How is the Scarlet Letter canonical?

1995 (R)Jeb Bush: return to "Scarlet Letter" Unwed mothers not identifying father should publish their sexual history. Good/bad idea? Why?

• Bush points to Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter, in which the main character is forced to wear a large red "A" for "adulterer" on her clothes to punish her for having an extramarital affair that produced a child, as an early model for his worldview. "Infamous shotgun weddings and Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter are reminders that public condemnation of irresponsible sexual behavior has strong historical roots,” Bush wrote. As governor of Florida in 2001, Bush had the opportunity to test his theory on public shaming. He declined to veto a very controversial bill that required single mothers who did not know the identity of the father to publish their sexual histories in a newspaper before they could legally put their babies up for adoption. He later signed a repeal of the so-called "Scarlet Letter" law in 2003 after it was successfully challenged in court. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/09/jeb-bush-1995-book_n_7542964.html

• Answer:

  I don't know why Repubs are so obsessed with sex. Anti gay, anti sex ed, anti single mothers... And so many get caught up in exactly what they are against. I think the Bush family has had enough chance to ruin the country and Republic hypocrisy in general should be shamed out of existence. Honorable Repubs like honorable Muslims should stand up publicly to clean their ranks.