Posted on 10/05/2006 4:38:32 PM PDT by SJackson
The Mark Foley scandal is over. The Florida Republican congressman who sent "Do I make you horny?" messages to teenage pages has resigned his seat and gone into rehab. He needed help, and now he's getting it.
There will be a few more salacious revelations - like Tuesday's report that the congressman was such a multitasker that he balanced the sending of racy instant messages with his duty to show up for floor votes - and perhaps some legal play-out to this sad tale. But Foley's political journey is finished.
The Republican congressional leadership scandal is most definitely not over. House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, House Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, House Republican Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Tom Reynolds of New York and other leaders of the GOP caucus who knew about the Foley problem and did little or nothing to deal with it have been exposed for what they are: political animals who care about nothing - absolutely nothing - except maintaining power.
How determined were these key Republicans to keep their grip on Congress in what has turned into a troublesome election year for the party? We now know that, as recently as last week, an aide to Reynolds tried to get ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross, who broke the Foley story, to kill it. In return, Ross was offered an exclusive on what the GOP leaders had hoped would be a neatly wrapped, relatively uncontroversial story of Foley's decision to step down "for personal reasons." According to Ross, "I said we're not making any deals."
The last-minute attempt to cut a deal gives a painfully accurate reading of the "moral values" and the political priorities of the Republican leadership.
That reality does not make the Republicans particularly worse than the Democrats, who are certainly not above practicing the politics of "victory at any cost." But, in two meaningful senses, the leaders of the Grand Old Party are distinguished from the leaders of the not particularly grand opposition party:
1. The Republicans are in charge. Hastert, Boehner, Reynolds and their co-conspirators run Congress. In fact, they have run things more tightly than any majority in decades. This scandal cannot be blamed on others. Republicans set the rules. They determine what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. They have all the power, and their obvious lack of concern for anything except maintaining that power is now exposed.
2. The Republicans have secured and maintained that power - which is used almost exclusively to enrich their wealthy political allies and contributors - by convincing millions of working-class Americans who are sincerely socially conservative to vote against their class interests in order to satisfy their moral interests. Suddenly, the dubious political construct on which the modern Republican Party has stood has been exposed. Social conservatives have been alerted to the fact that morality has never been a high priority of the corporate "conservatives" who call the shots in the leadership of what they thought was God's Own Party.
That news comes at a time when Republicans, already battered by President Bush's dwindling approval ratings, are scrambling to maintain control of the House. The timing for the GOP really could not be worse, not because of the scandal's potential to cause social conservatives to vote for Democrats but because of the potential that it will cause so-called "moral values" voters to turn away from the political process. Few political realities are more certain than this: If social conservatives don't vote, Republicans don't win.
Even the usually hapless Democrats have recognized the opening and are beginning to exploit it. Democratic candidates are calling on Republican House members to renounce Hastert and Boehner, to give back money not just from Foley's political action committee but from those of the Republican leaders, and to demand Hastert's resignation.
In a key Pennsylvania House race, Chris Carney, the Democratic challenger to scandal-plagued Republican Don Sherwood, called on the incumbent to cancel fundraising events with GOP House leaders. "Don Sherwood has already brought Washington's values back to the district - now he wants to bring a depraved coverup home," said Carney.
The reach of this issue is evident even beyond congressional races. In Wisconsin, where Republican Congressman Mark Green is challenging Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, the Doyle campaign is telling reporters: "It is past time for Congressman Green to display some real leadership and add his voice to the growing chorus of voices calling for Speaker Hastert to resign."
This is an incredibly volatile moment, so volatile that the Republicans may be inclined to sacrifice one of their own in order to deflect attention from the broader crisis of confidence. The party cannot afford to have its social conservative vote suppressed by disgust, or even confusion, over Hastert's actions - and inactions.
Already, the conservative Washington Times, an influential voice in Republican circles, has called for Hastert's resignation. "House Speaker Dennis Hastert must do the only right thing, and resign his speakership at once," the newspaper's editors wrote Tuesday.
How seriously are top Republicans taking the demands? Seriously enough to begin lobbing bombs at one another. In an interview with radio station WLW in Cincinnati, Boehner was pointing the finger of blame at Hastert: "(It's) in his corner. It's his responsibility."
A few hours later, Boehner was backtracking. The majority leader issued a statement claiming that "no one in the leadership, including Speaker Hastert, had any knowledge of the warped and sexually explicit instant messages." That is, of course, a lie. But it is a necessary lie, as all evidence suggests that Boehner was at least as fully informed of the details of the sexually explicit communications as was Hastert in the months before they became public. Thus, while many conservative activists might be willing to sacrifice Hastert, there is little reason to believe that doing so would make this House Republican leadership scandal go away.
John Nichols is associate editor of The Capital Times. E-mail: jnichols@madison.com Published: October 5, 2006
Presuming I accept his characterization of the Republican as fact, the political impact is that the Dems benefit because "moral values" voters, so-called of course will stay home. I'd think a progressive might suggest a moral voter might look to the opposition party, the Democrats, but apparently that's a stretch.
What a load of crap. Get back to us when you can even begin to prove a "cover up," fool. Two words: Gerry Studds. Talk about a cover up and a whitewash. What hypocrites these liberal trash are.
"Do I make you Horny?" Did he get that line from Austin Powers?
Oh please. Foley's emails and IM's went to three 18 year olds. If the GOP had punished him for that then the scandal would been that the GOP was homophobic and eavesdropping on legal conversations between consenting adults.
Instead, the Left dishonestly calls the three adults "teenagers" to leave open the question of consenting age or not.
The only thing this has done is allow me to see how far the Demonrats will stoop. They sat on info, then they lied about the kids age (he was 18) that got the IMs. Then tried to tie it to the other kid( 16 year old) that got non-sexual but weird creepy not illegal emails, then they say that Hastert should have done something to Foley because he sent an email to a 16 year old that he didn't like.
OK, what values do the liberals stand for:
1. Sex education over abstinance
2. Teaching children masterbation (See Jocelyn Elders)
3. Lowering the age of consent to 12 (see Ruth Bater Ginsburg)
4. Abortions on demand
5. Make intenet Porn available to children with or without parental consent.
6. Promote the gay lifestyle as equal to marriage
7. Sex between a Congressmen and Page is consentual sex between adults.
8. Oral sex is not sex.
The idea that Democrats are going to protect children is laughable.
This was NOT a PRANK....this was a COUP attempt....and I can't WAIT for Louis Freeh and the FBI facts to come out!!
That is because to suggest switching to the "evil ones" to vote for anyone with a "d" by their names having no morals, unless the polls are the moral indicator; "Oops the wind changed direction so must I"
I WILL never vote dem-o-rat but stay home and let them have a chance by default? NEVER.
What coverup?
The same progressives who covered up Barney Frank's brothel and never bothered to ask the age of the members of his stable? (Were any of them 18?)
The same progressives who, if Hastert & Co. had followed their current prescription of jumping all over Foley form the moment of the first complaint would have accused the Republicans of homophobic hate-crimes, and would be dead-silent if Foley was a Democrat? At least we got rid of Foley -- Barney Frank is STILL THERE.
Who do you think you're trying to kid?
I guess if 'progressive' means progress in the way a tumor metastasizes, maybe you're right. 'Progressives' are nihilists.
And now a brief pause in our all Foley all the Time sleazy fest of unverifiable rumors and unprovable claims, here is today's news.
Third fresh record for Dow
High-Level Meeting in London Expected to Refer Iran to U.N. Over Nukes
The government can continue to use its warrantless domestic wiretap program pending the Justice Department's appeal of a federal judge's ruling outlawing the program, an Appeals Court in Cincinnati ruled on Wednesday,"
VA-Sen: George Allen Opens Double-Digit Lead
Bolton Backs Efforts to Disclose Annan Finances
Ohio Senate race back to tied in latest polling
California court backs ban on same-sex marriages
NATO takes command across all of Afghanistan
U.S. warns North Korea against nuclear test
New Mexican Republican Spokesperson Attacked
Interesting take? It's a boat load of excrement. It may take way longer than we would like but the real truth will win out before the election I believe. Some are in denial just like with Rathergate. Here is how I summed it up on another thread.
Last evening it broke who the most graphic IMs came from and the man involved was 18 at the time. He is also employed in the campaign of Istook for gov. He has also hired a criminal defense attorney.
Also the website that fed out the story existed for the sole purpose of ..feeding out the story in a way that most likely would damage the republicans. It had no traffic to it to speak of at all and yet with in minutes of coming out with the salacious IMs, they hit the sites like KOS, etc.
I would say the whole thing is a set up but it blew up last evening. Of course, like with Rathergate, the MSM will be in denial the whole way. I was expecting better from FOX.
I was encouraged also to read on Drudge that Speaker Hastert came right out and said that the people who want to see this splashed all over are demmocrat operatives and liberal groups funded by Soros. That doesn't sound like a man who is fearing a backlash for "harboring" a "pedophile" and then trying to play a blame game. jHe sounds confident enough to go on the offensive. So I have hope this will turn to the favor of decent people in our country.
There is presently little to no evidence to back up the allegation that the Republican leadership "knew" about "the Foley problem."
To date, all that it has been established that "the Republican leadership" knew was (without ever being provided the exact contents of the e-mail) that Foley had sent an overly-friendly, non-sexual e-mail to one page. The page requested that Foley be told to stop sending him e-mails, but also explicitly requested that no further action be taken. Foley was told to stop, and he did not send further e-mails to that page.
At present, there is no evidence that "the Republican leadership" knew, or had reason to know, that Foley had ever sent explicitly sexual e-mails or instant messages to pages or former pages. None. The author of this article misleads when he insinuates otherwise.
This fool is dreaming and will choke on crow on Nov 7th.
Wiley Coyote's latest madcap contraption got him within inches of grabbing the Road Runner, then the Coyote hit the stone wall, and it all came to an end in a second. That is what has happened, but the Democrats haven't informed all their robotlike aparatchiks in the field, so they will continue to make fools of themselves, at least till Sunday.
Sorry but at this point I must know more. How do I know that any of those words were written by Foley? How do I know they were not altered? It was a prank. How much of it was a prank?
My prediction is that tomorrow the republican leadership will continue to ignore that the boy was 18 and that it is all a prank. The republican leadership will continue to apologise for their "failures" and beg the nation for their "terrible management" and... well...the republican leadership will spend the rest of this 2006 campaign apologising just like Trent Lot did, Allen and to some extent the Pope.
The republican leadership are blinded and cannot see the record high DOW, the low gas prices, low unemployment rate, the fence on the border...
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