Every poll I've read shows GOP incumbent David Vitter leading in Louisiana. This is the same guy who is known to have picked up prostitutes.

Many people from the rest of the country think of Louisiana only in terms of the wild and risque New Orleans. However, most people in that state don't live in "They Big Easy." There is a large segment of the population which is very rural and extreme in their religious conservatism.

The Christian Right, Protestant and Catholic, has used the term "family values" to attack queers, self respecting women, and even people of color. The attacks claim to be about the willingness of others to follow the set of social restrictions of extreme Christianity. Yet, whether you are talking about clerical sexcapades, misuse of funds, and the general wild behaviors of members of these congregations, it isn't hard to find plenty of examples of hypocrisy.

What is interesting about the Vitter campaign is that he is likely to win due to a massive degree of collective hypocrisy on the part of Christian extremists, who make up most of the GOP base in that state. If he pulls it off, he will prove that a heterosexual, white male can get away with breaking any of the supposed "family values" with impunity, especially of that guy is rich and a Republican.

The collective act of hypocrisy wouldn't be limited to Louisiana either. If the Christian Right really took what they stood for seriously and consistently, they would have lead a Crusade against Vitter once his frolicking as a John were revealed. They haven't bothered to do jack about him.

A Vitter victory would prove for once and for all that the Christian Right is completely full of shit.

Photo: Derek Bridges