Tim Murphy: The Latest Entry in the Disgraced Politician Encyclopedia

Politicians never seem to learn that their bad behavior will always catch up with them.  Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) is just the latest politician to fall from grace. The nightmares for Murphy first began a month ago when his extramarital affair with a forensic psychologist half his age first became public as a result of his mistress’s divorce proceedings. The situation only got worse last week when The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a text message Murphy’s mistress wrote to him. This particular text message reveals that the 65-year-old Congressman told his mistress to abort their unborn child during a pregnancy scare, in direct contradiction to his well-known pro-life stance on abortion. The message read, “You have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options.”  Murphy’s situation proves the point that abortion is often used to cover up immoral behavior such as adultery.    

 

Murphy’s inexcusable actions only give the liberals more ammunition to paint all family values conservatives as hypocrites.  Just look at how much the left and the media loved it when news first broke that Josh Duggar used the adultery-encouraging website Ashley Madison and engaged in other perverse sexual behavior that directly violates the teachings of his religion.  In addition to his role on the reality TV show “19 Kids and Counting”, Duggar also worked for the Family Research Council, a non-profit organization that works to advance Judeo-Christian philosophy in the marketplace of ideas.  He resigned from the FRC after the news of his sexual misconduct first broke.  His behavior led to TLC’s decision to cancel “19 Kids and Counting” in spite of its popularity.  The show’s promotion of chastity provided quite a contrast to most television programs, which promote sexual promiscuity.    

 

As for Congressman Murphy, he plans on resigning from Congress on October 21.  His resignation will trigger a special election; the seventh to take place since the election of President Trump.  President Trump won Murphy’s district with 59 percent of the vote last year.  Their past performance in this year’s special elections indicates that the Democrats probably do not have much of a chance of picking up this seat.  The Governor of Pennsylvania has yet to announce the date of the special election, which will probably not take place until early next year. 

 

Apparently, Murphy has learned nothing about the damage extramarital affairs can do to political careers.  Just ask David Vitter.  The two-term Senator from Louisiana should have had no trouble winning the Governorship in his ruby-red home state.  Yet he still lost the 2015 gubernatorial election to Democrat John Bel Edwards by a double digit margin.  His opponents in the primary and the general election attacked Vitter for his use of a prostitution service in DC eight years earlier.  In a deeply religious state like Louisiana, character matters.  Following his unexpected loss in the off-year gubernatorial election, Vitter opted not to run for a third term in the Senate and has since been replaced by John Kennedy, one of seven freshmen Senators first elected to the upper chamber last year.

 

While the media generally has more enthusiasm for covering the downfall of disgraced Republican politicians, many Democrats have gotten themselves in hot water for sex scandals.  During his 2008 Presidential Campaign, Former North Carolina Senator and the Democrats’ 2004 Vice Presidential Nominee John Edwards fathered a love child with one of his campaign staffers while his wife suffered from cancer.  He admitted to the affair in August 2008 but did not admit that he was the child’s father until 2010.  Earlier in 2008, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who won the Governorship in a blow-out (pun intended) less than two years earlier, had to resign after his use of a high-end escort service became public.  Everyone should know by know that Rep. Anthony Weiner’s addictions to sexting forced him to resign from Congress, caused the derailment of his 2013 campaign for Mayor of New York City, and ultimately led to the dissolution of his marriage with Hillary Clinton loyalist Huma Abedin.  Weiner must now serve a 21-month prison sentence and register as a sex offender after sending a sexually explicit photo of himself to a 15-year old girl.  Weiner could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had just followed Betty White’s advice to “never, ever text a photo of a body part that dangles.”   Most recently, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray resigned just months before the end of his term after his cousin became the latest of many people to accuse the mayor of sexual abuse.

 

The Disgraced Politician Encyclopedia has infinitely many more entries on politicians whose careers suffered irreversible damage as a result of sex scandals.  While the media and the public generally find corruption scandals less interesting than sex scandals, they have certainly done their fair share of damage in prematurely ending political careers.  As we speak, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) faces Federal corruption charges, including conspiracy, bribery, and honest services fraud.  Prosecutors accuse the Senior Senator from The Garden State of doing favors for a Florida ophthalmologist in exchange for around $1 million of gifts and campaign contributions from the ophthalmologist, who also faces charges.   According to Newsbusters, the mainstream media has shown little interest in Menendez’s trial as compared to their enormous interest in the corruption trial of Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) a decade earlier. Media bias knows no bounds.  If convicted, Menendez could face expulsion from the Senate; which would mean the State’s Governor would get to appoint a replacement until his term expires next year.  Menendez’s expulsion will require the support of two-thirds of Senators.  The Democrats hope that any conviction will come after the New Jersey Gubernatorial Election next month, where polling shows that the Democrat has a huge advantage.  The Democrats will not likely jump on board with expulsion as long as Republican Governor Chris Christie remains in office.  They would hate to cede Menendez’s seat to a Republican, as that would certainly not help advance the “resistance” that many of them have signed onto.  The possibility also exists that Menendez will choose to resign before the Senate has a chance to expel him. Menendez could also face defeat from a primary challenger; that’s exactly what happened to two House Democrats, Chaka Fattah and Corrine Brown, who now face time behind bars for similar corruption charges.  Political corruption has also damaged the careers of many politicians at the state and local level.  Rhode Island, the state where I currently reside, has developed quite a reputation as a hotbed for political corruption.

 

In only a matter of time, the media will uncover another sex or corruption scandal that will ruin the career of a well-known politician.  It’s not a question of if but when.  The Disgraced Politician Encyclopedia will only get bigger as American politicians never seem to get wiser.  Politicians continuing to engage in behavior that earns them a spot in the Disgraced Politician Encyclopedia does not help America regain trust in its institutions, which already sits at an all-time low.   

 

On a completely unrelated note, I would like to conclude this article with a statement that will surely trigger a large number of liberals: Happy Columbus Day!