Am I the only Democrat, independent or good-hearted conservative in America who has just spent the last week watching the GOP start to implode -- but not helping them to do so?
I admit it. Since this Foley scandal broke, I've done nothing but read blogs and watch news about men hitting on boys, leaders lying, and media going crazy. What a show!!
But suddenly, it's 5 or 6 news cycles later, and (flip):
1. Foley isn't in jail,
2. Hastert is still in office,
3. Boehner is still in office,
4. Shimkus is still in office,
5. Alexander is still in office,
6. The Ethics Committee may be dragging its butt,
7. FBI may be dragging its butt, and
6. Republican spin-meisters are gaining traction among their flocks.
Moreover, I have not:
1. Contacted any Members of Congress about this issue,
2. Contacted any reporters, columnists or editorial pages,
3. Followed up the lies that Dobson and other evengelicals are telling,
4. Followed up the lies that Faux and other "news" sources are telling.
In other words, the GOP thugs who perpetrated this scandal may be coming out OK, at least in the short run, and I'm just standing by as they do so.
And don't tell me that "eventually" Hastert and Boehner will lose their leadership positions, the investigations will play out, etc. All of that is PRECISELY the goal of Republican pundits and power brokers right now.
What they DON'T want to happen is that the country will become so upset that all of this happens before next month's elections.
Well I AM that upset.
Because this story isn't about entertainment. It's not about schadenfreude. And it's not even about "politics" in any crass way.
It's about this:
(1) Real kids--some parents' 16 and 17 year-old boys, who had come to DC for no reaason other than to learn about American government--were abused by someone very powerful. And
(2) Several men in positions of enormous power refused to help those kids, because they were more interested in helping themselves.
It doesn't matter that those men happen to have been Republicans. If they had been Democrats, I would be just as outraged.
Kids were abused. Those men who could have stopped the situation are escaping responsibility, at least for now. And I haven't done a damn thing about it.