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October 08, 2006

On Mark Foley And Other Matters

This post got a lot of comments over at Swede & Czech, so I though I'd cross post it here and see what you all thought.

Okay, I'm ready now to talk about Mark Foley, why I'm endorsing the Republican in Florida 16, and the Republican leadership.

First, lets start with former-Rep Mark Foley. May his higher power guide him to a place where he is not haunted by his demons, and may justice be executed in investigating any crimes that may have been committed. It's important that there be a full investigation into any possible crimes, and that Mark Foley be held accountable for those crimes.

However, I strongly disagree with the words of Democrat political consultant Paul Begala that "he would have taken him to the court of Smith & Wesson". That's all fine and dandy, Paul, and it sure does make you sound butch and all, but that's not the way our justice system works in this country, nor should it be.

Advice to Paul Begala - just because you're a Democrat doesn't mean you'll be confused with being gay if you don't come out and say that we should shoot Mark Foley. I'm disgusted by this comment, and generally becoming more and more disgusted with the inner workings of politics in general.

Which is a good lead in for my next subject - Why I have decided to publicly and strongly support Republican State Representative Joe Negron over Democrat candidate Tim Mahoney. Let me be clear, I know very little about Joe Negron. But I do know quite a bit about Tim Mahoney. Tim Mahoney is the only candidate in my entire political career that I actually refused to work with when I was at the DCCC. He's ignorant of politics and the laws around them, egomaniacal, and very anti-gay.

I also know people like Tim Mahoney that actually have been elected to Congress. They're the type of people that staffers, consultants, and even other Members cross the street to avoid when they see them coming rather than have to deal with a painful discussion with them. They accomplish little to nothing, go through staff like candy, and do stupid things that lead to scandal.

Democrats don't need to put forward candidates like this, and I am disappointed that our party actually recruited someone like this in the first place. I'd rather have a Republican who I disagree with but that I could stand to be in the same room with than Tim Mahoney. In my opinion, it would only be a matter of time before Mahoney broke the law in some way, probably out of stupidity.

But enough good words about a Republican. It's time to talk about the Republican leadership. The fact that Dennis Hastert is still Speaker of the House, while not surprising, is certainly disturbing. It's not surprising because the Republican Party has obviously lost touch with its humanity and is only focused on power. That's how someone like Hastert could learn of something like a very innappropriate email by a 52-year-old to a 16-year-old and do absolutely nothing about it.

Bay Buchanan spoke about this on CNN this week, and she got it absolutely right. (Did those words just come out of my mouth?) "That email had predator written all over it". That email was all that should have been necessary for the leadership that knew about it to do something. Instead, Dennis Hastert has a fuzzy memory. He had a chance to be a leader, and he failed that test. He needs to resign as Speaker of the House. The American people should be demanding it.

Tom Reynolds, chairman of the NRCC, tries his best to pass the hot potato. He thinks he should be off the hook because he told Hastert about it. Not so fast, Tom. After you knew about it and told Hastert, you recruited Mark Foley to run for re-election. You knew that he had sent this email and not only did you do (almost) nothing, you made the decision that Mark Foley was the best person to represent the people of Florida's 16th District! He needs to step down as Chairman of the NRCC. Republicans should be demanding it.

John Shimkus, head of the page program in the House of Representatives, tries to use the "Reynolds excuse" to get off the hook, as well. Sorry, John. You knew about this email and not only did you do as little as Mr. Reynolds, you allowed Mark Foley to host an unsupervised dinner with pages after you learned about this. You didn't inform others involved with the program in the Democratic or Republican Party. You sat on your hands. You couldn't even protect children that were put directly in your charge. How can we possibly think that he has the ability, or the ethics, to do what is best for the children of our country? He needs to be defeated in his re-election in November. The people of Illinois' 19th District should be demanding it.

Posted by Alan at October 8, 2006 04:59 AM