Leave Families Out of It by MONA CHAREN
February 7, 2016 11:36 AM
Senator Cruz has received a fair amount of praise for citing his late sister’s struggle with drug and alcohol addiction at last night’s debate. I disagree. It made me cringe.
Cruz is not the first to invoke close relations for political ends. Al Gore famously invoked his sister’s lung cancer death for his dedication to the anti-smoking crusade — though it was later revealed that even after her death he had boasted to his Tennessee constituents about his love of and intimate familiarity with the tobacco crop.
In this cycle, Carly Fiorina has spoken of “burying a child” who succumbed to drug addiction. Rick Santorum mentioned his youngest daughter, who has severe disabilities, to prove that he walks the walk on the question of life. Donald Trump told a televised gathering at a New Hampshire restaurant about his late brother’s death from alcoholism — to explain why he himself is a teetotaler. Now Cruz cites the terrible experience of his late “half-sister” who was, apparently, an angry addict, in and out of jail, a failed mother, and a possible suicide. Cruz also threw in that he had taken out a $20,000 loan to help his nephew “Joey” pay tuition at Valley Forge Military Academy. That seemed self-serving.
This strikes me as a terrible invasion of privacy of the candidates’ relatives. Bella Santorum may not want to be the poster child for her parents’ pro-life views (even if it’s true). She gets no say. As for the dead relations, they are now completely defined by their addictions, whatever other qualities they may have had. Their privacy is egregiously violated. To use their mistakes, illness, suffering, or misfortune to burnish the reputation of the candidate crosses a line. The privacy of family members should be sacred.
Read more at:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/430898/hillary-talks-about-americans-theyre-peasants
