Louisianans get what they deserve. Or rather, vote for. Their politics and politicians would be hilarious if they weren’t so tragic. Think back to Huey Long. Or Earl Long. Or Edwin Edwards. There’s a lengthy list of unfathomably unethical elected officials, most of them a governor at one time or another. And now David Vitter wants to join that list. He certainly should; he seems eminently qualified to wallow oops, follow — in the dirty footsteps of his predecessors.

Vitter is currently the Republican junior United States senator from Louisiana, you may recall. You may also recall that his self-serving career has been marred by prostitution scandals. Or perhaps that’s too harsh a term; let’s just say he apparently has a prostitution problem. In his 2004 election campaign, the married Vitter was accused of having a long-term affair with a prostitute. He denied it. In 2007, the still-married Vitter wound up connected to the infamous “D. C. Madam” case. When that came to light, he apologized profusely, wife by his side, for the sins he committed. Apparently, not only his wife but a lot of voters in Louisiana didn’t care; he won re-election in 2010.

As if that’s not sorry enough, during his time in the Senate Vitter has staked out positions that are regrettable if not abhorrent. Apart from all the things he loves about the Tea Party, he approves of discrimination against gays and lesbians by denying them marriage rights, although it’s just fine if any of them might want to buy a gun for any reason. He managed to get $100,000 of taxpayer’s money assigned to a Louisiana organization devoted to teaching kids why evolution is baloney. He’s also strongly opposed funding increases for a state children’s health insurance program, apparently in the belief that kids in Louisiana are health enough already

The sad thing about this is that Vitter is not a fool or a stupid, venal person. He has the advantage of an extraordinary education that includes a degree from Harvard, a degree from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar and a law degree from Tulane University. He has the background of a serious leader but apparently the mindset of a small-town corrupt politician. He deserves shame, continuing shame.

And what does this matter to someone like me living in new Hampshire, a blessed many miles away from Louisiana? Apart from sympathy for some of the folks in Louisiana who are as embarrassed by Vitter as a lot of us elsewhere are, there’s this: under Louisiana law, Vitter can run for governor without giving up his Senate seat. In other words, this very objectionable man — one of the most obstructionist Republican members of the Congress — will remain there if he loses. This truly qualifies as a lose-lose situation for all of us.