Some more items with varying relevance to Predatorgate.
Wishful thinking dept? Or just old-fashion lying? You be the judge: Fox News identifies Foley as…a Democrat. (Yes, really.) Update: And then they did it again in a completely different caption! Amazing.
The Trademark Blog says You Can’t Make Up This Kind Of Irony: “Congratulations to the Foley Hoag firm, which won the exclusive right to be known as Foley, today.” (Explanatory link.)
Human Shields: NRCC head Rep. Tom Reynolds — second most likely head to roll after Hastert — did a press conference. Surrounded by kids. Reporters asked if the kids could be cleared out so they could ask the R-rated questions. Reynolds said no — prompting some bloggers to accuse him of using the kids as “human shields” to avoid tough questions.
Foley enters rehab and the rumors start to swirl. People keep emailing me saying he checked into a Scientology rehab center. I have no idea if this is true and don’t care. (In keeping with the national trend, the Scientologists have put their picture of Foley accepting an award that used to be on this page down the memory hole.) More interesting is this AP story (ephemeral link, sorry):
When disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley announced he was entering rehab for treatment of alcoholism and “other behavioral problems,” some of those who have known him for years were shocked and suspicious.
Some friends and acquaintances said they rarely saw him drink.
A former colleague, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said on Fox News Channel: “I don’t buy this at all. I think this is a phony defense. The fact is, I think he’s responsible for what he did here and I think it’s a gimmick.”
Meltdown: So here’s the serious item: The GOP leadership can’t keep its various stories straight. If they are not guilty of something, then they certainly are doing the most amazing job of acting like co-conspirators who have been discovered. The Washington Post speculates that Predatorgate may move several house seats.
Where the blame game ends, the real moral squalor begins…
BW photograph of a truly shameless moment. There’s a deep sadness here — layers upon layers upon layers of meaning in this iconic Buffalo News photo that perfectly sums up and symbolizes the whole damn Foleygate scandal, which has rapidly moved beyond the “merely” sleazy, salacious and corrupt. Now it’s an utterly surreal, blame-shifting mass abdication of all personal responsibility.
Above all, there’s the deep, visible moral rot that anyone can see. Look at the children in the photo. Look at the man (Rep. Reynolds) at the microphone. See the face of a party that uses children to score “family values” points but doesn’t give a damn. At all.
Great post! Thanks for urging me to define:
ephemeral