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DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

“Alexa, change the president.”

American history and black history cannot be separated.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

How stupid are these people?

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

You are here: Home / Politics / Bad Weekend For The GOP

Bad Weekend For The GOP

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Talk about a bad weekend to take off huffing glue blogging. When I first heard about this Foley story, right before I dropped off the radar, it seemed like a minor kerfuffle. As far as I could tell he didn’t even touch anybody. Now Abramoff, there’s a juicy scandal. Forget about one guy’s bad netiquette (to put it mildly), Abramoff had already brought down a fistful of GOP luminaries and exposed a massive criminal enterprise that corrupted the basic core of our governmental system. Just look at the latest reoprt – the White House plainly lied through its teeth when it tried to minimize the extent of its contacts with Abramoff’s operation.

Except, as Kevin Drum points out, the Abramoff story is basically white-collar crime and white-collar crime is boring. People generally assume that politicians are crooks anyway, at least as far as money is concerned. So a little more crookedness in appropriations and policymaking will generally interest federal investigators more than it will your average news consumer. There seems to be a general shrugging of shoulders when a politician gets caught doing what everybody assumes that they’re doing anyway. Even when, like in the case of William Jefferson, they do it with a bit of tabloid flair.

Looking back over forty eight hours of reporting I am not sure that I have ever been this wrong. Clearly the lesson is that whatever politicians do with our money people really, really don’t like politicians messing with our kids. Whack me three times with the obvious bat. Foley undoubtedly did the right thing by rapidly checking out of Congress and into rehab. But in this scandalquake, politically speaking, the survivors may soon begin to envy the dead.

Did the House leadership know about Foley’s problems one year ago? Five years ago? Either way Hastert and Boehner come out looking incompetent, at least, for doing nothing. From a criminal perspective their refusal to act may expose then to conspiracy charges and from a political perspective their decision to let the Foley campaign go ahead with this massive shoe waiting to drop seems inexcusable. Kos has a credible account of what may have motivated Hastert’s thinking:

Foley represented a moderately conservative district, FL-16. In 2000, Bush beat Gore 53-47. In 2004, Bush beat Kerry 54-46. It was a district which Foley had represented since 1994, with his worst showing his first election with a 58% victory. In 2002 he won with 79%, in 2004 with 68%. This was a safe Republican district. Foley also raised a lot of money, and as the recent $100K gift from Foley to the NRCC attests, the party needed his fundraising skills.

Then 2006 rolls around. The GOP is facing a tough reelection with history, Bush, and their own incompetence weighing down their chances. The DCCC has had a banner fundraising and candidate recruitment year. And suddenly, Foley faces the GOP’s worst nightmare in Tim Mahoney — a Democratic challenger who 1) was a former Republican, and 2) is worth $8 gazillion and can self-fund his race. Mahoney announced his candidacy October 12, 2005, right around the time the House leadership was trying to figure out what to do about Foley’s predatory practices.

Without Foley on the ticket, not only would the GOP suddenly face a competitive contest in a relatively safe district, but it would cost them $2-3 million to defend — money that they no longer have available.

A risky gamble, but gambling is what Republicans do. See war, Iraq.

Also via dKos, a simple explanation from ABC’s news blog about why this story has spiraled out of control:

Here’s how one senior Democratic aide summed up the Foley situation this morning for The Note: “The R’s desperately want this to be about whether or not they knew of the sexually explicit e-mails/I.M.’s.

“Most parents we talked to over the weekend (including my own conservative R mom) feel the issue is that the R’s were given and ignored a huge warning with the first set of e-mails.”

“Had there been an investigation at that time, the sexually explicit emails may have been uncovered. But, Members lost that opportunity when the R’s chose to protect Foley instead of those kids.”

Finally, read this political analysis from Josh Marshall. If he’s right, well, super, but once in a while I would like to see the Democrats win on their own merits and not because the Republicans took a ten-meter triple lutz* into an empty swimming pool.

(*) Yes that is a figure skating term. I didn’t actually take off from huffing glue.

***Update***

For those few still wondering whether WH Press Secretary Tony Snow is your archetypal wingnut hack, please click through to a slightly shrill Joe Gandelman.

Reader Interactions

43Comments

  1. 1.

    Richard Bottoms

    If he’s right, well, super, but once in a while I would like to see the Democrats win on their own merits and not because the Republicans took a ten-meter triple lutz into an empty swimming pool.

    So would I.

    But I’ll take winning this way too, because we… win you know?

  3. 3.

    Mike in SLO

    Wow! This must resonate with a lot of people just judging by the previous post’s 294 comments. I don’t ever recall seeing a post on BJ generate that much conversation… Maybe this really is a tipping point for the GOP, but I won’t hold my breath. I still expect them to keep control of both houses although I sure hope the electorate proves me wrong!

  4. 4.

    capelza

    I would like to see the Democrats win on their own merits and not because the Republicans took a ten-meter triple lutz into an empty swimming pool.

    Yeah, yeah…that high road thing. And yet, today, over at the Moderate Voice…Joe posted a great one about Snow and the “just naughty e-mails”, as well as other great ones regarding the glaring lapse of the GOP in this affair..check him out if you haven’t already. Right above it, either because he did or didn’t read that, another contributor posts right above it …”The Democrats’ Problem: No Principles”. Oh the irony.

    I want to see the triple lutz…these fuckers have done it to themselves.

  5. 5.

    Pb

    Foley undoubtedly did the right thing by checking out of Congress and into rehab.

    Only if he’s actually an alcoholic too. Are there any actual pederasty rehab centers out there? And, if so, are they any better than those crazy “don’t be gay” brainwashing camps?

  6. 6.

    Bombadil

    once in a while I would like to see the Democrats win on their own merits and not because the Republicans took a ten-meter triple lutz into an empty swimming pool.

    OK, but anyone doing a “ten-meter triple lutz” should at least be admired for being able to climb up onto the platform wearing figure skates.

  7. 7.

    Pb

    This must resonate with a lot of people just judging by the previous post’s 294 comments. I don’t ever recall seeing a post on BJ generate that much conversation…

    You must be new here. For example… Lebanon ring any bells?

  8. 8.

    BarneyG2000

    Does anyone believe that after trolling for hot man on boy sex for at least five years that Foley didn’t get lucky at least once?

  9. 9.

    Richard Bottoms

    Yeah, yeah…that high road thing.

    Fuck the high road.

    Time to kick these bstards while they are down and to make sure they don’t get up again. Ever.

  10. 10.

    Krista

    You say lutz, I say back two-and-a-half somersault with two-and-a-half twists in the pike position.

    To-may-to, to-mah-to, really.

  11. 11.

    Bombadil

    You say lutz, I say back two-and-a-half somersault with two-and-a-half twists in the pike position.

    To-may-to, to-mah-to, really.

    I’d prefer a belly-flop into an empty pool for these morons, personally.

    With figure skates.

  12. 12.

    SeesThroughIt

    Only if he’s actually an alcoholic too. Are there any actual pederasty rehab centers out there? And, if so, are they any better than those crazy “don’t be gay” brainwashing camps?

    He should go to one of those stupid “don’t be gay” brainwashing camps. Right-wing stupid is as right-wing stupid does, and this stupid right-winger should have to suffer the “cure” that his side promotes.

  13. 13.

    Tim F.

    OK, but anyone doing a “ten-meter triple lutz” should at least be admired for being able to climb up onto the platform wearing figure skates.

    Updated.

  16. 16.

    Paul Wartenberg

    All the Democrats have to do now is create a quickie movie on YouTube that flashes this:
    “Simple Math:
    Pedophiles + Torturers = Republicans.
    Vote Democrat”

    If the Democrats fail to gain anything this midterm, blame Diebold’s hackable evoting machines.

  18. 18.

    ThymeZone

    • Foley in rehab; Hastert ‘disgusted’
    • Rice doesn’t recall al-Qaida warning
    • Polls: Dems eye Senate control

    These are the sub-heads after the Amish School Shooting banner headline on MSNBC site. Foley disappeared from the banner within the last hour.

    The Machine, whose face is Hastert today, is trying to get out ahead of the Foley story. Does everyone here know that Hastert used to be a boys’ wrestling coach?

  19. 19.

    jaime

    Meanwhile, it’s all the Democrats fault according to the latest at redstate.

    Well, duh. The Republicans showed class by taking care of the problem so soon after the allagetions came to light in the press and…Barney Frank is queer…and some Democrat did something 23 years ago. LALALALALALALALALALAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

  20. 20.

    Pb

    So… some backstory here… apparently there was some story in the news a few months back about ‘skinterns’ that this unknown blog mentioned a few weeks ago, and then after that they started getting e-mails from White House interns about this, and then this story got out.

  21. 21.

    DougJ

    It’s going to take a pretty major terror alert to take this one off the front pages. All number two’s in the Middle East may not even be enough. Is it time to bomb Iran?

  22. 22.

    Tsulagi

    I would like to see the Democrats win on their own merits and not because the Republicans took a ten-meter triple lutz* into an empty swimming pool.

    Sure, I’d like to win by TKO on the issues. On that alone, the Dems should win in round one.

    But remember, there are millions of voters out there who still believe we found WMDs in Iraq and that Saddam was Atta’s copilot. The new Republicans are a party that wins solely by image. Stick one on them.

    Using Foleygate as one of your weapons isn’t taking the low road. You’re not making up shit, you’re using their shit. Let them own it for a change.

  23. 23.

    Richard Bottoms

    I fDemocrats can’t get it through their heads that we are up against people who play hardball all the time we will not win unless we drop the idea of “I’m not comfortable” with doing what it takes to win.

    We aren’t breaking the law, and we are not lying. We are however using the most damaging interpretations and language possible to describe our opponents.

    I am not for splitting hairs or moderation.

    It is a coverup. The only thing I want to hear my side saying is that Hastert needs to be in jail right next to Foley.

    The story will turn off the GOP voters because they are a bunch of bigots and fag bashers, which makes it their problem, not mine. I want those bible thumping moralistic assholes to stay home for whatever reason.

  24. 24.

    Mr Furious

    but once in a while I would like to see the Democrats win on their own merits and not because the Republicans took a ten-meter triple lutz* into an empty swimming pool

    Tim, using one of your favorite turns of phrase…see mouth, gift horse.

  25. 25.

    Perry Como

    Does everyone here know that Hastert used to be a boys’ wrestling coach?

    Yeah. And there were some naughty rumors about that when he was running for local office back in the early 80s.

  26. 26.

    Rudi

    PB
    Both Foley and Ney are hiding in Rehab. If their serious, they will get extensive therapy, coplusion to fraud and pedophila etc. If their to hide, they come out with some nice baskets and no exposure to the press for 30 days. Kenedy went to rehab to “dryout” and has a Republican sponsor(Ramstad). My guess is Abrahmoff is these scumbags sponsor.
    Link to Ramstad:Ramstad-Kenedy

  27. 27.

    The Other Steve

    Wow! This must resonate with a lot of people just judging by the previous post’s 294 comments. I don’t ever recall seeing a post on BJ generate that much conversation…

    There’s been a few actually. But they usually involve the handful of righty commentors trying to blame everything wrong on Bill Clinton.

    What’s amazing about this Foley thing, is that none of them have been around here. Except scs who tried to claim Foley was innocent of any wrong doing, or something like that and then after a fair amount of ridicule shut up.

  29. 29.

    RSA

    Except scs who tried to claim Foley was innocent of any wrong doing, or something like that and then after a fair amount of ridicule shut up.

    And that it was the page’s fault. (There’s a bad computer science joke lurking there, but I’ll resist the temptation.)

  30. 30.

    Pb

    Rudi,

    Nice story, thanks for the link:

    They have 228 sponsors in the House and 68 in the Senate. That’s more than enough for passage. But until now, GOP House leaders who oppose the legislation have blocked it from a vote.

    Go figure. Whatever happened to allowing an ‘up or down vote’?!

  33. 33.

    Punchy

    I would like to see the Democrats win on their own merits and not because the Republicans took a ten-meter triple lutz* into an empty swimming pool.

    God damn you, Timmy. Can’t you get ONE great movie line correct?

    It’s triple LINDY. The ten-meter triple LINDY

    What is wrong with you people?

  34. 34.

    tBone

    Page faults, by their very nature, degrade the performance of a program or operating system government and in the degenerate case can cause thrashing.

    House leaders experienced a memory dump (and very possibly a physical one) when this particular page fault was exposed.

  37. 37.

    Zifnab

    Maf54: I miss you lots since san diego.
    Teen: ya I cant wait til dc
    Maf54: :)
    Teen: did you pick a night for dinner
    Maf54: not yet…but likely Friday
    Teen: ok…ill plan for Friday then
    Maf54: that will be fun
    Maf54: I want to see you
    Teen: Like I said not til feb…then we will go to dinner
    Maf54: and then what happens
    Teen: we eat…we drink…who knows…hang out…late into the night
    Maf54: and
    Teen: I dunno
    Maf54: dunno what
    Teen: hmmm I have the feeling that you are fishing here…im not sure what I would be comfortable with…well see

    GROSS!

    Yeah, that kid was totally asking for it.

  38. 38.

    Andrew

    Foley is in “rehab” in Clearwater, FL, the town OWNED BY SCIENTOLOGY.

    Quick! Cross check Tom Cruise’s addressbook with a list of Congressional pages!

  39. 39.

    craigie

    I love how in modern America, “rehab” is the answer to everything. Maybe Saddam can get in there…

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