COMMENTARY: Democratic Power No Answer to Foley Affair
By Star ParkerScripps Howard News Service
There's a difference between a party with principles not doing a good job executing those principles and a party with no principles. Anyone who thinks that turning the reins of power over to Democrats will raise the country's moral bar should take a cold shower.
We can parse out every element of former Republican Congressman Mark Foley's behavior that sickens normal, decent Americans and find that these elements are today, in one form or another, a generally accepted part of everyday life in the country. We can thank liberals for this state of affairs, and these liberals are Democrats.
What are we upset about?
Sexual promiscuity? A third of babies born today in the United States are born to unwed mothers. The idea that sexual behavior belongs in the exclusive realm of marriage has long departed from popular American culture.
We relate to others as objects for our use, and then cast them aside when they are no longer useful. Why should we expect the culture of the U.S. Congress be any different from what we find generally accepted in the country as a whole?
Homosexuality? Let's face it. Culturally, homosexual behavior is now an accepted part of American life. Homosexuals host popular national talk shows. Most American corporations provide benefits for "partners" and prohibit any talk or behavior that might imply lack of openness to all "lifestyles."
The entertainment industry provides a steady diet of films, TV shows and music that legitimize every imaginable form of sexual behavior.
Underage sex?
According to data gathered from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by Child Trends DataBank in 2005, 34 percent of high school students reported that they had had sexual intercourse during the previous three months, including 22 percent of ninth-graders. Half of 12th-grade students say they had sex in the last three months.
Twenty-eight out of our fifty states permit a teen-age girl to get an abortion without the permission of her parents. Seventeen states do not even require that the teenage girl inform her parents before getting the abortion.
One of these seventeen states is California, home of Democratic minority leader Nancy Pelosi, now palpitating at the prospect of becoming the first woman speaker of the House.
In 2005, parents in a local school district in California sued the school system for allowing a questionnaire to be distributed to kids from 7 to 10 years old, asking them explicit questions about their sexual feelings. The district court ruled against the parents. According to the court ruling, parents have no right "to prevent a public school from providing its students with whatever information it wishes to provide, sexual or otherwise, when and as the school determines that it is appropriate to do so."
Sexual "education" is now a regular part of public school curricula. Girls and boys receive this material together. The only message these kids get is that the only reason to abstain from any form of sexual behavior is the extent to which that behavior might inconvenience one's life. Sexual behavior is taught to be the result of "orientation" and not choice. So what's the big deal about Mark Foley?
Bill Clinton transformed the Oval Office into a sexual romper room, used the power of the nation's highest office to prey on the young and naive for his pleasure, brought discussion about intimate sexual behavior into common public discourse, and educated America's children about alternative modes of sexual behavior.
Clinton suffered at most an embarrassing few moments, apologized for something or other that to this day remains ambiguous to me, and today postures as a global statesman.
Supposed Democratic outrage about Mark Foley cannot possibly have anything to do with Foley's behavior. In the world of the Democratic left, the only intolerance is intolerance. The only evil is to condemn any behavior that takes place between supposedly consenting adults.
Democratic outrage about the Foley affair is a simple stage show to provoke voters.
Republican leadership leaves a lot to be desired. The party has got to get focused and tighten the reins of management. But there is little question that there is only one party that still gives credence to traditional values, and that is the Republican Party.
To flip power over to the Democrats, the party of social chaos, is simply to take a bad situation and make it worse.
Star Parker is president of CURE, Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education (www.urbancure.org) and author of "White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay"