This video presents a pretty typical right-wing opinion of abstinence education. In it, Representative Mark Souder (R-IN) claims that teaching teens to abstain from sex actually works, opposes teaching them about birth control, and even blames an AIDS victim for catching the disease because he should have abstained.
But what makes this video fun to watch is that the supposed interviewer is Tracy Jackson, Souder’s part-time communications assistant. Hypocritically, Souder had an affair with Jackson and is now resigning from Congress because of it. Both Souder and Jackson are married. Recording an abstinence video with your mistress certainly takes some balls.
UPDATE: Souder tries to blame the atmosphere in Washington for his resignation:
In the poisonous environment of Washington, D.C., any personal failing is seized upon, often twisted, for political gain. I am resigning rather than to put my family through that painful, drawn-out process.
What a saint! In the video, Souder mocks the young man with AIDS, saying “it’s everybody’s fault but his.” Truer words were never spoken.
Obviously, neither Souder nor Jackson received any abstinence education themselves, since if they had, then this tragic affair almost certainly could have been avoided. Perhaps they were just trying to prove the need for more abstinence education?
UPDATE 2: Well, I will give Souder credit for this. He broke the long-standard protocol of having his wife and family present during his resignation announcement. Instead, he said this:
My family is more than willing to stand here with me, we are a committed family. But the error is mine and I should bear the responsibility. And quite frankly I’m sick of politicians who drag their spouses up in front of the cameras, rather than confronting the problem that they have caused.
