I'm not saying anyone, except Foley, has done anything wrong in the present case (and I have no opinion on whether what he did was criminal -- but it was certainly wrong. I have the old-fashioned idea that Congressmen ought to aspire to a level of citizenship higher than "technically not felonious.")
I think that many Republicans will use the Foley case to excuse the Party's poor performance in these elections, when it was coming before Foley got outed anyway. Most districts are not competitive -- but in many which are the Republicans are getting their heads handed to them. Good, competitive candidates like Diana Irey and Mark Kennedy are being starved of resources. Instead the committees threw fortunes into the primaries, to promote internecine fighting among Republicans (and, oddly enough, in every case in support of the more liberal candidate).
It think it's less a conservative/liberal thing, than the committees only wanting to help candidates who will be sure to play the inside game in DC. There is very little daylight between Dems and Reps on most issues. Both of them always go for the federal government and against the individual citizen.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
It has been one of the intresting things to observe watching Washington DC in action.
It occured to me last week that the US political scene is as much DC Establishment vrs the American People as it is Republican vrs Democrat.
Just because we won in 2000, many of US Conservative have forgotten that the DC Establishment is still our blood enemy. Politics is not just Democrat vrs Republican, it is also largely a battle of the DC Establishment vrs the American people.
That best indication of that divide is John McCain and the RINO Senators. EVEN when the President is totally right, they always find a way to straddle the issue. To try and be on both sides of the issue to avoid being seen as supporting the President. That is why you hear all the rage on the Left that "the Republican Senate sold us out" to Bush over the Detainee bill . To many people in the DC Establishment it is not so much Republicans vrs Democrats but Old Boy Washington vrs the Hick Newcomers. Observing how most long term Republican politicians act these days make it pretty clear some Republican politicians and operatives are running scared of the DC Political-Media Complex.
They just cannot seem to grasp that Talk Radio, the 'Net and Cable TV News is destroying their cozy little Information monopoly. They cannot seem to grasp that they can no longer be one type of politician in DC and a different one back home in Red State America. Now days people KNOW what Pols did almost as fast the Pols do it. There are no more media gatekeeper to make sure what happens in DC stays in DC