Foley Summation

Unclaimed Territory - by Glenn Greenwald: This needs to be investigated:

"...And then there is the outburst today from numerous right-wing bloggers vowing that they will not vote for the Republicans in November, with some even committing to vote for Democrats*, because Republicans have abandoned all of the "principles" that got them so excited in the first place. The straw that broke the Bush followers' back today is this truly bizarre statement from Bill Frist that the U.S. military is incapable of defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan and should therefore invite the Taliban to join the government we are over there defending (though Frist is now trying, not too successfully, to retract the comments, claiming that they were taken out of context).

For the most insightful comment on all of this, I think it is necessary to return to Joe Scarborough's commentary, who referred to the GOP as "Mark Foley’s party." Five weeks before the election, the Republicans have indeed become the party of Mark Foley and it is a party whose leaders protected and defended Foley and, even now, seek to minimize his conduct. Whether justified or not, there has to be some degree of discomfort -- and even shame -- with associating oneself with that brand. Every time the Republican Party is mentioned, it evokes images of Mark Foley's IMs and the party leaders who concealed his activities. That can't be very good for energizing the base, and it is clearly fueling serious fissures at the worst possible time (for them)..."