Rectitude and Propriety

Mark Foley was one of four hundred and thirty five. The US Congressman from Florida was not particularly known as a king maker or bill shaper when his moral lassitude had him chased from the House of Representatives. But what he was no doubt was a handy target for the dinosaur media and the Democrats that they should be made notorious as flacks for- Foley was a minor representative from a major state who could be used as a wedge in a triangulation strategy to peel off some conservative voters who otherwise would have stood with the GOP. And Foley's Capitol offense- he had exchanged racy text with some young but beyond the age of consent male pages. Disturbing yes, perhaps even disgusting to some but certainly no threat to the Republic. And some of the first and harshest critics of Foley's failings, including many calls for his resignation came from Foley's own party, Foley was immediately disowned by the GOP once the scandal became publicly known. Let us contrast this with the conduct of Democrats when dealing with the ongoing scandal that is influential New York Congressman Charles Rangel. The Ways and Means Committee Chairman has long and well-documented tax problems even though the body he chairs is responsible for writing US Federal tax laws. Finally caught in a fix that he can not escape, Rangel falls on his sword (temporarily giving up his leadership post but unlike Foley who was chased from Congress by his GOP colleagues, Rangel will not be ousted but remain in his seat, protected by the Democrat establishment) as Democrats and their propagandists in the old line press try to bury the Rangel affair before the aroma wafts into the rest of the already stinking party.