Terri Hillhouse
A very public fall from grace
By Terri Hillhouse
"[A] good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits contracted at your age are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp your character through life. It is therefore highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous." —George Washington, December 5, 1790
What has become of personal responsibility since our first president spoke those wise words so long ago? Let's take a look at the recent events in the Illinois Republican senatorial campaign, for example.
Jack Ryan, young, highly intelligent, good looking, a former partner in Goldman Sachs which he left to become a teacher at Hales Franciscan High School — an all African-American, all-boys parochial school on the South Side of Chicago. A man of such stature sounds like a dream candidate, don't you think?
We did know that Ryan was divorced, but that isn't so bad these days. Many Americans have had divorces and it just isn't considered the political liability that it used to be. A divorce wouldn't keep me from voting for a candidate that had this much going for him and it didn't keep the Illinois Republican Party from anointing Ryan to carry their fight for the Illinois U.S. Senate seat this election year.
In this time of cutthroat, scorched earth politics, a candidate and his party have to realize and expect that any slight indiscretion in the candidate's past will be unearthed and exposed for all the world to see. We all know that. We've seen many investigations carried out and many lives ruined in today's heated political atmosphere. As Republicans we know we must choose candidates carefully.
So who dropped the ball in Illinois? Was it the Illinois Republican State Central Committee? Did they fail to vet this candidate as thoroughly as they might? Did the candidate fail to share the contents of his divorce settlement with the committee? Did both the party and the candidate think the information was safe because the court settlement was sealed? Apparently the Chicago Tribune heard some rumors they thought worth checking out. Why didn't our side hear them before he was chosen?
Perhaps we'll never fully know the answers to those questions but this incident certainly opens the debate for a closer inspection of all future Republican candidates.
Republicans all over the country are in a fight for their political lives and we simply cannot afford to throw elections away on candidates who are less than serious contenders to win their race. This case is especially heartbreaking for Illinois Republicans who have been trying to revive a state party that was nearly on its death bed.
It is imperative that state and national elements of our party inspect their candidates more carefully.
But, even more important than Party responsibility to vet candidates, it is imperative that candidates see the necessity of being clean conservatives, not only politically, but morally as well, if they intend to someday have a serious opportunity to serve America.
It does no good for the young politically inclined conservative to say, "What I do is my private business." It is not. Not anymore. Young Republicans have a well earned reputation for sexual peccadillos. How many of these young people are throwing away tomorrow's political career for a few hours of fun and games today?
The exploit that caused Ryan's downfall was with his own wife and it could certainly be argued that what happened was their own private business and not a moral lapse at all. That simply doesn't matter now. The sensationalism of the charges immediately sucked all the oxygen out of a campaign that was already struggling.
Budding political types, with stars in their eyes, need to understand that there is no longer a good old-boys club in the press that will cover for them. Instead, there are mainstream newspapers and TV networks out there with their own political agendas and the money it takes to advance them. Just as the Chicago Tribune did in the Ryan case, news organizations will do whatever it takes to find out, including filing a lawsuit to gain private information concerning the candidate's private business from years ago. If there is a scorned or needy lover in the candidate's past, be sure, the media will find her, or him, as the case may be. I do not argue that this is right. I simply state that this is the reality of the political climate in which we choose and elect our candidates today.
Those with indiscretions of any kind in their past should do all Republicans a favor and find another way to contribute to conservative politics. If their background can't stand the microscopic inspection of a political campaign then they should stay out of the arena. We simply cannot afford to lose any more elections because of the personal sexual history of a candidate.
As conservative Republican delegates, voters and grassroots activists, we have the right to demand that our candidates disclose their backgrounds fully and let us make the decision if they are worth our hard work, our money and our votes.
We put our faith and trust in those who want to represent us. They need to be worthy of that trust.
© Terri Hillhouse
"[A] good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits contracted at your age are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp your character through life. It is therefore highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous." —George Washington, December 5, 1790
What has become of personal responsibility since our first president spoke those wise words so long ago? Let's take a look at the recent events in the Illinois Republican senatorial campaign, for example.
Jack Ryan, young, highly intelligent, good looking, a former partner in Goldman Sachs which he left to become a teacher at Hales Franciscan High School — an all African-American, all-boys parochial school on the South Side of Chicago. A man of such stature sounds like a dream candidate, don't you think?
We did know that Ryan was divorced, but that isn't so bad these days. Many Americans have had divorces and it just isn't considered the political liability that it used to be. A divorce wouldn't keep me from voting for a candidate that had this much going for him and it didn't keep the Illinois Republican Party from anointing Ryan to carry their fight for the Illinois U.S. Senate seat this election year.
In this time of cutthroat, scorched earth politics, a candidate and his party have to realize and expect that any slight indiscretion in the candidate's past will be unearthed and exposed for all the world to see. We all know that. We've seen many investigations carried out and many lives ruined in today's heated political atmosphere. As Republicans we know we must choose candidates carefully.
So who dropped the ball in Illinois? Was it the Illinois Republican State Central Committee? Did they fail to vet this candidate as thoroughly as they might? Did the candidate fail to share the contents of his divorce settlement with the committee? Did both the party and the candidate think the information was safe because the court settlement was sealed? Apparently the Chicago Tribune heard some rumors they thought worth checking out. Why didn't our side hear them before he was chosen?
Perhaps we'll never fully know the answers to those questions but this incident certainly opens the debate for a closer inspection of all future Republican candidates.
Republicans all over the country are in a fight for their political lives and we simply cannot afford to throw elections away on candidates who are less than serious contenders to win their race. This case is especially heartbreaking for Illinois Republicans who have been trying to revive a state party that was nearly on its death bed.
It is imperative that state and national elements of our party inspect their candidates more carefully.
But, even more important than Party responsibility to vet candidates, it is imperative that candidates see the necessity of being clean conservatives, not only politically, but morally as well, if they intend to someday have a serious opportunity to serve America.
It does no good for the young politically inclined conservative to say, "What I do is my private business." It is not. Not anymore. Young Republicans have a well earned reputation for sexual peccadillos. How many of these young people are throwing away tomorrow's political career for a few hours of fun and games today?
The exploit that caused Ryan's downfall was with his own wife and it could certainly be argued that what happened was their own private business and not a moral lapse at all. That simply doesn't matter now. The sensationalism of the charges immediately sucked all the oxygen out of a campaign that was already struggling.
Budding political types, with stars in their eyes, need to understand that there is no longer a good old-boys club in the press that will cover for them. Instead, there are mainstream newspapers and TV networks out there with their own political agendas and the money it takes to advance them. Just as the Chicago Tribune did in the Ryan case, news organizations will do whatever it takes to find out, including filing a lawsuit to gain private information concerning the candidate's private business from years ago. If there is a scorned or needy lover in the candidate's past, be sure, the media will find her, or him, as the case may be. I do not argue that this is right. I simply state that this is the reality of the political climate in which we choose and elect our candidates today.
Those with indiscretions of any kind in their past should do all Republicans a favor and find another way to contribute to conservative politics. If their background can't stand the microscopic inspection of a political campaign then they should stay out of the arena. We simply cannot afford to lose any more elections because of the personal sexual history of a candidate.
As conservative Republican delegates, voters and grassroots activists, we have the right to demand that our candidates disclose their backgrounds fully and let us make the decision if they are worth our hard work, our money and our votes.
We put our faith and trust in those who want to represent us. They need to be worthy of that trust.
© Terri Hillhouse
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