Vitter Irony

Since the Bush Administration claimed power in 2000, the modern G.O.P. has, by all appearances, made a concerted effort to become a parody of itself. Case in point: As the country gears up to celebrate the 232nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the roots our our nation's freedom, eight Republican senators have joined Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi in sponsoring a bill to curtail the liberty of certain Americans of whom they disapprove. [H/T Pam's House Blend]

S. J. Res. 43 is entitled "A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to marriage," and declares:

Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.

On top of this particularly ill-timed foray into the legislative abridgement of personal freedom is the fact that, among the eight cosponsors of S.J. Res 43, are Senators David Vitter and Larry Craig. These two men, you may recall - in addition to operating in an apparently irony-free zone - have made their political bones as "family values" crusaders, but have also been, respectively, determined to have engaged the services of a prostitute on multiple occasions to indulge sexual fantasies that involved wearing diapers, and arrested for soliciting gay sex in an airport bathroom.

Please take moment to appreciate the sheer scale of the cognitive dissonance and rank hypocrisy - not to mention the economy-sized dose of self-loathing that must be involved - for these two men to sign their names to this piece of legislation. While you're doing that, I'll wish everyone a Happy Fourth of July, and leave you with two images from the inimitable Jesus' General.

Sensen No Sen will return next week.