Camille Paglia on the Mark Foley “scandal”
Camille Paglia is one of my favorites. She is extremely intelligent and although very liberal on most issues totally nails the Mark Foley “scandal.”
Mark Foley was never on the radar of anyone outside the small circle of news junkies. So his fall and banishment from Washington were nothing but a drip in the torrential flood of current geopolitical problems. The way the Democratic leadership was in clear collusion with the major media to push this story in the month before the midterm election seems to me to have been a big fat gift to Ann Coulter and the other conservative commentators who say the mainstream media are simply the lapdogs of the Democrats. Every time I turned on the news it was “Foley, Foley, Foley!” — and in suspiciously similar language and repetitive talking points.
After three or four days of it, as soon as I heard Foley’s name, I turned the sound off or switched channels. It was gargantuan overkill, and I felt the Democrats were shooting themselves in the foot. I was especially repulsed by the manipulative use of a gay issue for political purposes by my own party. I think it was not only poor judgment but positively evil. Whatever short-term political gain there is, it can only have a negative impact on gay men. When a moralistic, buttoned-up Republican like Foley is revealed to have a secret, seamy gay life, it simply casts all gay men under a shadow and makes people distrust them. Why don’t the Democratic strategists see this? These tactics are extremely foolish. Gay men through history have always been more vulnerable to public hysteria than are lesbians, who — unless they’re out there parading around in all-leather bull-dyke drag — simply fit more easily into the cultural landscape than do gay men, who generally lead a more adventurous, pickup-oriented sex life.
Did it help Democrats?
But what if by jumping on and making a big deal out of this, it delivers the Democrats the House and the Senate? Will it have been worth it?
I completely disagree that the Foley case has helped the Democrats. There’s been so much fudging of the polling data, which long before the Foley case already indicated that many Republicans nationwide were turned off by the direction of their party and were planning to sit home on Election Day. It’s a boldfaced lie that the Foley case caused this. Bedrock Republicans have been dismayed by the Bush administration’s overspending and by its inaction on illegal immigration, among other things. These trends were already quite visible before the Democrats inserted themselves into the Republicans’ slow drift away from the polls. So what they’ve done, in this rabid orchestration of the Foley case, is to risk energizing the Republican base again. Are they mad, or just dumb? They’ve handed the Republicans a reason to go to the polls — to register their contempt for Democrats!
entire interview in Salon today
October 29th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
Imagine THAT! It is amazing that one liberal seems to think that they are hurting themselves by carrying on with the Foley “Scandal”. The Dems are actually presenting themselves as against this behaviour..but WE ALL KNOW OTHERWISE and WE ALL KNEW THE RUMORS about Foley from WAY BACK..but he did Write or Help Steer a Good Law protecting Children through the Congress..unlike our Local Dems at the State hOuse..who want to MAKE WORK FOR THEMSELVES..AS DEFENSE LAWYERS. Of course I dislike what Foley was doing..however, how many kids get these Messages everyday..lots and lots from all sorts of folks..apparently the ones from Foley were clearly from him and not a Predator unknown! If you keep writing in an instant message and replying coyly to such messages..I CALL THAT EGGING ON ..and at 16 I think this young man knew what he was doing. The Dems support Gays, defend Criminals, fight like HELL to avoid putting in Judges who are STRICT and FOLLOW THE LAW…
There is a silent majority in this country and we must all remember years ago whenReagan WON despite all the battering he took. Ronald Reagan was attacked DAY AND NIGHT..and he came through…As a Union member I have received at least two phone calls a night asking if I am Voting for Patrick..WELL YES OF COURSE I SAY..BUT LATELY IT IS BECOMING AGGRAVATING..AND MY LAST CALL CAME RIGHT AT DINNER TIME..I FINALLY SAID NO I AM VOTING FOR HEALEY..THIS POLSTER HUNG UP…I HOPE I WILL HAVE A JOB ON MONDAY MORNING..DO YOU THINK 9 OUT OF 10 IS OKAY?
Just because I work in a Union doesn’t mean the Union Boss accompanies me into the voting booth… I work in a field that is being overrun by Illegals…either I have no work in a few short years or I will have to learn at least two other languages to keep my job!
October 31st, 2006 at 8:06 pm
Caron, I love it. You are a true blue “Reagan Democrat.” As I always say, if we had more true blue conservatives like Reagan who were unabashedly conesrvative, they would win in land slide elections. With liberal Republicans like Healy the true blue conservatives like yourself vote if they get around to it. But they certainly don’t passionately endorse the somebody like Healey. they don’t go to work for them or raise money etc… When the Mass GOP gets it that liberal Republicans are the candidates that liberal Dems love to run agianst and start running some Reagan Republicans who are pro-life, pro-family, pro-business, pro-2nd Amendment, anti all illegal immigration etc… will they start to make some headway. Until then I believe most will either move out or not take part in the entire political process.
Gregg