It seems the words “sex scandal” and “Republican” go hand in hand these days. So is it any suprise that The American Red Cross has forced it’s president and chief executive, Mark W. Everson, to resign yesterday because he had an inappropriate relationship with a female subordinate? Mr. Everson’s forced resignation was yet another blow to the Red Cross, the flailing agency has faced a rapid turnover in leadership and has struggled to restore its reputation which was tremendously damaged by it’s lackluster response to Hurricane Katrina. The agency’s fifth chief in six years, Everson was at the helm of the federally chartered organization for a mere six months before the news broke about the former Bush administration leaders involvment in yet another Republican sex scandal.

In an unusually candid news release, the Red Cross said its board “concluded that the situation reflected poor judgment on Mr. Everson’s part and diminished his ability to lead the organization in the future.”

The Red Cross had high hopes for Everson, who had served in the Bush administration since 2001, most recently as commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and before that as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. He was considered a seasoned leader, skilled at navigating the politics of Washington and capable of managing the Red Cross’s more than 700 chapters.

Mark Everson’s comments on the sex scandal that forced him to resign:

I am resigning my position for personal and family reasons and deeply regret it is impossible for me to continue in a job so recently undertaken. I leave with extraordinary admiration for the American Red Cross, the service its men and women provide our nation, and for the humanitarian work of the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement across the world.

If this man was legitimately concerned about “his family”, he might have thought twice about keeping his mahoood in his pants instead of dragging his family name through the mud because he can’t control his sexual impulses. After all, the Republican Party stands for “family values” however, it’s clear that when they mean “family values”, the mean for everybody else and not for themselves.