Well the standards are definitely skewed. Republicans are called moralizers because they stand opposed to the slaughter of millions of unborn babies. This is more of a crime issue than a moral issue. Isn't it. And people seeking to maintain the centuries old definition of marriage (and sex for that matter) are hardly deserving of the slander they receive (Taliban).
I am not sure when it happened but at some point "morality" became a bad word.
Nevertheless, as to your charge agianst VDH: I don't see that he was moralizing about personal bad habits or anything else. He was merely pointing out the overwhelming hypocrisy of both sides. Do you deny that?
If social conservatives confined their zeal to just those issues, I don't think the pubbies might not have done so badly last November. But the GOP was also being unjustly hammered on embryonic stem cell research in polls by an uninformed electorate, and the GOP decides to ban online gambling. I'm no gambler, but I know gamblers took revenge on Election Day. South Dakota passed a law banning abortions even in the case of rape or incest. Guess what happened. South Dakotans Stand Up for Freedom and Privacy, Repeal Divisive Abortion Ban
Politics is the art of the possible. The pubbies worked real hard to lose last November.