A Politicians Demise
It is odd to realize at how the demise of a politician takes such centre stage in the news these days. Naturally I am talking about the fall from grace by Foley from Florida, a top Republican leader who got caught being just one more dirty politician. For those unaware of the story of this Hypocrit, well seems some emails and IMs he sent to an underage page in Congress surfaced and he is now in some alcohol rehab center.
Then too is the press conference by his lawyer where he admits to being Gay but with a rider, that he was abused by some clergyman when he was a juvenile. Problem is, why is it an admission? That in itself implies that it was a secret to be ashamed of. Being Gay is not a shame, nor should it need to be a secret either, though society certainly seems to make it that way. And there is perhaps part of the rub.
Former Florida Congressman Mark Foley at the center of a child abuse scandal finally acknowledged Tuesday that he is gay. The announcement came at the end of a short statement delivered by his lawyer David Roth, in which the disgraced politician claimed he had been molested as a child by a member of the clergy ( full story )
Seems that there is a lot of this laying of blame elsewhere. It isn’t his fault, because so and so abused him 30 or so years back. Frankly I don’t see it, but I am not a shrink. It just seems to me that if someone was abused back then, and felt as they claim that it would be the last think they would inflict on someone else. But that is me, and I have been wrong many times. Still it seems to me that in some respects, how society deals with someone being Gay is definately playing a part here, as I point out in Building A Defense.
Frankly this type of behavior is exactly what happens more often than not, simply because we, being society, make it seem dirty. While I think solicting minors is wrong, being Gay isn’t and yet society makes it that way, no matter what the Liberals might think. If we spent more time on addressing issues instead of playing politics we might make a huge dent in the abuse of minors. No need for more laws, or stricter laws, but simply letting people know that being Gay is not evil, not a path to ruin and that it isn’t some sickness we need to cure.
This is an election year in the States and one has to wonder at the timing of this bombshell.
Was this a ploy by the opposition to gain public support?
Or was this a way for the right wing to get rid of a powerful member who didn’t toe the party conservative line?
Take your pick, because both win in this instance. Foley didn’t toe the party line and it should undermine the Republican persona of being of Family Value orientated. Though frankly I don’t know how anyone can assume that this group gives a rat’s ass about family values. Still, that is there perception so is this simply a political ploy to rid the party of trouble makers? Or does it go deeper?
Is this also a way for the conservative movement to clean house so to speak?
I mean the Speaker and othes are under attack and the conservative movement has been pretty pissed off with Bush and his group long before this Foley thing broke. So is this a way to clean house and recapture the party, in their minds? Makes you wonder given some of the comments like those from Newt Gingrich.
“Given the fact that the current Republican leadership in the House has never hesitated to attack gay people, it’s even more absurd for people like Newt Gingrich to say the reason they didn’t take prompt action was because they didn’t want to be accused of ‘gay bashing.’ ( full story )
Then too we have ABC claiming that Foley engaged in cyber sex with some of these pages. I mean if they were all aware of his penchant for boys, why did they acknowledge his emails and IMs? Was it the power thing or what? I mean this whole issue seems to create more questions than answers.
Why did none of these pages complain?
Where are the parents in all this?
If this has been common knowledge for years, why did it come out now?
The list goes on as we see this case unfold. Some of what I fail to comprehend too is why is he checked into some alcohol rehab centre? I mean if he drinks too much that is one thing, but how does that become an excuse for totally reprehensible actions? Is this simply a way to avoid the consequences or is it a way to get this over and one with?
Somehow I think this story is not going to go away, but will it be enough to perhaps remove the other issues from people’s minds, such as the War in Iraq, Iran’s nucleur threat, North Korea’s nucleur threat, rise in terrorism, Latin America, immigration, border security? One has to wonder, given the timing of all this.
Sphere: Related ContentIan @ October 4, 2006