More screwing around – literally – in the "pro-family" movement

You gotta love the hypocrisy of members of the so-called "pro-family" movement (at least, that's what I dub it for lack of a better term). You know, the conservative-slash-religious movement that tries to encourage family values such as heterosexual marriage (while beating gay marriage over the head with a pickax), abstinence, faithfulness, all that traditional schtick. Kinda like "pro-lifers" who've committed an untold number of murders in the name of self-righteous religious indignation and oppression.

Here's a fitting example: Senator John Ensign, a Republican from Nevada, is a religious conservative wingnut and was a high-ranking member of the Promise Keepers (yet another Christian nut organization) who fervently vouched for these so-called "family values", even voting for the Federal Marriage Amendment to keep gays out of nuptials. Yet, here's the shocker: he's just been forced to reveal he cheated on his wife with one of his own staffers. And, get this – the woman he cheated with? She was also cheating on her husband – who was also an Ensign employee. My, what comes around ...

But of course, best of all, is his incredible hypocrisy – not only for being a spearheader of the religious wingnut movement that promotes faithfulness to begin with, but also for being a highly outspoken watchdog constantly yapping at the heels of other politicians who've been caught cheating.

And when it comes to this topic, Ensign's own record of denouncing the affairs and misconducts of other pols could come back to haunt him.

During the height of the scandal surrounding Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, the Nevada Republican denounced the president's conduct as "an embarrassing moment for the country."

'I think we have to feel very sad for the American people and Hillary and Chelsea,' he said.

Weeks later, Ensign would call on Clinton to resign. "I came to that conclusion recently, and frankly it's because of what he put his whole Cabinet through and what he has put the country through," he was quoted saying at the time. "He has no credibility left," he added.

At the time, Ensign was in a tight Senate race with incumbent Harry Reid, an election he would ultimately end up losing. And he didn't shy away from trying to exploit the moral trip-ups in Clinton's personal life to benefit himself and the GOP.

"It could have a dramatic effect on Democrats like (President Nixon's resignation after the Watergate scandal) had on Republicans in 1974," he said, according to a local AP article from September 14, 1998.

In fact, not only did Ensign envision the Lewinksy affair as a political boon for Republicans, he actively made it an issue in his campaign against Reid. At one point during the campaign, Ensign accused his opponent of having a double standard when it came to politicians and sexual dalliances. Reid, he argued, had been much tougher on former Sen. Robert Packwood -- who resigned from the Senate under allegations of sexual harassment -- than he was with Clinton.

"Before there were hearings on Packwood, Reid said he would vote for his expulsion," Ensign declared, the day after calling for Clinton's resignation. "In 1998, he says we have to wait until all the facts come out on Clinton."

Maybe he should've thought twice about opening his fat hypocritical gob before going on to have that affair (and thus exposing even more affairs in doing so). Or, reversely, perhaps he should better have decided against screwing around, considering his track record as a noisy and obnoxious yap-dog.