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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (12670)	10/3/2006 1:39:46 AM
From: Peter Dierks	Respond to of 71588

The Problem Isn't Foley House Republicans have done a lousy job of policing themselves. BY BRENDAN MINITER Tuesday, October 3, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT If Republicans lose the House, don't blame Mark Foley. All he did was implode at an inopportune time, after alleged abhorrent behavior toward underage boys working as congressional pages. He's checked himself into an alcohol rehab center, is the subject of a criminal investigation, and, if proven guilty of breaking the law, will likely face an unsympathetic criminal code that he helped create. In a world where sexual predators exist, that's what passes for justice. No, the blame if Republicans do lose the House in November will rightly fall on the shoulders of members who one way or another didn't see this coming. It's not that Speaker Denny Hastert or anyone else knew specifically that Mr. Foley sent sexually explicit text messages to congressional pages. Unlike in the sex scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church in recent years, there is no indication that any member of Congress papered over known abuses. Rather it's the implication of willful ignorance that will plague the GOP into the most competitive congressional elections the party has faced in the dozen years its controlled the House. Here's what we know so far: Late last year, when informed that there might be something amiss, the speaker's office referred the issue to Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois. He heads the committee in charge of the page program, and he took a look at the few emails that had surfaced. Mr. Shimkus was concerned enough by what he saw to confront Mr. Foley and tell him to cut off all direct contact with underage pages. The Florida congressman apparently spun a story that he was only mentoring the boy who had received the emails. And, looking over messages asking for a picture and what the page wanted for his birthday, Mr. Shimkus apparently bought it. But the question that will haunt Republicans now is, if the evidence was compelling enough to confront Mr. Foley, why wasn't it also compelling enough to dig deeper? We also know that Mr. Foley, an active campaigner and prolific fund-raiser, flirted with the idea of running for Senate this year (spurred on by some Republicans who considered him a stronger candidate than Rep. Katherine Harris, who still carried baggage from the 2000 election). He inexplicably withdrew from consideration several months ago. When ambitious politicians suddenly decide not to climb to a higher rung on the political ladder, there's usually a good reason. Since Mr. Shimkus was already aware of concerns of Mr. Foley's emails to congressional pages, it's fair to ask another question to which Republicans may prefer not to find an answer: After Mr. Foley folded up his Senate ambitions, why didn't Mr. Shimkus or anyone else considered the possibility that there was more to those emails than Mr. Foley let on? The larger problem for House Republicans is that they've amassed a poor record of policing themselves amid a succession of scandals. Even as Duke Cunningham, Tom DeLay and Bob Ney tarnished the party's image, no one other than a few "moderates" who don't have much sway in the caucus took the lead in called for drumming any of them out of the ranks. It's also notable that none of these three men survived their respective scandals. Cunningham is serving time in the federal pen after pleading guilty to corruption charges late last year. Mr. Ney abandoned plans to run for re-election a few weeks ago after it became clear a federal investigation was heading straight for him. And then there's Mr. DeLay. After being indicted on money laundering charges last year, he refused for months to clear the path for the election of a new majority leader. Apparently he was unwilling to give up the possibility of coming back from a politically debilitating legal battle. His legacy now includes preventing Republicans from electing a new, forceful leader in the House just as Republicans were being torn asunder for their response to Hurricane Katrina. The problem isn't just that there are a few rotten apples in the Republican Party--every bushel has its share. It's that Republicans seem comfortable with leaving the bad apples in place, even at the risk of tainting all the others. That Mr. Foley is a Republican isn't itself the issue. It's that Republicans were unwilling to take a closer look at something that long ago demanded a much more detailed inspection. If the GOP had uncovered Mr. Foley last year or even this past spring, the party wouldn't now be facing a full blown sex scandal in October. Heading into this election year, Democrats knew they had a chance to retake the House, if everything broke their way. What no one predicted is that they'd be handed so many breaks by Republicans. Mr. Miniter is assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com. His column appears Tuesdays. opinionjournal.com