JUSIPER

 
Hastert and Boehner knew

Posted by Sini

They didn't inform the Democratic leadership about Foley, nor did they take action themselves--quite possibly because Foley is in a district that would be a battleground without the presence of an entrenched incumbent.

Now, my feeling about Foley is that it is still not clear whether he broke any laws. The age of consent in DC, apparently, is 16. As of yet, there is still no claim of physical contact between him and the pages. So far, we are still only talking about speech of a sexual nature between an extraordinarily hypocritical GOP congressman and two persons of legal age. If he was still the pages' boss while engaging in these conversations, however, the matter becomes about as serious as the Lewinsky matter: a highly unprofessional (and thus institutionally sanctionable) sexual relationship in the workplace.

As far as I am concerned, this should be a matter for voters to decide. Foley won't be on the ballot this year, but no matter: now, every vote in a House race this year will be a referendum on the House leadership that knew about his actions and kept them hushed up so that they could protect their tenuous majority.

1:30 AM |