Privette, 74, of Kannapolis, was charged with six counts of misdemeanor aiding and abetting prostitution by renting a hotel room and paying for sexual acts, according to State Bureau of Investigation Agent Kevin Canty. Tiffany Denise Summers, 32, of Salisbury, was charged with six counts of misdemeanor prostitution, Canty said.

Privette, a prominent Republican with a 30-year career, is one of the state's most vocal opponents against alcohol sales and legal gambling. He also serves on the State Baptist Convention of North Carolina and as president of the Christian Action League of North Carolina.

The Observer wrote of Ms. Summers:

Summers was charged with six counts of prostitution, according to the warrants... Summers has previous convictions for drug possession, prostitution and possessing stolen goods, according to court documents. Last month, Salisbury police officers picked her up near a hotel where rooms are rented by the hour. Salisbury officers have arrested her several times for drug activity, Salisbury Police Chief Mark Wilhelm said. In one case, according to court documents, Summers was found with a man's ATM card.

Privette's letter of resignation as president of the Christian Action League:   stated:

"Because of the nature of the allegations, I believe it is in the best interest for me to resign so that the charges will not distract from the important work of the Christian Action League."

It can certainly be awkward to be a professional moralizer; a married man with children -- arrested on multiple counts of paying for sex acts with a hooker. No longer a model of conservative Christian morals himself, Privette had the good sense to resign his positions of trust.

So what about Sen. Vitter who was recently exposed as a client of the DC Madam, and is said to have also frequented a brothel in New Orleans, (which he rather implausibly denies)? This is a man who has made a career out of pushing for abstinence education and legislation preserving the sanctity of marriage. He says he is sorry for his "sin."

Senator Vitter and his allies in the religious right seem to think he can tough it out. But a July 22nd editorial in The Hartford Courant, describing Vitter as "despicable" may very well be the writing on the wall for the GOP freshman from Louisiana.

What makes Sen. David Vitter's story so despicable isn't that he made a mistake (or, more precisely, five mistakes according to the telephone records of an alleged prostitution business). It's that he lived a lie. And that, for years, he used that lie - presenting himself as a model husband, father and champion of ethical and traditional values - to further personal ambitions and his political agenda.

A Harvard graduate and Rhodes scholar, the Louisiana Republican and father of four used his squeaky-clean, family-loving, God-fearing image to propel him from the state legislature to the U.S. House in 1999 and the Senate in 2004.

He was elected to Congress to fill the vacancy created by Rep. Robert Livingston, who resigned amid disclosures of marital indiscretions. One of Mr. Vitter's favored campaign tactics is to skewer what he portrays as the ethical shortcomings of his opponents - their junkets, ties to casino gambling and use of a tax-paid scholarship program.

A foe of abortion, Mr. Vitter last month urged his colleagues in the Senate to devote more federal spending to programs urging sexual abstinence among teens. The best way to avert teen pregnancy, he wrote, is "by teaching teenagers that saving sex until marriage and remaining faithful afterwards is the best choice for health and happiness."

In a June 2006 speech on the floor of the Senate, Mr. Vitter argued for a constitutional amendment against gay marriage. It was "well overdue that we in the Senate focus on nurturing, upholding, preserving and protecting such a fundamental social institution as traditional marriage," he said.

Vitter seems bent on holding onto power, abetted by his friends on the religious right. The strongest word that Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council had to say was "disappointing."

This one may be tough for the religious right and the Republican Party to tough out.

[Hat tip to Buzzflash, where I first learned about the Privette story.]