Conservative Babylon

“Truthfulness is the first pillar of good character in the Character Counts program of which I have been part of establishing in New Mexico. Many of you in this chamber have joined me in declaring the annual ‘Character Counts Weeks.’ This program teaches grade school youngsters throughout America about six pillars of good character. Public and private schools in every corner of my state teach children that character counts; character makes a difference; indeed, character makes all the difference.

“Guess which one of these pillars comes first? Trustworthiness. Trustworthiness.

“So what do I say to the children in my state when they ask, ‘Didn’t the President lie? Doesn’t that mean he isn’t trustworthy? Then, Senator, why didn’t the Senate punish him?’

Pietro Vichi “Pete” Domenici — Republican U.S. Senator from New Mexico (1973-2009), hardcore Catholic husband and father of eight, and incorrigible anti-gay bigot — admitted today to fathering a bastard child by Michelle Laxalt, Washington lobbyist and daughter of former U.S. Senator and Nevada Governor (and one of Ronald Reagan‘s closest personal friends) Paul Laxalt. Domenici, who was around 50 years old at the time, while the baby mama was 24, swore to keep the pregnancy and birth a secret, and did, for more than 30 years.

Lest you think for one second that Domenici suddenly admitted to cheating on his wife (and family) out of something resembling a stroke of conscience, don’t be fooled; he did it because he heard somebody else was about to spill the beans.

Domenici said in a statement that he is “worried about the impact of these revelations on [the] mother, Michelle Laxalt. However, rather than have others breach this privacy, I have decided to make this statement today. These circumstances now compel me to reveal this situation.”

Yet at the same time he expresses concern for his secret son and his mother, he also says: “I deeply regret this and am very sorry for my behavior. I hope New Mexicans will view that my accomplishments for my beloved state outweigh my personal transgression.”

That should make his son, Adam Laxalt, feel terrific, hearing his sperm donor express deep regret for his conception and birth, which Domenici boils down to a “personal transgression.”

If that isn’t enough hypocrisy for one day, let’s not forget Michelle Laxalt, who goes even further in dehumanizing her own son, calling her pregnancy the result of “one night’s mistake.”

She also has the utter temerity to state: “I come from a political family and learned early in life the value of privacy. I vowed that I would make personal decisions based not on politics, but on my values.”

This from a person who campaigned for Reagan, Bush I and Bush II?! Values? Personal privacy? No politics involved? When she worked for three men who, by kowtowing to religious zealots for political points, inflicted the worst damage to the rights of gay Americans and straight women ever seen in this nation?

Then she has the brass ones to pat herself on the back just for having the kid, rather than pursuing “other choices.” (Hey, honey, any animal can do that much.) Finally, she refers to the whole mess as a “sacred situation” (!) and to Domenici as “an honorable man.” She also calls Domenici’s wife “extraordinary” — for what, not divorcing his cheating, lying ass? Nancy’s an old lady — what’s she going to do, move into a condo and start dating again?

Laxalt ends her statement with this: “Why after more than 30 years, would anyone insinuate pain and ugliness where joy and beauty have presided?”

Where was the “joy and beauty” during the reigns of those three Republicans she helped into the White House? There was no joy for those of us who really do value personal privacy and choice (including the choice to have a child); those men battered us mercilessly with their Christian Right insanity, making our personal lives torturous — and our private lives very, very public.

And where was the “joy and beauty” in Domenici’s sickeningly stubborn bigotry?

Shall we roll out some of Pete Domenici’s greatest anti-gay hits? Let’s do, courtesy of On The Issues:

Pete Domenici on Civil Rights
. . .
• Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (Jun 2006)
• Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
• Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (Jun 2000)
. . .
• Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
• Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. (Sep 1996)
. . .
• Rated 0% by the HRC, indicating an anti-gay-rights stance. (Dec 2006)
. . .
• Rated 100% by the Christian Coalition…

Let’s not forget that he’s 100% anti-choice but pro-death penalty (the ultimate hypocrisy), hard on crime but unwilling to fund law enforcement, pro-war but in favor of cutting veterans’ benefits, pro-drug war, pro-privatization, anti-education, anti-conservation, anti-alternative energy, anti-environment, pro-censorship, pro-big business (especially big oil), pro-free trade (which is not the same as fair trade, which means he couldn’t give a flip about domestic workers), pro-vote suppression, anti-campaign finance reform, anti-immigration reform, pro-tobacco, anti-union, and beloved by the NRA.

Did we forget to mention he voted to confirm both Samuel Alito and John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court? (Talk about throwing privacy rights out the window!)

And he and this Laxalt woman want “privacy” and respect for their decision to shack up for a night and keep the result a secret, until they were forced to come clean?

Unbelievable. Oh, it’s not unbelievable that these two did the dirty and kept it a secret for 30 years while crushing the civil rights of women and gay people at every opportunity — we’ve seen this level of hypocrisy many times before. What’s unbelievable is that they’re both so audacious as to expect any sort of respect. And they’re obviously expecting you to be as clueless as they are audacious. That’s what’s unbelievable. Simply unbelievable.

Still, we shouldn’t be surprised by their arrogance; Republicans are notorious for thinking the unwashed masses are brain-dead. In fact, they count on it. That’s how they get elected — there are often just enough stupid people to outnumber those of us who see right through them.

Read the whole story:

• “Ex-Sen. Domenici discloses son born in secrecy,” John Robertson, Albuquerque Journal, February 20, 2013 <= broke the story

• “Ex-GOP Senator Admits To Fathering Son Outside Marriage, Kept It A Secret,” Tom Kludt, TPM, February 20, 2013

• “Former Republican senator reveals secret child with another senator’s daughter,” Arturo Garcia, Raw Story, February 20, 2013

Related posts (automatically generated):

1. Anti-Gay Alliance Defense Fund Lawyer Lisa Biron Convicted of Producing Child Porn, Reportedly Featuring Her Own 14-Year-Old Daughter (And It Gets Worse)
2. Idaho Republican John McGee Gets 88 Days in the Slammer, Plus “Special Rights” Disgraced Anti-Gay Bigot Was All Too Happy to Deny Others
3. Anti-Gay, Anti-Choice, Abstinence-Only, Paul Stanley (R-Tenn.) Admits to Extramarital Affair With Intern
4. Elizabeth Halseth (R-NotOurValues, Nev.): Winner of the Gibbons-Ensign Nevada Hypocrite of the Year Award
5. Paul Ryan Called for Bill Clinton to Resign Over Monica Lewinsky Scandal — But Praised Illegitimate Baby-Daddy J.C. Watts, Jr. (R-Okla.) As “Principled Man”

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