-
Whoo whee! Have the Republicans gotten themselves in jam. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

If they spoke against fellow Republican Mark Foley, they're "homophobic." If they didn't, they dragged their feet, protecting a dangerous pederast. But even that term is somewhat tenuous, for pederasts prefer sexual relations with boys, and older teens aren't exactly boys anymore. The sex-anytime-anyplace-with-anybody-or-anything crowd has been trying for years to lower the sexual age of consent. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg would lower it to 12 if she had her way! This was known at the time of her confirmation.

Critics are accusing the Republicans of being hypocritical. Well, the jury is out on this. But it is clear that ONE Republican is hypocritical, Foley himself, who has spoken out on the need to protect children from Internet predators. And the Democrats are hypocritical, for they had their own page scandal in 1983. Rep. Gerry E. Studds, D-Mass. was formally censured by the House for having sex with a 17-year-old male page on a trip to Europe during a Congressional recess. Was he forced to resign? No, he served in the House for another 14 years. (Doesn't say much for Massachusetts, does it?) At the same time Republican Daniel B. Crane, of Illinois, was censured for having sex with a 17-year-old female House page. He lost in the next election. As a result of that, the minimum age for congressional pages was raised from 14 to 16.

So what's the bigger message in that scandal? Adult male sex with a teen girl is not tolerated, but sex with a teen male is.

See why the Republicans are in such a tough spot? And none dare speak of the growing current of evidence that George W. Bush himself has had homosexual relationships.

Wait for lots of hypocrisy, pontificating, and dancing around on the head of a tolerance pinhead as this plays out

This isn't even going to be about Foley anymore. This incident: the messages and the cover-up are simply going to turn into a ball on the football field of dems vs. repubs. Republicans delighted in exploiting Clinton's lascivious behavior, and now the Dems have the chance to point out their hypocrisy and take revenge.

And it makes me weary. I wonder if all the energy we spent rooting for our particular team were to go into a genuine effort to make our country stronger, better, more righteous, more fair, more noble and environmentally sound and socially just and and and etc..., gosh what we could accomplish.

Politics, like all professions, is comprised of fallible human beings. Republicans don't have any more claim to pure virtue than Democrats or anyone else. Fine. Let's acknowledge that and go on and not waste any more time on finger pointing, jeering, and gloating that could be better spent on doing the work of creating the country we want to live in.