More Party, Party Party: Paying the Piper, Part One

I can say one good thing about the Mark Foley scandal -- at least it took some heavy media attention away from the tragedy of the Amish school children.

I live in southcentral Pennsylvania, as easy drive from Lancaster County, and there are Amish farms nearby. And it has been a bit frustrating to see this intrusion, knowing much of it is contrary to their beliefs. After all, our world had already brought so much sorrow into their lives.

And they have maintained the quiet seculsion of their community, and offered all of us an example in the strength of faith, and the power of forgiveness; as well as the example of living according to one's professed beliefs.

The Foley scandal became news a few days before that tragedy, and as I mentioned above, has now become the focus of media attention.

Of course House Speaker Hastert and other Republicans in Congress, especially those running for re-election aren't so happy to be in this particular spotlight.

Once again, Washington is playing the game of Who Knew What and When. And some Republicans are questioning the timing of the release of Foley's emails to the press, calling it all a political ploy.

Hey, NeoCons! If Mr. Foley hadn't been sending those emails to the Congressional pages, there wouldn't have been a scandal for the press to cover. How's that for a concept?

And from the various reports I've heard this past week or so, you had anywhere from a few months or possibly as much as three years to deal with the problem. You had ample time to nip this one in the bud.

Face it. By this time, you should all realize that sooner or later the truth will out, especially if that truth involve sex and and an elected official. This had catastrophe written all over it.

So don't whine now about political ploys or timing. As Hastert rightly proclaimed this week, the bucks stops on your doorstep.

Let's face it. At the very least, Foley is guilty of sexual harrassment. And from the emails deemed appropriate for media broadcast, he was merely one propostion away from the sleaze balls on those NBC Dateline pedophile sting programs.

And along with the scandal itself, because you didn't act when you first knew the what. You've now got at least the appearance of, but quite likely, an actual cover-up to explain.

So investigate yourselves as you please, and spin your spin as you must.

What many of US would like to see is having you explain your apparent inaction to the parents of the teenage pages.

You've got trouble, with a capital "T", which rhymes with "P", which stands for "Party."

Yes, Foley was one of your own. And recent history all too clearly shows that the Party protects its own. The Party only cares about the Party and its supporters. The Party must appear pure, at least until after the elections.

And that's the real problem, that need to appear, to appeal to your "Base."

Well, your Base is made up of people. People who deserve better than a Congress that spends the summer and early fall of each election year on legislation that almost but not quite addresses their concerns, but never really addresses issues which we really need to debate and legislate.

People who deserve a Congess that cares about all the people in America, not just those who can afford lobbyists or $1000 a plate fundraising dinners.

People who are the parents of minor children, including the parents of those teenage pages.

And so, dear NeoCons, whine and opine as you will.

If you lose your Base, it's because you dropped the ball.

You told us you were the Party of family values, and conservative religious values. But you tried to sweep Foley's puerile secrets under the House rug. What happened to your professed beliefs?

The voters have now become your judge and jury, and on November 7 you will be tried in the court of public opinion.

And you may find that we don't care so much about the Who, When, or What, as much as the WHY? That's the part that really matters: the Why. As in why wasn't action taken then instead of now?

You know, that same now that your griping about because it's only weeks before Election Day?

You chose politics over responsibility, silence above decency, and Party over propriety.

And in that moment, whenever it was, November 7, 2006 became your Judgement Day.