Take Out the Trash

I have a history of exposing politicians, particularly when it comes to their private lives. A juicy sex scandal used to result in a politician being disgraced out of office. His or her political career would be dead. It was a good way to clear out the trash every once in a while.

But times have changed. Now scandalized politicians either stick it out and stay in office (like David Vitter or Larry Craig) or they resign, wait a couple of news cycles and successfully run for office again (like Mark Sanford or Anthony Weiner). The question is, why do voters vote these scumbags back into office?

Let me make something clear: I personally don’t care who’s screwing whom. I don’t think people should be exposed for having affairs. Everybody does it. The problem arises when what politicians do in private is the opposite of what they support in public. That’s hypocrisy. It means they’ve lied to their wives, families and the voters—and will keep doing so as long as they can get away with it. That’s the kind of bad character that leads to corruption.

I can dredge up dirty secrets, but it won’t do any good if the public doesn’t care. Hypocrites should be exposed, and voters should take note and not put them back into office—no matter what party they belong to. Our country needs leaders who aren’t afraid to be honest about who they are and what they believe in. As for the rest, let’s leave them where they belong: on history’s trash heap.