All the pious phonies I've ever run across think of themselves as "basically good". How about you?
"Whenever I meet someone who claims to find faith in God impossible, but who persists in believing in the essential goodness of humanity, I know that I have met a person for whom evidence is irrelevant." ~ Dennis Prager ( Ultimate Issues , July- September, 1989)
Perhaps. I never thought of Dennis Prager as a phony. He is genuine, if somewhat pompous. But then so is Rush, and he's the best. It takes an enormous ego to be successful in broadcasting. A shrinking violet would never make it. I can't help but think that such an ego would be incompatible with a successful marriage, unless the partner was a total wimp.
I like Prager. He is always very thoughtful about the issues. I don't agree with all his views, the permanence of marriage being one of them, which make the pious phony comment not only mean, but wrong. Dennis was never a "marriage is forever" believer-same with Rush.
I have found that the folks who would take glee at the personal stumbling of conservative such as Dennis and Rush and Bennett do not like the conservative messages they broadcast, so try to use their humanity as proof of some sort of hypocrisy.