Posted by
JDComments on Sunday, December 03, 2006 11:55:14 AM
In another one of those "Imagine if he was a Republican" scenarios, a Democratic Georgia legislator's wife, who appears to be an illegal alien, has gone into hiding to avoid federal agents who are trying to deport her [see
article ]. Now the story goes into all sorts of detail about exactly what happened, and even seeks to blame some "unsavory" notary public for the mess, but to me, that is all besides the point. While I can identify with someone seeking to protect his wife, and can almost find it admirable, the point is the guy is a state legislator who most likely swore to uphold the laws of the US, which he is now flaunting. He also has a history of support for "immigrant rights" , which I read to mean illegal aliens, and a large proportion of his constituents are foreign. Additionally when he married this woman she was already under a deportation order, though he claims he was assured by officials that she was in the country legally.
The whole thing sounds strange to me, and I just wonder what would be happening if this guy was a Republican. Somehow I think the outcry would be a little louder, and I would be willing to bet he would be chased from office. Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen here.
In the same vein, I was reading about the
Memorial services for Gerry Studds yesterday which noted about the packed affair:
"Friends of the nation's first openly gay congressman remembered him Saturday as a man who went to Washington to end the Vietnam War and protect the environment, then became a champion of gay rights. "
A little further along this Liberal hero's little sexual affair with a 17 year old page is mentioned in passing, as is Barney Frank's paean to this icon of homosexuality. It is all very touching, and I almost got a little misty eyed in thinking about how this Gay version of Rosa Parks valiantly defended his cause by engaging in sex with a kid. Granted , its not exactly standing toe to toe with the National Guard, or defying discriminatory laws with the attendant risks of bodily injury, but everyone does what he can. For Studds, that was sodomy with a teenager. A true act of courage!
Hard to believe that many of the people paying homage to Studds were, just a few months ago, incensed by Mark Foley's emails. I guess in the hierachy of admirable efforts for the cause, emails just don't rank, at least not if they are from a Republican, who did lose his job.
Sometimes I imagine how nice it would be if Republicans could be held to the same lowered [nonexistent?] expectations that Democrats are. But I realize someone has to be a responsible adult while the Peter Pan Liberals are in Never-never land.