Another Victory for Gerry Mander's Kids

Well, creepy ol' Mark Sanford has emerged victorious in the special election in South Carolina.

First, let's get the whole comparison, they're all alike thing out the window.  His affair was particularly egregious and involved the use of taxpayer funds.  My own personal opinion is that he is a very shallow man, and whom, despite his victory, is a very ineffective campaigner.

So why did he win?

Two reasons.

First, like many Congressional districts throughout the country, the South Carolina first district has been politically gerrymandered to give an insurmountable edge to one of the two parties.  And it really doesn't matter what the party in control does, 99% of the time their candidate is going to win no matter how foul a person they are.

Secondly, the religious right will forgive their own anything.  They have a whole vocabulary of forgiveness that if the candidate cynically follows, they will give them a pass on virtually anything.  People of other political persuasions have a more cautious bent, and are more skeptical of a politician's pathetic mewling and promises of reform.  Anthony Weiner showed his namesake in a supposedly private message, and he was hounded into an exit.  John Edwards will deservedly never get to walk in political circles again.

The level of hypocrisy shown by those on the religious right is often breathtaking.  They assail left wing politicians for the slightest indiscretion while forgiving their own anything.  All while preaching a supra-moralism that apparently is meant only for their opponents.

I live in the first congressional district of Georgia that has been gerrymandered to permanently elect a right wing extremist.  As far as politicians go, Jack Kingston seems like personally a relatively decent man, although I am anathema to every position he takes.  But whatever Jack Kingston's personal morality, it doesn't matter.  People around here will vote him over war veterans, preachers, saints - it just doesn't matter.  Because Jack Kingston has the R after his name.  Sometimes voting here seems like a courageous exercise in futility.

So enjoy your fame, South Carolinians, and please take your front seat in the Hypocrisy Bus to Nowhere.