Three Strikes

Matt Yglesias justifiably has some fun with the news that twice divorced, thrice married Newt Gingrich is charging that “The Democratic Party has been the active instrument of breaking down traditional marriage.”  And one can’t blame him for being amused that twice divorced, thrice married Rudy Giuliani is championing traditional marriage as a cornerstone of a possible gubernatorial bid.

To be sure, divorce doesn’t carry the stigma it used to  and remarriage after divorce has much more tradition behind it than marrying someone of the same sex.  This stance doesn’t make them hypocrites or even insincere — merely horrendously bad spokesmen for the cause of traditional marriage.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. PD Shaw says:

    There is nobody who values marriage more than the person at the table who announces “hit me again.”

  2. LaurenceB says:

    Matt is pointing not just to the multiple divorces, but also to the infidelities. Just saying.

    It’s kind of like if there were a particular Church with a long history of non-traditional marriage that decided to become the voice and the pocketbook of traditional marriage advocates. Not that that has ever happened.

  3. PD Shaw says:

    Vote Newt! He’s the Republican’s John Edwards!

  4. G.A.Phillips says:

    Vote Newt, hes not a peace of sh-t liberal Nazi abortionist!

  5. In all three cases, they haven’t just been married more than once. All three had multiple affairs, two (Guilianni and Gingrich) of them abandoning children in order to marry a young staffer, and two (Gingrich and McCain) actually abandoned their wives while they were fighting life threatening medical conditions. All three of them are complete scumbags.

  6. score one for the homos! um, I guess so. I mean, er…

  7. sam says:

    The Dumbosium by Pluto

    Socrates: And so it is love that informs all…

    GAPhillipidos: Yer pulling our tadpoles.

    Socrates: Eh, what?

    GAPhillipidos: You guys is pulling our puds with all this love talk.

    Christophodumos: Good point GA.

    Socrates: Let us follow the argument as presented.

    GAPhillipidos: Argument shargument. That kind of thing gives me a headache. Typical highflalutin’ bullshit. Reason and stuff. And that Aristophawhatever. Like we all running around looking for our other half, even if that half has a tadpole, too.

    Christophodumos: Good point GA.

    Aristophanes (sneezes): But you and Christophodumos…

    GAPhillipidos: That’s different!

    Socrates: How so?

    GAPhillipidos: I’ll tell you Mr. Smartytoga. Chrissy and me is just good friends. So what if I give him baths and rubdowns and maybe a friendly little kiss on the pecker every now and then. Don’t mean nothing more than friends.

    Christophodumos: Good point GA.

    Socrates: But surely that betokens love between you.

    GAPhillipidos: In yer twisted mind, maybe. But Chrissy and me know what’s up between us.

    Christophodumos (blushes, bats eyelashes, says softly): Really good point GA.

    Socrates: And that is not love?

    GAPhillipidos (reddens, removes hand from under Christophodumos’s toga): It’s…

    But his answer was lost in the tumult of the arrival of a drunken Alcibitides….

  8. markm says:

    It’s kind of akin to having the head of the IRS preach to you about paying taxes after himself having small tax issues over a couple of years.

    “Do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t hold water anymore.

  9. G.A.Phillips says:

    Sam, you really do wish I was gay don’t you?

    lol.

    I guess it’s not fair for me not to let you have your dreams, but like I tell all my gay friends, I don’t care how many drinks you buy me I’m quit happy with my own penis.

    And I’ll give you a b- for creativaty.

  10. G.A.Phillips says:

    Oh and remeber no matter what I say, I will apologize if I’m wrong, and you know my hart, and you do know that I’m a comedian.

  11. DMD says:

    At least Newt didn’t say “Democrat Party”

  12. An Interested Party says:

    …and you do know that I’m a comedian.

    Yes, the worst kind…an unfunny one…

  13. G.A.Phillips says:

    Yes, the worst kind…an unfunny one…

    Dude I’ll smoke any gimp liberal funny man you put me up against, lol, bring it……..