Jack Ryan's Senate Race Gets Dirty

Illinois Republicans are not the flavor of any month here, but Senate hopeful Jack Ryan (not to be confused with Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan) is getting a raw deal. The poor fellow went through a pretty bad divorce, and the proceedings are now being used to muddy his name. American politicians ought to try defeating their opponents on the issues not on "character."

Mr. Ryan used to be married to the actress Jeri Lynn Ryan of "Star Trek" fame. In the recently unsealed proceedings were allegations that Mr. Ryan insisted that his wife accompany him to sex clubs and that she should be a participant rather than a spectator while there. Mr. Ryan denies the allegations, and his ex-wife speaks of him kindly enough. The entire matter is a "holier-than-thou" witch-hunt by self-appointed moralists who ought not cast the first stone themselves.

As Christopher Hitchens has observed elsewhere, personality has replaced ideology in American Politics. It is better for the nation that a politician be good in his public life than in his private one, but in America, there are people who believe that the private man and the public one are the same.

A brief history lesson will suffice. In the 1930s and 1940s, there were three leaders of three different nations. The first drank to excess and smoked almost constantly. The second carried on an extra-marital affair in office and drank as well. The other was a teetotal, non-smoking vegetarian who stayed away from loose women. On petty matters of "character," the third was far better than the first two. The leaders described in order were Prime Minister Churchill, President Roosevelt and Chancellor Adolf Hitler.

Mr. Ryan should not be attacked for his sexual behavior (or lack thereof). He should be attacked honestly and forthrightly for being a conservative, a supporter of Mr. Bush, and if there is anything in his past behavior that is relevant, it is his work as a GOP moneyman. There is no evidence that he did anything wrong there, but at least, how one deals with funds given by others is relevant.


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


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