Foley Noises

(bonus points to whoever gets the reference)

Well, it looks like Denny Hastert has dug in and the House GOP is going along for the ride, although they did tell him to shut up about the paranoic rantings that George Soros or aliens or something was responsible for this. The current GOoPer strategy is haphazard; some are out there making wild charges of Democratic collusion just hoping to muddy the waters, some are off the reservation entirely and are calling for Hastert to step down, others are all over the map. I heard Pat Buchanan yesterday try to shift the focus to Nancy Pelosi marching in gay pride parades. But none of that really matters, as opposed to where the American people are on the matter. And most of them feel Denny needs to go.

Based on what you know right now, do you think Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert should remain in his position as Speaker of the House? Do you think he should resign as Speaker of the House but remain a member of Congress? Or do you think he should completely resign from Congress?

27% Remain Speaker
20% Resign Leadership
43% Resign From Congress
10% Not Sure

Awful numbers, especially when you consider that he's too stubborn to leave the stage. This is already starting to affect major races, like NRCC chair Tom Reynolds, who's now polling behind in his New York seat; like Heather Wilson, who previously sat on the Page Board while the teens were being warned about Foley's behavior (and she was already in a dogfight in NM-01), like FL-16, of course, where Foley's name remains on the ballot. Even in races that shouldn't have a thing to do with it, the climate for Republicans will heighten scandals like this:

Republican State Rep. Eugene McGill urged a judge in 2003 to show leniency for a friend who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and was later labeled a violent predator by the court.

The six-term Montgomery County incumbent defended a letter he wrote on behalf of Sheldon Granor - a man he called a "pillar of the community" - who developed a relationship with the teen over the Internet.

"I don't condone what people do," McGill said in an interview last week. "I write letters on the behalf of people I have personal knowledge of. I have done it before. I will do it again."

The victim, now 22, said she was offended by McGill's action and believed it suggested he had sought to protect a pedophile over his victim.

"I'm outraged, floored, livid," she said in an interview yesterday arranged at The Inquirer's request by the case's prosecutor. The Inquirer's policy is not to publish names of sexual assault victims without their consent.

Obviously Matt Drudge and Glenn Reynolds and Charles Johnson don't work for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Did I mention that Mark Foley's house in DC was two blocks away from the page's dormitory? When the confirmation of actual sexual contact comes out, watch this thing blow up like a balloon.

Republicans are now seen by a great majority of the country as bumbling and ridiculous. It's all unraveling right before our eyes. This is why nobody wants to give them money ($23,000 in a month on the Web??). This is why their core base of evangelical support might not man the phones and help get out the vote. This is why Cliff Schecter can make mincemeat out of their pack of talking heads simply by telling it like it is. This is why debate watchers outright laugh at them when they try their usual lies and spinmeistering:



This is why, with 32 days until the election, the guy that oughta know understands what can really happen this November:

After looking at the news for the past 10 days or so, I have to wonder how Democrats can possibly fail in their efforts to take both the House and the Senate.

The national atmospherics don’t merely favor Democrats; they set the stage for a blowout of cosmic proportions next month.

No, that’s not a prediction, since Republicans still have a month to “localize” enough races to hold onto one or both chambers of Congress. But you don’t have to be Teddy White or V.O. Key to know that the GOP is now flirting with disaster.

32 days is a LONG time, plenty of time to turn it around. But there's blood in the water. Complacency in the face of what happened in 2002 and 2004 would be ridiculous, however. If anything it's time to get even MORE involved in the very real chance of taking a step toward back the country.