Winning an Election Can't Be Everything
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By Bob Levy
Republican County Chairman
When we read responsively in our many and differing houses of worship, our lips reflexively condemn the evils of idolatry while perhaps conjuring in our mind Cecil B. DeMille’s movie “The Ten Command-ments” and images of the hordes surrounding Mount Sinai, dancing around a golden calf.
One of the most memorable sermons I ever heard was a postulate that we too often substitute the image of the Bible given to us by Hollywood for the effort it takes to study the Good Book and seek its meaning for ourselves.
As we read here today, Bill Clinton, the perjurer from Arkansas, goes ’round the world with people dancing at his feet and smiling affectionately when his extramarital exploits are recounted. The only thing we seem to remember about the victims of his fame is the voice of Clinton’s friend James Carville saying something about “trailer park trash.”
We also note it was just a few days ago that Pennsylvania college students rioted in the streets when Joe Paterno, their football idol, was fired for tolerating a culture of pedophilia within his organization. These privileged future leaders cared less about the future of a child whose very humanity was destroyed in the shower of a football locker room than they concentrated on the worship of a football legend.
So what should a Republican Party chairman say when a rising conservative star is found to be Bill Clinton with a darker complexion riding an elephant rather than a donkey?
My heart tells me that it is nothing more than a “Democrat Dirty Trick” trying to punish an “uppity” African-American who dared to desert Jesse Jackson’s plantation. But I have three daughters, two of whom are in the work force and who, from time to time, were so desirous of a good job they were susceptible to those who had the power to hire and the ability to seek favor for the use of that power.
I have spent too many years as a family law attorney listening to women being maligned as “sluts” while men were slapped on their backs with admiration when their “conquests” became known. I know that false allegations of serious abuse exist, but they are relatively rare, especially when recounted in detail by multiple victims.
The fact is that most women who encounter bad behavior by men, from spousal beatings to rape, rarely call the police. They do not want to be called “trailer trash,” whether by James Carville or an opposing attorney in a cheap suit. They often find it easier to take the abuse rather than alone muster the courage to remedy the situation. Women understand that the commission of multiple sexual crimes, including a rape, could not stop the idolatry of Bill Clinton.
But I would be less than true to my intellect and my God if I made Herman Cain such an idol of my mind that I did not recognize that he is no more morally qualified to be president than was Bill Clinton — and just as deserving of impeachment if he were to become so.
Idolatry today is as strong as in the days when “graven images” were placed in the temple. The images may not be in the form of a “golden calf,” but they are in the form of “golden pixels” on a television or video display terminal.
It is the same idolatry that acquitted Michael Jackson when his pedophilia got physical and the same celebrity worship that let O.J. Simpson go free while the corpse of the former wife he abused and murdered grew cold.
Herman Cain should be accorded no more respect than Bill Clinton or Joe Paterno. But, more important, Bill Clinton and Joe Paterno should be accorded no more respect than Herman Cain. To do differently would be to compound idolatry with hypocrisy, and that must be the road which the Republican Party avoids.
It is the road the Democrats took when they defended Clinton after they spit on Clarence Thomas. It is something that the public sees and feeds their disgust with politics in general. It is the theory that everyone was born yesterday with no knowledge of the events the day before.
Republicans need to accept the fact that Herman Cain is not morally qualified to be president, but Democrats need to similarly acknowledge that Clinton is not morally qualified to be a leader in a party that seeks to keep that office. Nor was he morally qualified to be president in the first place.
The only way that the Republican Party can keep its dignity in the midst of the Cain meltdown is to refrain from joining the Democrats in their idolatry and also refusing to follow Democrats from idolatry to hypocrisy and back to “politics as usual.”
The theory that the American voter is an idol worshiper with no past memory is tempting only because for many voters it may be true. But just as Joe Paterno learned that Vince Lombardi was wrong, Republicans must realize that “winning is not the only thing.” We must win for the right reason, or winning becomes nothing.
Robert M. Levy is chairman of the Moore County Republican party. Contact him at Law52@prodigy.net.
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Comments
ztech 1 year, 6 months ago
Whoa, Bob. No need to throw Herman Cain under the bus just to get at the old lecher, Bill Clinton. Clinton's misdeeds were absolutely and literally unspeakable, and he wasn't even forced out of office. OJ's and Michael Jackson's offenses also were at the top of the list of crimes against humanity. Paterno's failure to exercise his personal responsibility for the young men placed in his charge warranted his dismissal, but doesn't rise to the same level. Cain exemplifies the problem of a man becoming a juicy target in later life for allegations that did not pass muster 15 years ago. His fitness to serve as President should be based on his skills and leadership ability. What about VP?
ztech
JimHeim 1 year, 6 months ago
President Clinton was impeached, tried in the Senate and acquitted. Mr Jackson and Simpson were tried and acquitted by juries. Whether their defenses were great, the prosecutions flawed, or maybe they were innocent, they were adjudicated by the system.
The monsters at Penn State (fifteen according to the grand jury testimony) chose to ignore years of child rape. Anyone who does that is a criminal and can have no excuse.
Now tell me what Mr. Clinton did that was worse.
Toyboy52 1 year, 6 months ago
Bill Clinton committed rape with Catheriine Willey and had his law license suspended .This This proves the point of the article. We create idols in our minds which color our judgement and lead us to excuse terrible conduct for our friends and condemn the dame conduct for our adversaries. This hypocrisy is one reason why people are upset with politics as usual. A little straight talk will go a long way to restoring confidence in government; Bill Clinton committed rape, OJ Simpson killed his former wife, Joe Paterno covered up a crime, Harvey Oswald acted alone and the novels of Jacqueline Suzanne are trash.
JimHeim 1 year, 6 months ago
The rape allegations were so weak, no prosecutor would take the case. President Clinton's loss of license was appropriate for the offense. So what?
I'm glad you're so able to discern guilt without actual exposure to evidence. Must be nice.
You're not going to find perfect people in political office (or anywhere else outside your home), so dealing with reality might be a useful exercise.
Toyboy52 1 year, 6 months ago
Jim, you continue to defend Bill Clinton and criticize Herman Cain. Democrats including Obama did the same thing on the debt ceiling voting against it when prposed by Republicans and criticizing those who voted against it when it is propsed by Democrats. If we are ever to make divided government work, we must abandon the tactics of hipocrisy and do what is best for America. We must abandon the ideal of winning the war at the price of our soul.
RmeMP 1 year, 6 months ago
Interesting that the writer throws together a piece based on the bible, yet has no problem "throwing stones" at Mr. Cain - a man who, if I'm not mistaken (and I'm not) has NEVER been proven to have done ANYTHING resembling sexual harassment; matter of fact, allegations against him that were investigated were found to be UNTRUE!!!
This article shows the ignorance of its writer, trying to compare Clinton and Paterno to Mr. Cain is a joke - THEY had proof against them, HE DOES NOT!!!
Based on this article, I will NOT be contributing this year to the Moore County Republican Party.... Way to go
JimHeim 1 year, 6 months ago
I'm not criticizing Cain. I'm merely one of many voices asking what the sexual harassment allegations are about. You gotta problem with that?
As far as I know, no one has ever filed a sexual harassment complaint against Mr. Clinton. Have I missed something?
JimHeim 1 year, 6 months ago
RneMP, How come NRA paid tens of thousands of dollars to make those "untrue" allegation go away?
RmeMP 1 year, 6 months ago
poor, poor jim, you are showing your ignorance once again...
did you not know of a girl named, "PAULA JONES" who filed sexual harrassment during his presidency? It was actually during this deposition that he famously said, "I did not have sex with that woman" - talking about a totally DIFFERENT woman - Monica Lewinsky (SP?). He ended up "settling" with Paula Jones to the tune of almost ONE MILLION DOLLARS - hows that settle with you compared to Cain giving women "severence pay" - NOT A BUYOUT.
or do you not like those pesky things known as "FACTS"?
o yea, then there was the whole RAPE thingy of JUANITA BROADDRICK, and the LEWINSKY CIGAR whatcha-ma-call-it...
RmeMP 1 year, 6 months ago
PS jim:
IF Cain did in fact sexually harrass someone, and it is PROVEN - then i will drop ALL support that I have for him; until then - not going to happen :)
JimHeim 1 year, 6 months ago
RmeMO, Exactly! That's your choice. See how easy this is?
JimHeim 1 year, 6 months ago
RmeMP - You are correct about the Paula Jones $850,000 settlement. I had forgotten.
Toyboy52 1 year, 6 months ago
Jim and RmeMp, what type of proof do you both want? There are rarely witnesses to these things. There was no witness to Clinton's rape, so Jim says he's innocent. There was no direct witness to Cain's action, so RmeMP says he's innocent. (although the victim's boyfriend is about to hold a news conference to say he was told about the incident when it happened).
Most bad behavior has no independent witness. The "proof" is circumstantial, but compelling. If your child is told not to eat the peanutbutter and when you return home you see an empty peanutbutter jar and a brown, sticky paste on the child's lips, you might ask, "Did you eat the peanut butter?" if your child denies eating the peanut butter and you take him to "kiddie court", the basis of his guilt or innocence ought not be whether he was a Democrat or a Republican.
Is it any wonder that people become alienated from a system that does that?
If Jimmy Swaggart does an act unbecomming a preacher or a priest molests a child, it does not mean that the Church is not the way to truth and salvation. But when the Church defends the actions by blaming the victims, the Church itself is the casualty. So it is with the Republican and Democrat parties. Jim, RmeMP, think about it.
fugitiveguy 1 year, 6 months ago
Bill Clinton, sexual predator, "hero of the left". Such hypocrisy.
Phoenix 1 year, 6 months ago
But then he lied about it - and in the process made his wife look like a fool - (can't believe that I'm actually supporting her - please someone save me!) she's looking like the best one of the entire bunch... and before someone jumps on me and says "he lied just like any spouse would lie to cover up their misdeeds" - Mr. Clinton wasn't just anyone - he was the President of the United States - and he tarnished the office....
Yukonjohn 1 year, 6 months ago
He did lie about it. I had a problem with that. I did not/do not have a problem with him getting oral sex in his office. That is between him/her/and Hillary. He was the most powerful man in the world, and to think he could NOT get oral sex in his office would be beyond comprehension. He should have come clean when first asked by it.
Herman Cain has not ever been convicted of anything to my knowledge. He has some issues on speaking/mispeaking, but he is certainly a viable candidate. Personally, I want a conservative, but one like Ron Paul, not any of the others!!
Oh, and to think you are the head of the Republican party in Moore County?? Holy Cow, now THAT is beyond comprehension. That is more of a surprise than I can imagine after reading this letter you wrote.
RmeMP 1 year, 6 months ago
thank you yukon - about your last paragraph; i had to reread it three times to make sure i wasn't mistaken either.
JimHeim 1 year, 6 months ago
I didn't say Clinton was innocent. I said that prosecutors could not find enough evidence to bring a case. There's a difference.
After Paula Jones case was thrown out of court, the Clinton's paid her off and she went away. It's nice to have money.
I don't think a single one of the commenters here ever voted for Clinton. It doesn't matter a whit what crimes he may or may not have engaged in. But the slightest excuse is all that's needed for full-scale war. Fine.
We can do that too.
SH59 1 year, 6 months ago
Aside from everyone trying to support the details of other lives, this article is nothing but a rant against anyone who has ever made a mistake god forbid! Robert, are you so perfect?
Toda 1 year, 6 months ago
What has Bill Clinton, The Holy Bible, James Carville, and Penn State have to do with anything regarding the allegations against Herman Cain. You sound like a lawyer who waters down the issues by interjecting frivolous innuendo in order to write a column. Why not just stick with the person who is now running for President with a lot of questionable behaviors in his past that will reflect on his presidency should he make it to the top of a slippery slope. When speaking of the other candidate who was at the bottom of the heap ... Newt Gingrich, it's time again to bring out his wealthy - don't tax me - mightier than though attitude. I'm sure all those good old jackasses or is it donkeys who support the wealth of the wealthy while working from pay check to pay check, won't be considered in the poverty class. They can mentally rise to the wealth of the country's 1%. I think I'll focus on a 200 M lottery win and then feel that the working class should knuckle down even more so my taxes stay at a receptionists salary. I'll vote for Pizza man so all of America can at least afford a $5.00 meal for a family of 5....
Toda 1 year, 6 months ago
"im_a_harleyman 32 minutes ago"
teufelhunden 1 year, 6 months ago
Like I said in another post, the GOP field isn't looking good. I would like to learn more about Huntsman. Disappointed in Cain. Gingrich could totally handle himself in a debate with anyone.
News agencies are biased (shocker). Don't forget they're businesses too. Just follow the money trail and there's your answer to most problems.
Like Old Spook has said many times before-we need statesmen and stateswomen who will serve (not just their own interests).