In neither case are comparisons accurate.
L'affaire Lewinski involved an adult woman pursuing a powerful married man. She has never denied being the agressor, much to the consternation of Ken Starr and his Merry Band of Inquisitors.
In the Studds matter, the relationship was ongoing, and when it came to light, the younger man stood with Studds and defended their relationship.
I don't pardon either act; married men shouldn't cheat, and relationships should not be pursued between a Page and a member of congress. Exchange numbers and give a call when the class is over, if you are still interested. Didn't anyone tell these guys not to dip their pen in the company ink? Sheesh.
But still, there is a big difference between consensual sex and internet predation. Especially when the internet predator is the congressman who chaired the House Caucus for Missing and Exploited Children. You know, the body that wrote the laws against preying on children under 18 on the internet. The legislative body that wrote the laws he broke. You just can't make this stuff up.
In the Foley matter, as bad as the events that set this snowball a-rollin down the hill are, the cover-up is the killer.
The cover-up exposes the Publican party as craven and corrupt and bloated with power. Abramoff. Duke Cunningham. Bob Ney. Tom Noe. They were bad enough, but their crimes involved money. They were driven by their quest to get as much of it as possible, and preferably from other people.
But this. This is different. This is sleazy. This makes people uncomfortable and queesy. This has a high "yuck" factor. Especially when you recall that the original Page the story broke around forwarded an email from Foley with the message "This is SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK."
And while leadership called a firing squad and formed a circle, the conservative media has turned on them. I submit the following:
The Washington Times — "House Speaker Dennis Hastert must do the only right thing, and resign his speakership at once."
National Review — "Rep. Foley resigned his office when the story broke. Republican conduct since then has fallen rather short of a moral reckoning."
Bay Buchanan — "They failed the parents of this country is what they did."
Michael Reagan — "Any member of Congress who was aware of the sexual emails and protected the congressman should also resign effective immediately."
David Bossie, president of conservative organization Citizens United — "Speaker Hastert had knowledge of Congressman Foley’s inappropriate behavior and chose to protect a potential pedophile and powerful colleague over a congressional page."
Michelle Malkin — "There is a time and place for attacking the Dems and the MSM. Now is not that time. Parents need assurance that their kids are safe on Capitol Hill. If Beltway GOP elites can't understand this, they are beyond hope."
The Chicago Tribune — "If there is more to this story than what officials have acknowledged--that is, if the House leadership's dereliction of duty goes even further--then consequences must be harsh."
Maggie Gallagher — "With great power comes great responsibility. Memo to GOP House leaders: Have the decency to accept responsibility and resign from leadership. Or come November, I vote to let the other side put their bums in charge."
Richard Viguerie — "...only the most recent example of Republican House leaders doing whatever it takes to hold onto power."
Tony Blankley — "In this case, defending Denny Hastert's decisions is ethically wrong, would undermine our party's commitment to the defense of traditional moral values and is politically stupid in the bargain."
Larry Kudlow — One final point — the mealy-mouthed defense that the instant messages weren’t known until recently is nonsense. Foley’s earlier emails were more than sufficient to sound the alarm that a huge problem was brewing. The IM defense of Hastert is a loser.
When the right can't get any love from Michelle Malkin, they need to back up and assess the damage. When Maggie Gallagher says if they don't cowboy up, throw the bums out and let the Democrats run things for a while it is dire in Publicanville.
I received a classical education at the hands of demanding Nuns and (those damned liberal) Jesuits (I am the product of a mixed marriage - a Catholic father and Jewish mother.) I remember vividly learning that the Gods abhor hubris above all else, and it is the first thing they look for when they set out to ruin a man.
To the Gods I say - welcome to America 2.0 Congress is that way (pointing east.)
