Family Values Congressman Honored by the Family Research Council
Nov 4th, 2011 | 11 responses
The Family Research Council, a social conservative advocacy nonprofit headed by Tony Perkins, has awarded Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), a Tea Party freshman in Congress, a 100 percent rating as a “True Blue” member of Congress because of his “unwavering support of the family”:
“We thank Cong. Walsh who has voted consistently to defend faith, family and freedom,” said the Council’s President, Tony Perkins, and for “upholding the institution of marriage and family.” “I am proud and honored to be recognized by the Family Research Council as the only member from Illinois with a 100 percent pro-family voting record,” Walsh said in a news release.
According to ThinkProgress, the press learned in July that Walsh “owed $117,000 in unpaid child support to his ex-wife. Walsh, despite earning a hefty salary as a member of Congress, has continued to refuse to pay his ex-wife to support his children.”
Additionally, also according to ThinkProgress,
… it’s worth noting that Walsh’s failure to pay child support isn’t even his only failure to look out for the basic needs of his own family. As Marie Diamond noted for ThinkProgress a few months ago, “Walsh also rejected the congressional health insurance plan for his family on principle, much to the chagrin of his current wife, Helene, who had a preexisting condition and needed surgery while the couple was uninsured.”
Recently, a judge rebuked Walsh for failing to even show up to a court hearing about his missed child support payments, telling the Chicago-area lawmaker that he doesn’t deserve special treatment and that he’s “no different than anyone else.”
The Chicago Sun-Times notes that Walsh counters that he and his wife had a “verbal agreement” that he didn’t have to pay child support during years when he wasn’t earning as much.
Joe Walsh is, of course, very proud of his achievement: “Defending American values have [sic] always been one of my top priorities, and this reward reaffirms my dedication to that fight,” he says.
What a patriot. What a parent!
11 Responses to “Family Values Congressman Honored by the Family Research Council”
On many issues, economic, and social, I agree with Joe Walsh. That does not stop him from being, in my mind, absolute scum for failing to pay child support.
Dorian-
One gets the feeling that if you are not married or otherwise have no family, then you have no representation in Joe Walsh’s district. Indeed a fear in the back of the head starts to grow that one day being single above a certain age will become illegal under such legislator’s designs. Or is it all just crapolla to get the pro-life vote?
What about those families losing their homes? No Republican would vote for any government relief for families losing their homes during this Economic/Job crisis. Why is that not being considered by the Tony Perkins non-profit? Is a home not required for a family?
“Family Values” in the republican sense means two and only two things. You oppose gay marriage and you support making abortions illegal. It has nothing to do with supporting families, educating children, stopping spousal and/or child abuse, or anything else you might consider useful for families. It is simply the agenda of the religious right and that is it. Look into any of the many family values councils or groups and you will see that is at the heart of it.
slamfu, I’ll say that the hypocrisy extends beyond just the religious right.
Just as the “family values” cry sounds hollow coming from so many GOP politicians, the entire “Compassionate Conservatism” mantra is an oxymoron when one looks closely at what so many conservative politicians are trying to do to our already precarious social safety net, in my opinion.
To many conservatives, “traditional family values” mean heterosexual marriages involving husbands cheating on their wives with hookers and mistresses … often ending in divorce, deadbeat dads refusing to provide child support, and unplanned pregnancies by unwed, teenaged girls.
The judge had it right.
I’m always suspicious when I hear a politician (or his/her supporters) claiming to support “family values.” More often than not, the politician (or his/her supporters) is really claiming to support an arbitary set of values that he/she personally believes that all families should observe.
Two of the most important values that my family taught me were tolerance and nonaggression. So you imagine can how much it irks me to hear “family values” politicians (or their supporters) promoting intolerance or aggression towards peaceful individuals simply because they live different lifestyles…and then calling this “family values.”
Sadly, more often than not, the political use of the phrase “family values” is simply Newspeak for “I want to use the force of government to prevent you from exercising personal choices in your life.” Running on a platform of wanting to “prevent Americans from exercising personal choices in their lives” isn’t very catchy, and hence we get the more palatable “family values” rhetoric.
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wow… failing to pay child support. Yeah, I think even most conservatives would say that is worse than being gay.
I just get irked that anyone would want to step in and tell someone who they should marry or whether or not they should have a child. Both are immensely personal decisions that bear on the rest of your life. The idea that the govt can step in and make it for you seems to me the ultimate form of govt intrusion into personal matters.
I mean, if the govt were forcing abortions and gay marriages upon those who don’t want them, that would be a horrific violation of personal rights. To force it the other way is also bad, not as bad, but since its happening I’d say its more relevant.
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