Christian voters believe in redemption (for Republican politicians)

Courtesy of the New York Times, let’s look at two politicians who, in a decent world, would not be in politics at all:

1. David Vitter is a dyed-in-the-woolen breeches conservative from Louisiana. He’s also someone committed a “very serious sin” involving prostitutes six years ago.

In 2010, he ran for the senate against Charlie Melancon, a former Democratic congressman. Today, Vitter is the senator. In exit polls, he beat Mr. Melancon among white women by a 54-point margin.

2. Dr. Scott DesJarlais is a Republican congressman from Tennessee. In 2010, and again in 2012, sordid details of his past came to light. They are too lengthy to enumerate here, but included legal problems and multiple affairs with former patients. One of these women said Dr. DesJarlais pushed her into getting an abortion.

Eric Stewart was the Democrat who ran against DesJarlais. Why does he think that Republicans voted for this blackhearted scoundrel? “Voters talk a lot about hypocrisy but they don’t vote based on it.”

Yeah, but WHY? Some posit that religious conservatives just love a good comeback-from-sin story: “Where there is a large Christian voting bloc, they believe in redemption.”

A more likely explanation: Religious Republicans can count some diehard partisan, hypocritical sumbitches amongst themselves.