a higher standard?
Well, Mark Foley and Dennis Hastert have pretty much dominated the news this week, so much that Kim Jong Il o the DPRK is threatening to set off a nuke to get back into the limelight. He might do just as well putting together a song and dance act and trying for a spot on "America's Got Talent".
You already know about Mr. Foley, a (now resigned) Congressman from Florida who was alledgedly trolling for a little action with more than a few male pages in the U.S. House.
So what?
I do not approve of or condone these actions one bit, but had he been hitting on female pages, he would have been considered to be nothing more than a sleazy old man, whose career would, like a submarine, suddenly go quiet, until something else commanded the nations jaundiced eye.
As this scandal has unfolded and escalated, we have seen many side issues come up that are meant to influence public opinion. Were the pages of legal age for this kind of thing? Is the Congressman a pedophile? And most significantly, who knew and when? This question seems to be where the battle is shaping up...
The Speaker of the House, Mr. Hastert, seems to be taking the brunt of the criticism, at first by default, but now by design, (he seems to be making himself a target), probably on the logic that he will be able to survive the onslaught, and thus spare other colleagues a few hits that might mortally wound them.
All this to preserve the republican majority in the House of Representatives. The House Ethics Committee is already issueing subpoena's in order to get to the bottom of the page scandal, (pun intended). I am willing to bet that the GOP controlled panel will try furiously to push the blame for the scandal off on the Democrats, (they knew he was a pervert for a long time, but waited, just so the voters, whose attention span is notoriously short, will wreak havoc on election day!!!), and provide a measure of absolution to the Speaker and others close to the fray.
This says something about the nature of American politics, and the nature of the voters that so many parties who should be disinterested are going to such lengths to tarr the reputations of, (or deflect said tarring). As I sit and contemplate the whole insignificance of this, I am at a loss to actually describe what I am thinking.
But that hasn't stopped me before....
Somewhere, in the basement of our national psyche, is the notion that our leaders are somehow different than we are. The status of being different then tends to lend itself to being better than we are, (in the form of being entitled to more of a lot of things, less of others, tangible and intangible), and being in a group that is by most measures, better off, they become a class in themselves. And when one of them displays the traits that we associate with, you know, common folk, well, the immune system of that (perceived) class goes nuts and moves frantically to both distance itself from, and then rid itself of the common infection.
That's what we are seeing here.
The Speaker of the House, (who, by-the-way, is no friend of mine), is stepping forward to take the hits of his colleagues, who may be in danger of having some of their veneer chipped off in this. The reaction of the Congress should have been that, well, the guy was a scuz and he got what he had coming to him, and then moved immediately to some substantive issue, (or as substantive as they tend to actually deal with). He did it, he's gone, that is that. The real issue is rather narrow and is centered on the ex-Congressman's behavior, not who knew what or when, or who the real party of truth and virtue is, although that is what we are gonna get a heapin' helpin of.
The Congress, the Senate, the Judiciary and even the Presidency are composed of folks just like us. Now and again, you get one that likes a little drink every now and then, or perhaps has a slightly overcharged libido, or likes certain little games of sexual nature. Just like the rest of us. But we treat them differently. We all know somebody like this, in one way or another, and we deal with it. Is it a major surprise that somebody in Congress has some of these issues? What really surprises me is that the guy's voting record has not been pulled out and smeared. Is it possible, that there really is less to this than meets the eye of the TV camera?
Stay focused.
update 1: (first seen on The Tome of Communism)
The FOX network, home of "The O'Reilly Factor" was spotted running a video clip of the ex-Congressman, showing in the banner below the image, his party affilliation as being Democrat. The truth is that Mark Foley is and always has been a Republican. This might have been an innocent error, (yeah, right), but it is awfully convenient.
Have you noticed that the party on the left is saying little, (and virtually nothing in the way of accusation), while the party on the right is squirming like a gerbil in a bathhouse, (pun intended--again), trying to throw off some of the taint that seems to be settling over them in any way that they can?
update 2:
Well, OK, this will settle things. That bastion of unbiased journalism, Rush Limbaugh, has spoken out, suggesting that this entire episode was orchestrated by the Democrats. To give him an extreme amount of leeway, (and I don't believe this), maybe it was. The Congressman was still the one cruisin' in the Capitol. Period. Had his behavior been a bit more above board, this entire episode would be nonexistant.
One more thing. If Mr. Foley had been a Democrat, (as opposed to simply being annointed one by the FOX network), I am certain that he would have been blasted my any number of pundits. To see what they have said about his behavior, see this entry from the Daily Kos.
Pay attention. Vote. And disregard everything you see and hear from the media and internet.
Go with your senses and your gut. Vote what is best for you. Face it, you can't do any worse...
You already know about Mr. Foley, a (now resigned) Congressman from Florida who was alledgedly trolling for a little action with more than a few male pages in the U.S. House.
So what?
I do not approve of or condone these actions one bit, but had he been hitting on female pages, he would have been considered to be nothing more than a sleazy old man, whose career would, like a submarine, suddenly go quiet, until something else commanded the nations jaundiced eye.
As this scandal has unfolded and escalated, we have seen many side issues come up that are meant to influence public opinion. Were the pages of legal age for this kind of thing? Is the Congressman a pedophile? And most significantly, who knew and when? This question seems to be where the battle is shaping up...
The Speaker of the House, Mr. Hastert, seems to be taking the brunt of the criticism, at first by default, but now by design, (he seems to be making himself a target), probably on the logic that he will be able to survive the onslaught, and thus spare other colleagues a few hits that might mortally wound them.
All this to preserve the republican majority in the House of Representatives. The House Ethics Committee is already issueing subpoena's in order to get to the bottom of the page scandal, (pun intended). I am willing to bet that the GOP controlled panel will try furiously to push the blame for the scandal off on the Democrats, (they knew he was a pervert for a long time, but waited, just so the voters, whose attention span is notoriously short, will wreak havoc on election day!!!), and provide a measure of absolution to the Speaker and others close to the fray.
This says something about the nature of American politics, and the nature of the voters that so many parties who should be disinterested are going to such lengths to tarr the reputations of, (or deflect said tarring). As I sit and contemplate the whole insignificance of this, I am at a loss to actually describe what I am thinking.
But that hasn't stopped me before....
Somewhere, in the basement of our national psyche, is the notion that our leaders are somehow different than we are. The status of being different then tends to lend itself to being better than we are, (in the form of being entitled to more of a lot of things, less of others, tangible and intangible), and being in a group that is by most measures, better off, they become a class in themselves. And when one of them displays the traits that we associate with, you know, common folk, well, the immune system of that (perceived) class goes nuts and moves frantically to both distance itself from, and then rid itself of the common infection.
That's what we are seeing here.
The Speaker of the House, (who, by-the-way, is no friend of mine), is stepping forward to take the hits of his colleagues, who may be in danger of having some of their veneer chipped off in this. The reaction of the Congress should have been that, well, the guy was a scuz and he got what he had coming to him, and then moved immediately to some substantive issue, (or as substantive as they tend to actually deal with). He did it, he's gone, that is that. The real issue is rather narrow and is centered on the ex-Congressman's behavior, not who knew what or when, or who the real party of truth and virtue is, although that is what we are gonna get a heapin' helpin of.
The Congress, the Senate, the Judiciary and even the Presidency are composed of folks just like us. Now and again, you get one that likes a little drink every now and then, or perhaps has a slightly overcharged libido, or likes certain little games of sexual nature. Just like the rest of us. But we treat them differently. We all know somebody like this, in one way or another, and we deal with it. Is it a major surprise that somebody in Congress has some of these issues? What really surprises me is that the guy's voting record has not been pulled out and smeared. Is it possible, that there really is less to this than meets the eye of the TV camera?
Stay focused.
update 1: (first seen on The Tome of Communism)
The FOX network, home of "The O'Reilly Factor" was spotted running a video clip of the ex-Congressman, showing in the banner below the image, his party affilliation as being Democrat. The truth is that Mark Foley is and always has been a Republican. This might have been an innocent error, (yeah, right), but it is awfully convenient.
Have you noticed that the party on the left is saying little, (and virtually nothing in the way of accusation), while the party on the right is squirming like a gerbil in a bathhouse, (pun intended--again), trying to throw off some of the taint that seems to be settling over them in any way that they can?
update 2:
Well, OK, this will settle things. That bastion of unbiased journalism, Rush Limbaugh, has spoken out, suggesting that this entire episode was orchestrated by the Democrats. To give him an extreme amount of leeway, (and I don't believe this), maybe it was. The Congressman was still the one cruisin' in the Capitol. Period. Had his behavior been a bit more above board, this entire episode would be nonexistant.
One more thing. If Mr. Foley had been a Democrat, (as opposed to simply being annointed one by the FOX network), I am certain that he would have been blasted my any number of pundits. To see what they have said about his behavior, see this entry from the Daily Kos.
Pay attention. Vote. And disregard everything you see and hear from the media and internet.
Go with your senses and your gut. Vote what is best for you. Face it, you can't do any worse...
posted by eccentric recluse at 6:56 AM
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