Florida’s GOP now has an opportunity to renew commitment to family values | Opinion
The Republican Party has long prided itself on being the party of family values. Character is supposed to matter, especially when it comes to our elected officials. But recently, the party that should be setting the standard seems to be lowering it.
The 2024 Republican Party platform, when outlining how it would empower American families, said, “Republicans will promote a culture that values the sanctity of marriage, the blessings of childhood, the foundational role of families, and supports working parents.”
That’s not new. But lately, this supposed commitment to family values has been harder to reconcile against the personal conduct of some Republican leaders.
There was the Cabinet member (Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth) who faced allegations of sexual assault, the attorney general nominee (Matt Gaetz) who withdrew his name from consideration amid accusations of sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old, and a Florida congressman (Rep. Cory Mills) who was criminally investigated but never charged after allegations he assaulted a woman. And, there’s the president himself, found liable in 2023 for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll. That’s not even counting the dozens of women who have accused now-President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct going back to the 1970s.
Allegations are not convictions, of course, but party politics isn’t the same as a courtroom. The fact that the Republican Party has in some cases allowed people with a history of alleged sexual abuse to continue to serve is problematic. The GOP’s moral compass may need to be recalibrated.
Over the weekend, Fort Pierce City Commissioner James Taylor was arrested, following a months-long multi-state investigation, on 24 felony counts involving allegations that he sent sexually explicit images to a 12-year-old. Last August, a mom in Illinois reported that Taylor had been using Snapchat to sext her daughter.
While Taylor, who was serving in a non-partisan seat, had already submitted his resignation effective on Aug. 2, Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended him from the city commission. In the executive order, DeSantis said Taylor’s suspension was “in the best interests” of city residents and the state. The governor has the legal authority to suspend an elected official charged with a crime.
In recent years, character has taken a backseat to cult personalities and culture wars. There was a time when the Republican Party held its members to a high moral standard. But now, the party increasingly seems comfortable with turning a blind eye as long as a candidate can draw a crowd or delivers a win.
That’s how the GOP ended up nominating Trump three times as their presidential candidate and electing him twice to the White House.
In addition to being found liable for sexual abuse, Trump has been convicted of 34 felony charges and had a well-documented relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Yet, these things haven’t cost him support of the Republican Party.
The party that once raised questions about former President Bill Clinton’s moral fitness to serve in office after having a sexual relationship with a White House intern has now fully embraced a man whose personal conduct is vastly worse than Clinton’s.
When the current GOP fails to hold its own leaders accountable, it weakens the party. Character cannot be situational.
At this point, it feels like a lost cause to try to hold Trump accountable, even if the Epstein case won’t go away. But it’s important to call this behavior out.
Moral corruption in leadership isn’t confined to Washington, D.C. It bleeds into institutions and society. Republicans shouldn’t be defending leaders whose behavior they’d never tolerate from their spouse, teachers or their child’s Little League coach. When allowed to go unchecked, sexual misconduct from our leaders becomes normalized.
It’s not surprising that so many principled conservatives feel politically homeless. They are watching in real-time as their party brushes aside morally questionable behavior.
The governor got it right by suspending Taylor, and in doing so, he reminded Republicans that they can still be the party of principle, not just power. Being the party of family values requires holding leaders — at every level — to a consistent moral standard.
Not just when it’s easy, but especially when it’s hard.
Mary Anna Mancuso is a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. Her email: mmancuso@miamiherald.com