Sorry this is going to be short diary, because I'm on deadline today, but I've been poking around the tubes today, trying to get some insight into how Rove and the Religious Right are working on spinning the Foley debaucle.
Remember, the key to understanding the Republican strategy is in realizing that every tragedy -- whether it be a terrorsit attack, a hurricane, or the sexual abuse of children -- is just another opportunity.
Follow me below the jump.
Ok, so getting right down to brass tacks on the Foley case. I knew it would only be a matter of time before the harbingers of moral values, the Family Research Council, weighed in. Tony Perkins is predictably claiming that
Foley's real crime was being gay:
"We are all shocked by this spectacle of aberrant sexual behavior, but we shouldn't be. This is the end result of a society that rejects sexual restraints in the name of diversity. When a 16-year-old boy is not safe from sexual solicitation from an elected representative of the people, we should question the moral direction of our nation. If our children aren't safe in the halls of Congress, where are they safe? Maybe it's time to question: when is tolerance just an excuse for permissiveness?
"Both political parties need to be more serious about protecting children from sexual predators. We need public policy in our country that protects marriage, respects parental authority and aggressively polices boundaries around our children."
I heard him reiterate this line of attack on the Today Show this morning, but the transcript isn't up yet. He basically said that the Republicans would have felt free to come forward with the emails if they didn't have to be so afraid of being accused of gay bashing.
Of course, Rove is encouraging Republicans who are angry about pedophila to direct their anger approporately in the voting booth.
Rove has been overseeing a base strategy to rev up the troops on terrorism, taxes cuts and social issues that seemed to be working. There are amendments against same sex marriage on the ballot in eight states - including Tennessee and Arizona, where there are very tight Senate races - and last week it looked like the Republican base was doing what it usually does: "coming home."
I gotta run, and again, I apologize I don't have time to do more digging on this, but yowza, haven't we seen this before?