So Much for Family Values

Regardless of what side of the political fence you happen to stand on, one thing is clear: There's nothing like Sex to get all hosts of people talking about you and your campaign. The Scandal! The Hypocrisy! The Sex! The Excuses! The Spin! The Sex!

As we all know, sex has been the downfall of many a politician, whether he solicited the services of a high-price call girl, or had a wide stance, or simply exchanged emails and IMs with an underage page. And that's just in the last few years, people. I could go on and on about the scandals that have dotted - nay, smeared, - the political landscape for decades, in all their strange, fetid forms, the entire world over.

The latest political sex scandal to hit the Internets is that of John McCain's VP pick, Sarah Palin and her 17-year-old daughter, who is unwed, underage, and 5 months pregnant. This, of course, is not the scandal. It is that the daughter of a conservative Republican who opposes sex education where contraception is taught and who favors abstinence-only education, is now in the national spotlight showing the world that teaching abstinence-only just doesn't cut it in getting teenagers to abstain. Teenagers will have sex. Even teenagers who grew up in conservative households. ESPECIALLY teenagers who grew up in conservative households. When will conservatives figure this out?

What I find incredibly ironic is that this particular "sex scandal" has more to do with the issues at hand than any other sex scandal that has plagued a campaign in recent history. Sure, all those politicians who try to cover up their propensities for gay trysts and illicit sexcapades should be chastised for hiding behind ultra-conservative, right-wing dogmas. They are obviously in severe denial and suffering from years and years of sexual repression and pent-up sexual frustration. This is different. This is a case where a politician's beliefs and values are challenged by the very reason she upholds those beliefs and values -- her family, and when there is evidence to support the case for a reevaluation and reexamination of her platform, it is quickly dismissed. Pundits and spin doctors alike chalk it up to the fact that the candidate is indeed "human" and that a mother shouldn't be held responsible for a 17-year-old daughter's faults. Bullshit. Your "family values" are now being put to the test, and all you can do is shrug your shoulders and say "values shmalues, leave us alone" ??? This is hypocrisy at its height.

Enough of me on my soapbox. I just hope this woman isn't elected. Otherwise, we'll have four more years of rose-colored glasses, convenient amnesia, and a government that refuses to see how silly their puritanical policies are.

For an entertaining AND educational podcast on sex, go to The Midwest Teen Sex Show or get your sex questions answered at Scarleteen.com.