After Foley, New Fears For the GOP

[apnu]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/02/AR2006100201463_pf.html

After Foley, New Fears For the GOP
Some Say Party Could Lose House and Senate

By Dan Balz and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, October 3, 2006; A01

Republican strategists said yesterday that public revulsion over the sexually graphic online conversations between Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) and former House pages could compound the party's problems enough to tip the House to the Democrats in November -- and could jeopardize the party's hold on the Senate as well.

As House GOP leaders defended their role in handling revelations that forced Foley on Friday to give up his House seat, party strategists said the scandal threatens to depress turnout among Christian conservatives and could hamper efforts to convince undecided and swing voters that Republicans deserve to remain in the majority.

There was intense anger among social conservative activists in Washington yesterday, and some called for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to resign.

(snip ...)

By yesterday, a number of GOP strategists reported widespread gloom about the party's prospects, combined with intense anger at the House leadership.

Joe Gaylord, who was the top adviser to Newt Gingrich (Ga.) when Republicans seized control of the House in 1994, was pessimistic about the party's midterm prospects. He said the fallout from Foley's resignation comes "very close" to ensuring a Democratic victory in November.

"The part that causes the greatest fallout is the obvious kind of pall that an incident like this would put on our hardest-core voters, who are evangelical Christians," he said. "The thing I have said almost since this cycle began is the real worry you have is that just won't turn out. This is one more nail in that coffin."

(snip ...)

Republicans say they are in grave danger of losing the seat of former House majority leader Tom DeLay (Tex.), as well as those held by Rep. Robert W. Ney (Ohio) -- who agreed to plead guilty to corruption charges in the investigation into the activities of convicted former lobbyist Jack Abramoff -- and Rep. Don Sherwood (Pa.), who has been embroiled in a scandal over an affair.

In addition, Republicans have largely given up on holding the seat of retiring Rep. Jim Kolbe (Ariz.), and strategists are pessimistic about retaining open seats in Colorado and Iowa and the seat now held by Rep. John N. Hostettler (Ind.).

Some Republicans also said Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (N.Y.), the NRCC's chairman and one of the GOP leaders who knew about a non-graphic communication between Foley and a former page, could face an even tougher challenge for his Buffalo area seat. Reynolds and Hastert sniped at each other over the weekend about who knew what and when.

And oh so much more at the link above.

[C_U_L8R]

1. The Republicans lied to America about Foley... so

what else are they lying about ???
Seems to be a big fat pattern here.

Maybe they all need rehab...
or better... they should all be fired

[calimary]

10. Truly. But it's more like "what HAVEN'T they lied to us about?"

Their track record speaks for itself, I'm afraid.

[July]

2. My hope for decent people who call themselves Republicans:

This Foley matter will be the straw that broke the camel's back, and it will give them cover and psychological catharsis for abandoning the party that has alarmed them increasingly over the past five years.

[apnu]

4. funny thing about that straw from where I sit.

I work in an office that is 90% big business GOP. They still French bash here long after its become passe. Anyway, they all love to yell and bitch about how bad the GOP is, and I've heard them say 'this is the straw' over and over and over. Abu Ghraib, secret detentions, spiraling budget problems, intrusive government policies, bloated federal infrastructure and on and on and on.

Yet around election time when the TV ads get hot and heavy, they get all breathless about the GOP and get all fired up about them. Its amazing to watch the dysfunctional GOP mind work. Its as if their brains go on hold when the flag waving and liberal bashing begins. These guys will 'forget' the grievous sins they whine about all year and vote for these crooked liars. Its simply amazing to watch.

The real source of their dysfunction lies in their irrational hatred of all things Democrat. Bush could go on live TV eating a baby and they'd vote for him again. Cheney could have sex with a 12 year old boy on cable TV and they'd vote for him too. My point is, you can imagine the most horrible thing a person could do, and the people at my job would vote for that person so long as they aren't Democrat.

Sick, really sick.

[spag68]

5. Get out before you get slimed

Or call ghostbusters

[apnu]

6. nah, I've been here for years

And their slime just doesn't stick to me. I get a good paycheck, decent health-care package, and no one bugs me about how I run the network. For a sys admin, its a good job. Politically, its like eating glass every day. but then, living in a GOP controlled America is like eating glass everyday, so leaving here wouldn't change much for me, on that front.

Thanks for the advice tho. ;)

[July]

7. I hear you.

The demonization of Democrats, as illogical as it is, provides the opposite cover to the kind I mentioned in my post -- it allows Republicans to stay with the party they're more comfortable with overall, even when they are starting to feel UNcomfortable about some things, because the demonization makes them believe Republicans are the lesser of two evils.

But identification with the Republican party is down, so somebody's jumping ship. Maybe the jumpers just won't vote, because they can't bring themselves to vote for Democrats. That works for me. But a few could wake up. I did say "decent" people, and I still hope that those people don't instinctively go for demonization of anyone, particularly if they know some of those "demons" personally.

On the other hand, I can think of several of my own relatives who seem to be "normal" and "decent" who have just the attitude you describe and have said some very over the top and personally derogatory things to me because I'm not on their Republican team. So perhaps I'm too hopeful.

[apnu]

9. 'decent people' can't be applied to many in my office

The support staff are OK, hell even the compliance guy is OK. but the commodity brokers here are the very definition of greed. One guy actually said to me, rather sheepishly, a day after the 2004 election that he voted for Bush simply because of the tax issue. And that he knows, that Kerry would have been a better leader, and that Kerry would have provided more money for his daughter's school, and that Kerry would have cleaned up much of the smog and pollution that his daughter will have to suffer, but he 'just had to vote for his wallet' he said. WTF?!?!

[July]

13. That IS a WTF.

Apparently, benefits to his child matter not. I'm sure he believes he can use his fatter wallet to her benefit, but the smog or the lack of art classes at daughter's school aren't going to come out of that wallet.

I'm starting to wonder where the "decent" people are, too. I've had two of my cousins, who are like extra brothers to me, call me a liar when I told them some facts about Bush and his evil ways. They're not greedheads, but they do belong to the "America (and Republicans) can do no wrong" faction. I asked them, "what does it say about you that you'd call someone you've known since her birth a liar rather than accept something you don't want to hear about your cult leader?" Also, "get back to me after you've done your homework, I've done mine."

[apnu]

15. I would say about your cousins

That their denial on Bush is a direct challenge to their sense of patriotism. For America to be wrong on something is akin to them being, somehow fundamentally wrong themselves (or so they perceive). Its not greed that's messing with them, its pride. Another deadly sin.

I've got this whole theory that all of America's problems and ner'do wells can be categorized neatly into the 7 deadly sins. (What's even more odd about it, is I'm strictly secular in life and politics -- go figure)

[madmusic]

8. The 2 minutes, or 2 months, of hate is very effective n/t

[calimary]

11. Some souls simply cannot be saved.

I'd quit wasting my time on them. No reason to try to convert anybody there - sounds like these are people beyond all reach. Many of 'em are. They may hate the folks that brought them to the dance, and be revolted by what they're doing, but if the alternative is to vote for one of ours, watch them stay loyal as can be.

[apnu]

16. Thanks for the advice

But I learned in 2003 that I can't convert them. While they all collected around the TVs in the office jerking off to Bagdad being bombed into submission for no other reason that Bush wanted to, I knew then that these lung fish are not ever going to evolve.

[AX10]

14. I have to tell you that I am suprised to hear that big business people...

are into bashing foreigners and other groups. It's considered to be bad business to do so. Usually they are into making the greatest possible profit and taking the largest market share possible.

[apnu]

17. I know!

many in my job do over seas business (most of the American commodities business is tied up and its very hard to find new accounts here). I've seen these guys say the cattiest, nastiest, things about clients they were actively pursuing. The racial epitaphs I've heard them use against Germans, Israelis, and Brazilians is frankly shocking from a business perspective. I have no idea how these guys continue to raise business when they continually tear down the culture of the people they are trying to get money from. Bizarre.

[BOSSHOG]

3. Evangelical Christians don't care what foley did

they are just pissed that he got caught. He votes the right way for them. He votes for their "values." If he's out fucking young boys, so what, just don't get caught congressman.

[calimary]

12. Bingo. That's the republi-CONS' "12th Commandment."

Thou shalt not get caught.

Remember reagan's "11th Commandment"? Thou shalt not speak ill of other republi-CONS.

But seriously... TRULY, with many of these people, I can't help but suspect that they're just Macchiavellian enough to think of their party and their monopolies on power FIRST, and propriety, ethics and morals SECOND. Some of 'em are outraged at Foley because they're afraid he's gonna bring their "House" down. Not necessarily because of what he did. The fact that he got caught, and is making them all look bad, and giving them a huge eleventh-hour headache - THAT'S what's most galling to them. He's worthless to them because, in the end, he got caught - he's thereby proven himself to be NOT one of them, so they have no use for him.

You simply HAVE TO reach this conclusion because enough of them knew something nasty was up with him and the pages, AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT, for months and months. So in the best end-justifies-the-means tradition, they were able to reconcile it as somehow being okay. It was evidently not such a big problem that they couldn't easily sweep it under the rug and forget they'd heard anything about it - until it hit the national news. If they'd REALLY cared about the morality of it, they'd have been on his ass last year.

On edit - just found a NYTimes editorial posted here - that verifies this - Power Trumps EVERYTHING, and the PERPETUATION of that power ranks even HIGHER:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/03/opinion/03tue1.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

(snip)

History suggests that once a political party achieves sweeping power, it will only be a matter of time before the power becomes the entire point. Policy, ideology, ethics all gradually fall away, replaced by a political machine that exists to win elections and dispense the goodies that come as a result. The only surprise in Washington now is that the Congressional Republicans managed to reach that point of decayed purpose so thoroughly, so fast.

That House leaders knew Representative Mark Foley had been sending inappropriate e-mail to Capitol pages and did little about it is terrible. It is also the latest in a long, depressing pattern: When there is a choice between the right thing to do and the easiest route to perpetuation of power, top Republicans always pick wrong.