He should have added its not as bad as what Barney Frank (D-MA), Gerry Studds (D-MA) and Bill Clinton (D-AK) did either. I would have gone back further to Alger Hiss, Harry Dexter White, Nathan Silvermaster and Launchin Currie --individuals incredibly destructive to the Republic and democracy itself--but that is more of a long term reminder to the voting public rather than something to be brought up right before an election.
and yet, somehow the republic has survived your history lesson. we will survive foley as well.
here's the difference between the most recently compared examples. studds and frank were not hypocrites, voted consistently with their private convictions, did not break the law and made no attempt to cover up what they had done. studds was unapologetic and continued the relationship with a boy over the age of consent. icky, but he knew his constituency and it was up to them to vote him out, and they did not. frank kicked his lover out of his residence when he found out the man was running an escort ring. his biggest crime was fixing a few dozen parking tickets. not wise, but frank did not try to hide his sexuality and his constituency did not find it abhorrent to them. he was not a walking fraud to his own base.
enter foley. an anti-gay voting record to appeal to the Christian voting block, leadership in the house committee against missing and abused children, and now we find a decade long history of harassing kids on the hill, and a cover-up by the republican leadership seems likely to be proved over the next week or two.
you may disagree with all of the behavior, but the one that is abusive and cynical of the voting public is quite clear, and if ancient history is to be the judge, then watergate is in play, which was the same crime. cover-up and gross cynicism and disrespect toward the american voter. hopefully the evangelical voters will have enough self-respect not to be treated with such contempt, but we'll see.
this should be irrelevant as being so much water under the dam, but if we are going to be talking chappaquidick and alger hiss, well...............
