LEGION OF LEONAS
As the ex-Rep. Foley scandal continues to spew sordid and culpable details, and as the Republican House leadership tapdances wildly, it occurs that the entire debacle serves as an object lesson of a pervasive problem more and more obviously endemic to those in entrenched power (and a corollary: the extended control of multiple branches of the government by one party), namely that the laws, in Leona Helmsley fashion, apply only to the “little people.”
The enablers’ and abettors’ claims of being victims (they’re not), the furious finger-pointing and deflection, the demonization of the affected and of the sources of information, all amply bear this out, none moreso than ex-Rep. Foley himself, who is finding out he is subject to a law he himself championed and nurtured through Congress.
Abuse of power is always an ugly thing, but that’s what is occurring. True, politics is hardball, but hardball is also a game for grown-ups, an appelation that cannot be applied to those who dodge, weave and otherwise out and out refuse to accept responsibility for their action, or responsibility for what transpired as result of deliberate inaction.
Personal observation: It is no great secret that Speaker Hastert was installed as a figurehead for Tom DeLay. Though DeLay has resigned and is under indictment and is on the outside of the power structure right now, ye old scribe would be willing to bet good folding money that though not in power he is not out of contact. He was still majority leader (someone whose position dictates never being out of the loop on party members) during the years previous when warnings and concerns involving now ex-Rep. Foley were being made to “senior” ears in the House.
Commended once again to your attention is the audio file linked over in the right-hand column.
