Why the McGreevey scandal matters
August 19, 2004 ~ 3:09 p.m.
No wonder advisers to New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey are telling him to "tough out" the scandal, much in the manner of Clinton during his impeachment. Liberals in general and gay rights groups in particular are squawking over the controversy surrounding McGreevey because they don't believe personal and governmental responsibility should be the standard by which this case gets resolved.
The reason the McGreevey affair matters? Because it places heavy questions on his ability to govern responsibly. It is fitting to examine the nature under which his special assistant on Homeland Security issues, Isreali Golan Cipel, resigned. Cipel maintains that he was fired and made to "look ridiculous" by McGreevey and his staff and pressured (this including personal threats) to return quietly to Israel. This is material enough for a case worthy of investigation, even if Cipel's claims of sexual harassment get dismissed.
Let's also now add to this the fact that a major donor to McGreevey pleaded guilty to tax violations and witness tampering, and you get a pretty clear idea of just how tattered the governorship of New Jersey really is.
So this is not just about a man who had the courage to admit he was gay. He was going to be "outed" soon anyway as the scandal broke, so he decided to twist things by coming out�not of his own volition�in a press conference, his wife smiling goofily by his side. As with the race card, the sexuality card is a major player in Democratic politics, and McGreevey is hoping for an ace.
But, as ever, gay rights lobbies aren't paying heed to the facts surrounding the McGreevey scandal, choosing instead to make the governor their latest standard-bearer.
"He came out in a very open and human way," claims Lambda Legal spokesman Michael Adams. No, Mssr. Adams, the governor came out in a very sneaky, underhanded way. He is playing upon the sympathies of the gay community, and you and many of your cohorts are buying his whole sordid story.
It is true that McGreevey signed a bill in January that recognizes same-sex partnerships. This, apparently, is all it takes to gain unquestioning support from some members of gay rights lobbies.
I just think it's sad. It would be nice if everyone, regardless of their racial or sexual identity, would take the time to examine what the McGreevey scandal is all about. But instead, as we famously saw with O.J. Simpson nine years ago, a whole community of people who focus on only one aspect of their lives are willing to subvert facts for group-mentality ideology�and in the case of McGreevey, infidelity, sexual harassment and underhanded governmental shenanigans be damned.
� M.E.M.
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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
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