Skanktum Santorum

During a temporary deviation from his anti-liberal agenda, Sully elaborates on an imagined contrast between bad Republicans such as Rick Santorum with "decent Republicans like ... Jonah Goldberg." Here's what the decent Goldberg has to say:

Having laws you're not going to enforce is an invitation for capricious and arbitrary prosecution. Sodomy laws shouldn't be enforced because whatever benefit you might get from doing so would be so outweighed by the costs.

Gays are citizens and human beings; you don't have to like everything they do behind closed doors to appreciate the fact that kicking down those doors to make them stop is not the best use of our police forces. (Emphasis added)

That's surely the most decent cost-benefit analysis I've ever read. Sodomy laws are beneficial, but there are so many vile sodomites around that enforcement is too expensive. Perhaps Jonah could elaborate on the benefits of enforcing sodomy laws.

P.S. to Lucianne Jr.: "Having laws you're not going to enforce" means no prosecution, not selective and arbitrary prosecution.

Meanwhile, Sully's readers call him a "hysteric" and tell him to shut up, and he promises to obey. Is it time for another Pledge Week already?

Update: Julian Sanchez points out that Goldberg has a slightly different version of his statement at National Review Online. There he says: "And whatever moral justification for sodomy laws there may be � I don't see any, really, but I'm open to the idea that there might be some � are obviously outweighed by the moral costs of enforcing them. Kicking in doors, spying on people etc. would not only be unfair to the 'criminals' it would be destructive for the cops and the people who pay their salaries." The version of his column at Townhall.com is identical to the Times column quoted above. There's a difference in tone there, with Goldberg expressing skepticism that there's any valid reason for such laws (although he's still willing to be convinced its a good law). Still, he's unwilling to say unequivocally that consensual sodomy is none of the state's business. I guess being more tolerant than everyone else at Townhall.com is worth something; but I'm not sure what.