Posted by
ramspeak on Sunday, October 01, 2006 4:18:05 PM
By now, the well informed have read both the email that started the flap that lead to Foley's resignation and the IM's that clearly show this guy should have been thrown off the reservation.
Unfortunately, the well informed represents about 1% of the population and therein lies the problem because if you just read or hear the headlines you'd think the GOP leadership looked the other way so that they could maintain power while protecting one of their own, who happened to be an alledged molestor of teens via IM's.
When we deconstruct the premise and put it against the facts, the story is very different and will only be told in places like Townhall.com and other conservative blogs. Left to the majority of media outlets, including the so called 'fair & balanced' Fox, the other 99% will believe the myth fueled by the 24 hour news cycle.
First deconstruct:
Suppose the house leadership errored on the side of caution and blew Foley out back in 2005 when the first email complaint surfaced. Would they have lost control of the house? Of course not! yes they would have lost another seat, but it would take 16 more scandals or resignations to upset the balance of power and even Bill Clinton's private investigators and smear machine are not that good to make that happen between now and November.
Second deconstuct:
On the basis of the language in the email brought to their attention did the house even have the legal authority to blow Foley out of the chamber? read on.
Third deconstruct:
I'm told those serving as Pages often ask those they served in the House for letters of recommendation. So when the leadership, in an informal investigation of a complaint, sees an email that shows genuine interest in what the former page is doing with his life and a request for a photo...in the context of remembering a face...when a request for a reference is later received, they are not suspicious. Further, given a Congressman the benefit of the doubt they believe his explanation BUT because the matter was borderline the leadership confronts the Congressman and tells him not to do it again because their was a complaint......which, by the way, the family said they did NOT want to pursue. The family just wanted it dropped. Unless there are rules against sending emails to pages, I find it hard to understand, short of a complaint, why anyone would be suspicious of such an email or that such an email would be grounds for dismissal/resignation.
Read elsewhere the exact language in the email and see what you think.
Fourth deconstruct:
When someone disclosed the content of IM's to the House Leadership, Foley was out of there faster than a speeding pervert.
The house leadership condemned his actions, the White House condemned his actions and we condemn his actions.
In other words, when the gravity of the situation was brought to the attention of the appropriate leadership, immediate, correct action was taken.
Sooooo, how do we get from here to 'who knew what and when did they know it?'
Hey, when you ignore the facts and just use the headlines as your basis for a story it helps fill the 24/7 news cycle.
Afterall, what's more important, the truth, the facts, or filling the cycle? Why filling the cycle, of course!!