House Editorial: Scandal shows GOP priorities
Whatever happened to the party of ‘the buck stops here?’
Posted on October 5, 2006

If we have learned anything in the wake of former Rep. Mark Foley’s (R-Fla.) cyber-pedophilic brouhaha, it is that it doesn’t matter if one of your party member likes little boys — what’s important is that no one finds out.

At least House representatives aren’t missing the irony. They had a good chuckle that a pedophile is running the Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus, give Foley a slap on the wrist and send him on his way, but not before Foley’s attorney, David Roth, releases a statement saying that Foley was molested as a child. Oh, and he’s gay. And an alcoholic. Oops.

Watching Foley squirm under the lights is stomach-turning. He is flailing like a worm on hot pavement, attempting to get as much culpability off of his slimy body as possible. Attempting to finger the Catholic Church is a good start, considering its longstanding experience on the issue. And after this summer, when Mel Gibson blamed alcohol for his anti-Semitic tirade and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) went to the Mayo Clinic instead of driving school, putting the blame on demon rum doesn’t seem like too ridiculous an idea.

Roth said that Foley was recently released from a rehabilitation facility in which he was recovering from alcoholism and “coming to terms with who he is” — an alcoholic, homosexual pedophile who plays a children’s advocate on TV. May he be held responsible for it.

But more consequential for the nation is whether the Republican Party will come to terms with who they are. The notoriously conservative Washington Times called on Tuesday for House Speaker Dennis Hastert to let the buck stop with him for the problems within his party. “Either he was grossly negligent for not taking the red flags fully into account and ordering a swift investigation,” the paper wrote, “or he deliberately looked the other way in hopes that a brewing scandal would simply blow away.” Bigger oops.

A scandal like this is exactly what the Republican leadership did not need, heading full steam toward November. But there is no reason why election concerns should even appear to supercede the need for protection of minors. As the investigation gets underway and more sordid details continue to emerge from the halls of Congress, the Republican leadership must have a better answer than they have. If not, may they be held responsible for it.