True To Form

It should be no surprise that, in these last few weeks leading up to the election, Republicans are spinning the Foley imbroglio into an indictment against the gay community.  The only way the GOP can minimize its losses on November 7 is to motivate its conservative base.  And nothing motivates the base like a little gay bashing.  Never mind that sexual orientation and sexual predation are two entirely different things.  Never mind that plenty of heterosexual men prey upon young girls.  The real crux of the Foley story is the failure of the Republican leadership to confront a pedophile in their midst when the first warning signs were brought to their attention, but the conservative echo chamber would rather plug their ears with their fingers and scream “faggot!” in the hopes that will somehow deflect attention from their inaction. 

This incident should be an instructive lesson for Democrats.  We were crushed in 1994 because our elected leaders had allowed themselves to be consumed with hubris and an unchecked desire for power.  When political fortunes do swing again in our favor, we progressives have to remain vigilant and not let our leaders make the same mistake twice.