More on La Cage Aux Foley
Read More About: 2006 Elections, Corruption, Republicans,
First, HT to Jane for the title phrase of this post.
Second, it’s clear Hastert’s days as Speaker are over. If the Republicans keep their majority, they’ll probably think hard before voting him in again. And if the Democrats win, well…you do the math. The only question left is this: will he last until the election? My guess is that he will, but that’s just my hunch.
Finally, and most importantly, I’d like to point out something you’ve probably already noticed: that Republican apologists are saying that all of this is the Democrats’ fault.
The most ridiculous assertion by Republican loyalists is that the Democrats knew about Foley all along — emails and IMs and all — and waited to spring their October surprise. This, of course, is disputed by ABC News who broke the story last week.
Other Republican apologists are suggesting that the Democrats are to blame, in a larger sense, for Foley preying on those pages. Some (e.g., the Christian Right) are saying that “our sex-drenched culture” encouraged and/or enabled Foley. Translation: the Democrats loooooove to drench things in sex. Others (I’m talking to you, Newt Gingrich) have said that Republicans were afraid to pull the trigger on Foley because they’d be accused of, you know, gay-bashing. Jon Stewart had the best come-back for that:
By the way, equating a 52-year-old Congressman who preys on 16-year-olds with being gay may be one reason that the GOP is being accused of gay-bashing.
And no less than the Wall Street Journal editorial page disingenuously suggested that the Democrats were OK with protecting gay scoutmasters so why all the fuss now? But they gloss over an important point — gay men are not always predatory males, nor are predatory males always gay.
No to all of them. Just no.
The fact is, what Foley did was wrong and everyone knows it. And, knowing it was wrong, the House leadership swept it under the rug, for whatever reason we cannot say. Perhaps they feared losing his seat, perhaps they feared losing face, perhaps they feared losing power. Who knows? But it’s clear now that Foley being gay was the least of it.
So for the Republicans to divert attention away from their own corrupt leadership by somehowing equate this scandal with their own anti-gay platform is wrong and no one should be fooled by it.
So, if you’ve had enough of their crap, vote for change — vote Democratic. Because that is the only way to say that everyone should be held accountable for their actions.
UPDATE: Jonah Goldberg joins the masses of clueless, finger-pointing Republicans.
First, HT to Jane for the title phrase of this post.
It’s not bad, but the Daily Show headline on the story last night pulled my laughing muscles.
“Foley Erect?”
Until the election? Hastert ain’t lasting the week.
Dare I say it, but sometimes you’re awful, um…conservative with your hunches sometimes. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, a-hem) B-)
So, as the liberal half of this show, I think that there’s something exploitable about yet another double standard of the GOP exposed by this scandal.
I haven’t done the research, but I’ll be liberal in my bet that Foley voted in complete lock-step with the anti-gay GOP agenda.
Joe Scarborough said he knew immediately that Foley was gay. Scarborough also said never saw him drunk but broke the story that Foley was prevented from entering the page dorm, intoxicated, by the Capitol police one night.
Cynicism like this, grabbing the power and cash in direct contradiction of who and what you are, is not strictly a GOP phenomenon, but it certainly nourished within that party.
Okay, I’m doing my homework.
For fun…Foley was on:
The Beef Caucus
Don’t forget, he was with the leadership — Deputy Whip.
From Project Votesmart
Hungry and defenseless — that’s how he liked his kids… “Want some candy?”
Sorry for that one, couldn’t resist.
BUT, he voted against the Same Sex Marriage Resolution for Amending the Constitution.
Okay, a mixed record on the gay-bashing. Figures. That’s why I don’t gamble — I’d always pick the longshot and “gut” picks (Like F*ckin’ Cleveland.)