Slither hither, all you neo-con champions of traditional values. Let us hear your words about who is to blame for the gay Republican sex scandal on Capitol Hill. Tell us, you who promote personal responsibility, exactly who is responsible for Mark Foley engaging in steamy emails with underage males. Show us how to confess our sins, repent, seek forgiveness, learn from our mistakes and move forward. You Republicans are always talking about responsibility. Let's hear you assign responsibility instead of rationalizations in the Foley affair.
For starters, sister Michelle Malkin, preach that Democrats and the media are ever bit as responsible as the GOP. "It makes Republicans who downplay the messages -- and Democrats and journalists who sat on them -- look recklessly flippant about sexual predation."
Brother Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council (FRC), said on CNN that while "there's no defense of this behavior ... it shouldn't be totally surprising when we hold up tolerance and diversity as the guidepost for public life." The staunch anti-gay activist also said "[T]his is what you end up getting: a congressman chasing 16-year-old boys down the halls of Congress." Hallelujah, brother, a gay Republican Congressman wouldn't be hitting on young boys if it hadn't been for liberals advocating tolerance of gays instead of beating the stuffing out of them.
The mighty Wall Street Journal editorialized that "in today's politically correct culture, it's easy to understand how senior Republicans might well have decided they had no grounds to doubt Mr. Foley merely because he was gay and a little too friendly in emails. Some of those liberals now shouting the loudest for Mr. Hastert's head are the same voices who tell us that the larger society must be tolerant of private lifestyle choices . . ." Blame it once again on the liberals that an adult man was trying to have sex with a minor. We liberals are all for predatory pedophiles having the rights to sexually exploit children. Foley is not responsible for his personal behavior. Liberals are.
Liberals are also responsible for all the controversy about Foley. Ask Rush Limbaugh and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Il, who stands accused of doing too little for too long:
Limbaugh: "Nancy Pelosi knows the person who planted the story about Foley five weeks before the election. . . Well, I can almost guarantee it. She might not know who specifically did it. But she knows where it comes from. All the liberal Democrats do."
Hastert: "[T]here are some people that try to tear us down. We are the insulation to protect this country, and if they get to me, it looks like they could affect our election as well." (Yes, Dennis, this whole campaign is to take you down so that the Republican party will finally fall. You're that important and without you, the forces of good might fail to save the planet from Satan's hordes of liberals.)
Limbaugh: "Well, it's clear to me that what the Democrats are doing here in some sort of cooperation with some in the media is to suppress conservative turnout by making it look like you guys knew this all along but because you're so interested in holding the House rather than protecting children that you covered it up."
Get that? The only reason anybody is upset about what Foley did is because Democrats are wanting to get Hastert and other Republicans defeated. Otherwise, what American would have the slightest interest in one of the Republican's point men in the fight against predators being a predator himself?
Fox News' Sean Hannity seems to agree: "I want to know why these instant messages were held back until now. Who knew about them? Why did they hold them back? Did they do it for political reasons? In other words, were they held back to maximize the political impact before an election?" Hannity also asked in regarding the outrage over Foley's behavior if "there [is] any principle left?"
Not among Democrats, according to Limbaugh, who said that "Folks, you don't know the Democrats like I do. . . Is there a political party that would stoop this low? Yes, there is. We know that there is a political party that would stoop this low to set somebody up this way." Yep, Democrats groomed a teenage male to sexually entice Foley into scandal.
Listen to Michael Savage that "this kid was a, was leading him on. . . Who is the kid? Maybe he's a Democrat. . . Is there a real kid? . . . This kid was baiting him. This kid was playing with him, he's no innocent kid. This kid went to Washington to get ahead, let's be very clear. . . He went to Washington to get ahead. So he's a greedy, aggressive child from a family that was pushing him like a stage mother. All right, so he knew how to play a congressman who was gay on the gay theme." So it was a seductive boy trained by the Democrats that was responsible for Foley's personal behavior. How could a poor adult congressmen possibly defend himself against the sophisticated lures of a teenage page? Personal responsibility is too much to ask in such a case.
But according to Republican Congressman Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Il, it was really the underling staffers who were responsible because they "should have acted more responsively" in having "brought this to the attention of the speaker." That's right. Foley's employees should have saved him from himself. How is a Congressman to lead a nation if his underlings don't lead him?
Then again, when asked who was responsible, neo-con Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol opined that "Foley is responsible for it, and the voters in Florida, I guess, who elected him. Maybe they should have known better. But, of course, no one knows. These things happen."
And this, ladies and gentlemen, and all points in between, is the Republican party which promotes taking personal responsibility and champions itself as the defender of traditional Christian values. Scandals happen, but who knows why? Certainly, it is never the fault of a Republican. For any of you predators out there that get snared in a Dateline sting operation, just say that you are a Republican being set up by liberals and the right will come running like a pack of howling hounds.
B. 1952, GA, USA. D. To Be Determined. Beloved husband, father, grandfather, lover, confidant and friend of many from bikers to Zen masters; American writer and speaker, known for his criticism of Mammon's unholy trinity of big business, big government and big religion; served the least of them professionally as psychologist and voluntarily as activist for decades; loved to shoot basketball, billiards and the bull; lived free, died game. (memorial sketch by davidhewsonart.com)
You know, there is nothing the Republicans can do at this point to come up smelling like a rose on this one. Yes, they are pulling every lie and twisted truth out of their bag of tricks, but it's simply not going to work.
There is no denying Foley's actions. Trying to blame it on "alcoholism" won't make it go away. Trying to blame it on his supposedly being molested by a "clergyman" when he was a teen won't make it go away. Trying to blame it on gays won't make it go away. Trying to say it was a Democratic conspiracy won't make it go away. Trying to say it was politically motivated to upset the upcoming midterms won't make it go away. Blaming it on the pages not only won't make it go away, it will strike a seriously diminished chord (for the music geeks, you know what I mean).
America is long past the idea that rapists rape because their victims dressed "seductively". How many child molesters have claimed that the child was trying to seduce them? No, that's not how it happens. Americans know that, and they won't let that one slip by unnoticed.
The responsibility for this debacle rests completely on the shoulders of the power elite in the Republican Party. No amount of spin can change that fact. With the recent coming forward of a page who was on the receiving end of Foley's advances in 1997, the chances of people being baffled by bullshit into buying the lie that no one in power knew is going to evaporate like rain on a sun-baked highway.
Also, with as many Republicans demanding an investigation as Democrats, and with many also now distancing themselves from Speaker Hastert, the spin alchemists' words ring more hollow than ever before. How can they even hope to spin this around in a good direction when even conservatives are demanding investigation?
They can't.
So let them rant. They are only digging their graves with their tongues. How many parents of molested children are going to stand still for this travesty of spin? How many friends of the parents of these children are going to stand for it? None of them. How many are going to resent this blatant attempt to shift blame from the criminal to the victim? All of them!
I have said in many comments and articles on this topic that it's not going to fade away. No, we Americans just love the lurid way too much to let this one go. How many people still condemn President Clinton for his cigar-smoking, dress-staining tryst with Monica? If that one still hasn't faded, you can bet Foleygate will capture the imagination of the lurid-loving American public for years to come.
Blessed be!
Pappy
by
Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 860 comments)
on Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 1:15:08 PM
I'd not bet against it not being a republican. IT may even be a high up one, as it sure took the heat off the LYING administration. Between the Intelligence report and the Woodward book, it was looking way bad for them. Then add in the number of deaths this week, service personnel and Iraqi civilians. How much play did yesterday's story about the Iraqi police (whom we've trained) being pulled off the streets of Baghdad, to be replaced by US servicemen, get? They are so corrupt, the Iraqi people are cheering when they are replaced.
by
Pat Herrick (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 154 comments)
on Friday, October 6, 2006 at 12:52:21 PM
In my opinion, it doesn't matter who planted the story. The fact remains that the genie continues to swirl around the hallowed halls of congress. That genie will remain out of his bottle. There is no hope of putting him back inside. With the spin alchemists just about out of straws to grasp, and the nation finally fed up with congressional mendacity, the only hope the Republicans have is if suddenly everyone in the US was stricken with amnesia. That ain't gonna happen!
I also need to add that I wish the people who are saying this is diverting attention from other issues would take a moment and ponder what this scandal really means.
It is a sex scandal. There is nothing like a good old sex scandal to capture the imagination of the lurid loving American mind. It ran free in the news for days before the spin alchemists could even get a handle on how to spin the story. Now the spin alchemists are grasping at all straws to attempt damage control, and their efforts are as transparent as the glass of the monitor on which you are reading these words. The fact that this scandal has cast an incredibly unflattering light upon congressional Republicans pretty much insures a turn over in November.
I make all those points for this reason: it is my opinion that this scandal is going to start a long series of investigations. Not only are they going to investigate this stink bomb, you can rest assured that if I am right about congressional turnover in November, that investigation will only be one of many that are sure to uncover all manner of rot within the system. The heads are going to be rolling like spilled peas off the dinner table.
I want to be clear to pattyaitch, I am not singling you out in this. I have spoken to others whose comments and articles have said the same thing. I have said the same thing to everyone.
Let's stop looking this gift horse in the mouth, and keep the pressure on congress and the investigating committee. Yes, it is deflecting attention from other important issues, but that deflection is not a bad thing. By focusing on this travesty, the hypocrisy of the Republican Party and their Neo-con corporate media mouthpieces is going to be shown in the unflattering light it deserves. This is not a bad thing in the least. It is perhaps the best news that has descended upon the world of the progressive movement in a very long time. Let's celebrate it, not condemn it.
Blessed be!
Pappy
by
Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 860 comments)
on Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 3:27:51 PM
3 comments
How would you rate this?
You must be logged in (if signed up) to do ratings.
It's free to signup! And easy. And takes just a minute or two....
Must Read (
Well Said (
News (
Touching (
Funny (
Supported (
Interesting (
Inspiring (
Valuable (
