Mark Foley's Cocktober Surprise: Give It Another Day or Two, They'll Find a Democrat to Blame
According to Hotline , the current Republican response to the Mark Foley mess is something like this:
We'll punish whoever had the IM transcripts (media, unnamed democrats)
This is the fault of the guy who used to be Rodney Alexander's Chief of Staff when Rodney Alexander was a Democrat, two years ago. ERGO: DEMOCRAT'S FAULT.
Bob Novak is claiming that even post-creepy emails (remember: not only did the entire House Republican leadership know about them by this point, but something like 400 news organizations had been forwarded them), NRCC head Tom Reynolds encouraged Foley to run for reelection -- this could just be another shot in the unusually public intraparty Reynolds/Hastert battle.
After the jump, more Foley stories, plus another funny video from those wacky kids who did yesterday's dramatic reading .
Meanwhile, everyone is calling bullshit on the alcoholic line. Foley was neither "closeted" about drinking, nor did he appear to do it to excess. This isn't surprising when you remember that in order to make sense of a statement uttered by a lawyer representing a disgraced politician, it is necessary to figure out how said statement could be as untrue as possible. Therefore, when a spokesperson says "closet drinker," he or she means "occasional social drinker without a problem."
Here's another fun anecdote:
Last year, when Compass worked with the Palm Beach Chapter of the American Jewish Committee to put together an exhibit called "Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals, 1933-1945," for the Holocaust Museum in Washington, politicians from both parties lined up to be on the host committee.
But not Foley. And when the project ran into some political snags, Foley still kept his distance at a time when his help was needed.
Yeah, because thesecondFoley displayed public sympathy for gays slaughtered by Nazis, the game would've been up.
Here's your funny video:
Republicans Blame Dems For Foley Email Leak [Hotline]
SICK NEW FOLEY E-MAILS [NYP]
Foley's Sexual Orientation a Not-So-Secret Secret [Palm Beach Post]