A few days late into the fray, but late enough to get past the initial reactions and re-reactions and attempts to spin, the
Star Tribune has joined the Mark Foley discussion and
places the blame on the GOP House Leadership.
Hastert's scorn comes a little late. A Washington citizens' group had asked the FBI to investigate Foley last July. Reps. John Boehner, the majority leader; Tom Reynolds, the campaign chairman; and John Shimkus, chair of the House Page Board, had known for months about Foley's e-mail messages to a 16-year-old boy, but kept it secret from the Page Board's Democratic member. When ABC News broke the story last week, Foley promptly resigned.
Unfortunately they don't mention that the other Republican Page Board member wasn't told either.
More below.
You know it's not good when you're compared directly with Bernard Law...
[...]who painted himself as a children's champion against sexual predators and led, with Hastert's blessing, the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. Irony hangs thick for the "party of family values" to have harbored a man of Foley's habits.
Hastert says he was "duped" by Foley. But, as with the pedophile scandals in the Catholic Church, it's likely that House Republican leaders avoided tough questions about him for fear of what they might find. Suspicions could wait until after November. Then, perhaps, they could ride out the accusations of hypocrisy they knew they would face when the Foley story broke.
...or look like him...
This scandal is already having an effect on our Congressional races. in MN-06, as Kos linked to, Patty Wetterling is using this case to point out her long advocasy to protect our children from this kind of behavior. In MN-02, according to TPM, GOP Representative John Kline says he stands with Hastert "100%." Those of you who live in MN might want to let the Star Tribune know how you feel about that stance.