And because this is sensitive, I’m not talking about the Catholic faith, but the institution of the Catholic Church as a bureaucracy.
Repubicans are on a witch hunt for the Gays.
ou may know that Kirk Fordham was ousted today as Tom Reynolds’s chief of staff after allegations that he tried to cover for Mark Foley’s inappropriate behavior. (In fact Fordham insists he sounded the alarm.) Fordham, as I think the Plank was first to point out, is also a former chief of staff to Foley. Today ABC News notes, in passing, that Fordham is “openly gay.” (I had heard this several times myself but chose not to publish it until now.) Why is this significant? Because it’s becoming clear that some people on Capitol Hill are promoting a storyline that involves gay Republican staffers–apparently led by Fordham–covering up for Mark Foley. Gloria Borger hinted at this on CBS News last night, saying:
Trying to solve the probem by making it about gays misses the entire problem–there was a serious breakdown in oversight of the program. It could have been heterosexual Members hitting on women in the program. And in fact, in the past that did happen.
That list is going to make this very, very ugly and every staffer on it or who has a friend on it will be bitter and angry and they know a lot about what has been going on in this and other scandals. This can only end badly for Republican pursuing this strategy.
There is also a high ranking Republican Congressman who is not “out” and the leadership really doesn’t want his name dragged into all of this. Some “all gays are pedophiles” type of right-wingers on a witch hunt could very well open up another can of warms for their base of hate to digest.
Ah, an opportunity to mention my old congressman Dan Crane again!
Thank you. I must also look up the history of Rep. Joseph Cannon, notable for two things: being the first cover boy on “Time” Magazine and so abusing the powers of the Speaker of the House that the rules were permanently changed to prevent the situation from ever rising again.
Speakers of the House from Illinois: Crooks or Liars? discuss. 🙂
Well Scott Palmer, Hastert’s right hand man, apparently knew and “dealt with” the Foley matter at least once. Is he gay?
That would be especially interesting news, since Palmer and Hastert have lived together for years.