From Think Progress:
In July, the press learned that Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), a Tea Party freshman in Congress, owed $117,000 in unpaid child support to his ex-wife. Walsh, despite earning a hefty salary as a member of Congress, has continued to refuse to pay his ex-wife to support his children. Now, it appears, an influential Christian right lobbying group is lending some support to the deadbeat congressman.What a role model! What an example to us all! Joe Walsh receives the "True Blue" award for supporting 'the family'. One wonders what his own family, his children think about his true blueness.
The Sun-Times reports that the Family Research Council, a social conservative advocacy nonprofit headed by CNN pundit Tony Perkins, has awarded Walsh a 100 percent rating as a “True Blue” member of Congress. The FRC said it gave the honor to Walsh because of his “unwavering support of the family”
From the Family Research Council:
As our Mission Statement declares, "Family Research Council champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society."What were the folks at the FRC thinking to choose Joe Walsh as an model of 'unwavering support of the family', when he doesn't support his own family?
Paul Krugman tries to understand:
There’s a big difference between the left and the right in such matters, one that I don’t fully understand, although I’m trying. Here’s how it goes: if a liberal politician is caught behaving badly — enriching himself while preaching the need to help the poor, or just in general showing himself less than admirable by having an affair, visiting call girls, whatever — his career is over.Does any group give an award for the Hypocrite of the Year? No? Well, I'll take it upon myself to designate Joe Walsh as my Hypocrite of the Year for having the chutzpah to accept the award. Shame on you, Joe. Take care of your own family before you interfere in the family lives of the rest of us.
But if a conservative politician who preaches stern traditional morality is caught engaging in actions that are at odds with what he preaches — buying sex, taking wide stances in restrooms, or, in this case, stiffing his family even while preaching family values — he may well ride right through the scandal.
