Meet the hypocrites: Senator John Ensign

Let me see if I've got this straight. Senator John Ensign (R-NV) is so worried about perceived threats to his marriage that he supports a constitutional amendment that would deny gays and lesbians the right to marry. But earlier today Ensign admitted to engaging in extramarital liaisons with a paramour who was a campaign staffer and married to one of Ensign's Senate office staffers. Who is the bigger threat to marriage (two of them), Ensign or gays and lesbians?

And let's not forget what a big fan John Ensign is of marriage.

“Marriage is the cornerstone on which our society was founded. For those who say that the Constitution is so sacred that we cannot or should not adopt the Federal Marriage Amendment, I would simply point out that marriage, and the sanctity of that institution, predates the American Constitution and the founding of our nation. Marriage, as a social institution, predates every other institution on which ordered society in America has relied.”

Oops. Another hypocritical gasbag strikes a blow against the sanctity of marriage.

I think the answer is obvious. If Ensign is allowed to marry and screw up marriage(s), why should anyone be denied the right? It seems between David Vitter, Larry Craig, Newt Gingrich, Bob Livingston, and John Ensign, the so-called party of family values has the market cornered on failed marriages. And I'd be willing to bet that the amount of marital discord between same-sex couples would be no higher than us heterosexual folk.

Then there is this matter of then-Representative Ensign calling on President Clinton to resign after his admission of an affair with intern Monica Lewinsky. Ensign even voted to impeach Clinton. Yet in his statement today, Ensign showed no signs of being willing to step aside for committing the very same actions for which he criticized President Clinton.

And speaking of Senator Larry Craig, he of the toe-tapping, bathroom sex soliciting fame, Senator Ensign even called for his resignation, though he didn't call for Senator Vitter to do the same. The reason: Larry Craig admitted guilt and David Vitter never did.

So by his own standards, Senator John Ensign should be tendering his resignation. But because he is a man whose actions don't match his rhetoric on several levels, Senator Ensign is the latest subject of our "meet the hypocrites" feature.