heavy pressure from prominent Republicans who cared more about the party’s image than possible inappropriate behavior by its well-heeled candidate.
…
Faced with a lengthy fight and Hasan’s high-priced lawyers, Miller said she decided not to pursue a permanent restraining order, hoping one will come automatically if criminal charges are filed. But her decision was affected by pressure she got from local party officials, she said.

“They told me that I was embarrassing the Republican Party, ruining his campaign,” Miller said.

Oh no, wouldn’t want a silly little thing like stalking to get in the way of the campaign. Other local Republicans, of course, feel betrayed. As to the accusations of intimidation, the county GOP chair send that while he personally didn’t tell her to drop it, it’s likely that someone else from the party did. The candidate’s mother had a similar response, while also winning the coveted “most uses of the word Republican in one minute” award:

“I’m really disappointed first of all as a Republican,” she said. “Alison herself says she’s a Republican. . . . We opened our house to her.

“My feeling as a Republican is, gosh, if you can’t trust a young Republican, who can you trust?”

If she were really a Republican–a true, loyal Republican–she wouldn’t put her own personal safety and well-being above the needs of the party. She should have just been like Wendy “I’m a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary” Vitter and stood by her man.

(h/t Vanessa)