What do the Republican Party and a pedophile have in common? More than they’d like to admit – there’s no doubt about it.
Former Rep. Mark Foley used his position of power to take advantage of an impressionable, trusting person. Foley abused his position to engage in and encourage an inappropriate relationship with someone who obviously trusted and admired him.
In 2001, the Bush administration used its power to convince the American people to go to war in Iraq. The leaders in Washington took advantage of citizens’ trust in order to engage the nation in a war based on lies and scare tactics. It abused our trust and led us into what is shaping up to be arguably one of the greatest political and humanitarian disasters of our history.
First, Foley barely has taken the slightest responsibility for his own actions. His attorney continues to assert that while Foley’s naughty e-mails and instant messages were inappropriate, the representative made no definitive sexual advances on the congressional pages in question – though evidence in e-mails and instant messages point to a blatant contradiction of that suggestion.
Likewise, when the facts surfaced about the war in Iraq and the news of non-existent weapons of mass destruction exploded in the ears of the American public, the Bush administration barely nodded at taking responsibility for its actions. Instead, it worked furiously to create such excuses as “bad intelligence” as a reason for the lies it spewed.
When resignation, apology and a shallow recognition of guilt didn’t seem to appease the public, Foley’s lawyer turned another key in the lockbox of the lewd and lascivious life of his client. Shockingly enough, what we’re led to believe is the real news here is – believe it or not – Foley is gay. Better than that, Foley is gay and was molested by a member of the clergy (it seems any authority figure could have worked here) whom he had trusted as a young boy. Instead of focusing on the offense Foley committed against these congressional pages and the public, our attention is being diverted to these lesser facts, which are being twisted to make the accused the victim.
This admission feels strangely reminiscent of the Bush administration’s approach to the war in Iraq after the truth came out about how and why we went in. Instead of dealing with the realities of the situation at hand, the administration chose to create its own new set of realities. As a substitute for an apology, or better yet, a strategy or exit plan, the administration chooses to reframe Iraq as a breeding ground and a honey jar for terrorists. In other words, so we don’t have to focus on the facts about the wrongs committed and those that continue, we’ll direct our attention to this other seemingly pressing issue of terrorism.
Lastly, no one involved in the Foley scandal will take the ultimate responsibility for what has happened. Though a wrong has been done, and that wrong was accompanied by first turning a blind eye to the grievances and then attempting a cover-up, neither Foley, his superiors or his party seem to feel the need to take the fall for the greater good, or for the fact that it’s the right thing to do.
Though intelligence reports continue to display the lack of progress as well as the possible damage being done in Iraq, not one single leader will stand up and take the blame for what continues to go wrong.
So while the Bush administration may not be engaging vulnerable minors in solicitous sexual conversation, it’s safe to say what they are doing is a lot more scandalous, and the consequences of those actions will undoubtedly be much worse.