Well, you knew Fred Hiatt & Co. wouldn't
sit passively as the Republicans sank themselves with another scandal:
The Redder They Are, The Harder They Fall -
Republicans More Damaged by Scandals
Sex scandals involving politicians are as old as Thomas Jefferson, but the outcome seems to depend on which party you represent. In recent years, for the most part, Democrats have been able to survive their sordid escapades while Republicans have paid with their political lives.
The latest example: Mark Foley...
It only get's worse. More on the flip.
This grotesque piece of right-wing propaganda --by Paul Farhi-- is simply outrageous:
Foley's creepy behavior might have done him in even if he'd been the most liberal of Democrats. But that's not assured. With a Republican at the center of the seamy scandal, however, it was almost a slam-dunk that Foley would have to quit.
That's how it usually turns out for members of the conservative, traditional-family-values party. Just ask Bob Livingston, Jack Ryan, Bob Packwood, Dan Crane or others in the GOP who've watched their careers go pffft! with salacious disclosures. Or ask Bill Clinton, Gerry Studds, Barney Frank and other Democrats who've withstood embarrassing revelations to govern another day.
Can you believe this crap?
Farhi then proceeds with standrd right-wing cherry-picking examples to misinform readers. For example, he notes that while Rep. Bob Livingston resigned during the Clinton impeachment over an extra-marital affair, Clinton himself survived impeachment. He ignores Rep. Henry Hyde, whose political career proceeded unabated after his own affair was exposed around the same time as Livingston's.
Expect the Repubican Rght spinners to make this same argument, using these same example in the coming days * weeks.
Here's my letter to Farhi. These guys deserve to be slammed hard:
Mr. Farhi,
Your article "The Redder they are" presented biased facts to conclude that, "Democrats have been able to survive their sordid escapades while Republicans have paid with their political lives."
You omitted Republican Rep. Henry Hyde, whose extra-marital affair was revealed by the cuckolded husband as Hyde led the impeachment of President Clinton. Hyde dismissed it as a "youthful indescretion," though he was 41 at the time.
Likewise Rep. Helen Chenoweth-Hage, Rep. Don Sherwood, Rep. Randy Kuhl, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Rep. Newt Gingrich, and Clarence Thomas --all Republicans whose careers were unhindered by revelations of sordid scandals. Even the late Sen. Strom Thurmond got a free pass: the Senate dedicated a chamber in his honor after it was revealed that he'd concealed an out-of-wedlock child he fathered with an underage black housekeeper.
You also left out prominent Democrats whose careers were ended by sordid scandals, like Gov. Jim McGreevey, Rep. Mel Reynolds, and HUD Sec. Henry Cisneros (Republicans spent $21 million over 10 years investigating Cisneros).
At a time when Republican political operatives are trying to contain damage from the page scandal, it appears you are willingly doing partisan spinning for them by using selective facts. Not only is this journalistically unethical, it is a huge disservice to Post readers.
I hope you will publish a prompt correction.
Regards,
[xXxXxX]