The "party of virtue" strikes again!

I'm a couple of days late to this story, but I had to make mention of it. Republican Jack Ryan is running for Senate in Illinois. He was married to the gorgeous and talented Jeri Ryan, of Star Trek Voyager fame. The divorce papers have been released; they reveal some shocking details. (Look here and here.) Here's the juiciest bit (remember, this is Jeri talking):

"The clubs in New York and Paris were explicit sex clubs. Respondent had done research. Respondent took me to two clubs in New York during the day. One club I refused to go in. It had mattresses in cubicles. The other club he insisted I go to. ... It was a bizarre club with cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling. Respondent wanted me to have sex with him there, with another couple watching. I refused. Respondent asked me to perform a sexual activity upon him, and he specifically asked other people to watch. I was very upset."

Granted, this is the extreme language of the divorce court. I have no idea what truly happened in Paris.

But I have a very, very clear idea of how this story would be treated -- by Fox News, by Drudge, by the Moonie Times, and by the radio right -- if Jack Ryan were a Democrat. So don't expect me to apologise for my current schadenfreude. The Republicans can keep pretending to be the "party of virtue" as long as they feel free to harp on the sexual indiscretions of liberals (Gary Condit comes to mind) while liberals refuse to answer in kind.