Drunkards, addicts, and adulterers, oh my! Repubs and their on-air supporters

By Lee Russ

Sunday, March 04, 2007 at 05:23 PM

Okay, I was reading something by Glenn Beck the other day and it struck me how similar his shtick and his psyche are to the many other ranting righters on the air.  Which led to some more thought and a little investigation into the some of the other personality traits and behaviors members of this breed of "conservative" have in common.

Here's the rundown on addictions, infidelities, and divorces, from about 4 hours of poking around (sources only for the ones not well known):

1. Addictions
George Bush--admitted ex-alcoholic

Tom DeLay--admitted alcoholic, estranged from his family

Bill Bennett--admitted betaholic

Melanie Morgan--admitted betaholic; left young child in care of her teenaged stepson, who hit the child and triggered social services investigation; I believe she has one divorce

Glenn Beck--admitted alcoholic and drug abuser; claims to have considered suicide; one divorce

Dick Cheney--at least one drunk driving arrest

Other prominent Repubs with some evidence of alcoholism/drug abuse, although under circumstances where this could simply be an excuse for illegal behavior:
Bob Ney, the convicted Ohio ex-Congressman
Mark Foley
Randy "Duke" Cunningham

2. Sexual and/or marital behaviors contrary to their rants
Mike Savage--allegedly gay or bisexual; there are supposedly pictures of him naked with Alan Ginsburg the gay poet

Rush Limbaugh--multiple divorces

Bill O'Reilly--sexual harassment of subordinate

Other prominent Repubs with known affairs and/or divorces:
John McCain
Rudy Giuliani
Newt Gingrich
Henry Hyde
Strom Thurmond

3. Dodging their origins
Ann Coulter--daughter of well-to-do lawyer who made living representing management against unions, raised in privileged little enclave in Connecticutt.

Laura Ingraham--another affluent Connecticutt child of privilege (see Coulter)

Bill O'Reilly--son of white collar accountant, although he always claims to have been raised blue collar

Rush & David Limbaugh--sons of prominent Missouri judge, although they also like to portray themselves as blue collar-type friends of the working man

4. Unmarried folks who preach family values and the sanctity of marriage

Ann Coulter--pretty sure she is unmarried

Laura Ingraham--pretty sure she is unmarried

Bill O'Reilly--pretty sure she is unmarried

And that's 4 hours, folks.

It's the addicts who get me.  Talk to any experienced addiction counselor and they'll tell you that addicts who have given up their addiction tend to be arrogant, opinionated, and very very unwilling to accept criticism while being hypercritical of others.

Could we have a national political movement based substantially on recovering alcoholics?  A sanctity of marriage movement led by people who never experienced marriage or experienced it so many times that it's hard to believe they really find it sacred?  A populist movement to preserve the values of the "common man" against a snobbish elite, but led by members of the snobbish elite?

With apologies to Country Joe McDonald:

THE FEELIN' LIKE I'M FIXIN' TO CRY RAG

And it's one, two, three, what are they fightin' for?

Don't ask 'em they don't give a damn,

It's all just one big scam.

And it's five, six, seven,

Open up the pearly gates.

St. Peter will ask 'em all who they hate.

It'll be just about all of us