There is much to be disgusted by in the Mark Foley scandal. The fact that a Congressman used his authority to sexually prey on young boys. That when caught, Foley blamed alcoholism and the clergy, rather than taking responsibility for his actions. That the Speaker of the House, a leader of Foley’s party, appears to be lying about when he was informed about Foley’s behavior. That the conservative Washington Post is scapegoating Speaker Hastert, ignoring that there are other Republicans to blame. That anti-abortion Republicans are distancing themselves from Foley, claiming he was a "Pro-Choice" and "Pro-Gay Rights" Republican. That FoxNews mistakenly claimed -- three times -- that Foley is a Democract. That the so-called liberal press has used the story as an opportunity to conflate homosexuality with pedophilia, calling it "a homosexual pedophilia scandal."
But most shameful of all may be the fact that
Foley was indulged and tolerated. He headed, of all things, a House caucus on missing and exploited children. There was never a serious inquiry into his curious conduct, and to underline the partisan backdrop, Democrats on the ethics review panels were kept uninformed about the allegations against Republican Foley.
Ironic, isn't it, that a pedophile might have a professional interest in exploited children? Even when they don't mean to, the Republicans still manage to put the fox in charge of the henhouse.
