New York Times columnist Charles Blow, inspired by South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s sexcapade, reviews the literature on the illicit proclivities of Republican-leaning regions.

There are Democratic sex scandals to be sure, but Democrats didn’t build a franchise on holier-than-thou moral rectitude. The Republicans did. They used sexual morality as a weapon and now it’s shooting them in the foot.

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And this kind of hypocrisy isn’t confined to the politicians. It permeates the electorate. While conservatives fight to “defend” marriage from gays, they can’t keep theirs together. According to the Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract, states that went Republican in November accounted for eight of the 10 states with the highest divorce rates in 2006.

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Conservatives touted abstinence-only education, which was a flop, when real sex education was needed, most desperately in red states.

His columns are always accompanied by charts and graphs. Today’s effort looks at the divorce rate, teen pregnancy rate, and on-line porn subscription rates by state, further illuminated by the red state/blue state divide. You can guess how it goes. The top of the charts in each category are dominated by red states.

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Arkansas, big for McCain, turns up at No. 2 in divorce rate, No. 4 in teen births and No. 6 in porn subscriptions. But, by golly, we’re leading the way in preserving the sanctity of marriage and family by preventing unmarried couples from adopting and fostering children who need homes. Thanks to all those who worked for that.

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