Dems & Reps And Sex Crimes II

You can read my original post below. But, I wanted to add a few comments. I've been following several comment threads on the political left, and right. The general consensus seems to be (thankfully) that Foley is a despicable rat and both sides are glad he's gone. There is even general concensus that Hastert needs take a powder if he, in fact, had prior knowledge of Foley's activities. The argument (somewhat generated by the news report from the WSJ (referenced below) seems to be how political each side is being. The Dems see the Reps as just trying to twist facts around. The Reps see the Dems as trying to avoid the past and how it relates to their current activities.

Frankly, I don't think there should be a differnce. One point the Dems make is that the Presidential pardon by Clinton was for an obstruction of Justice charge. So what? I don't think a sex offender should be pardoned for anything. (Sorry, I'm a parent. I don't like the message this sends..so sue me) And, I still haven't seen a good defense of the other two. Why did they keep getting elected? Why did the DNC not run them out of office? Are the Democrats demanding the Republicans hold to a different standard than themselves? The left wing rant that this is ancient history is invalid, too. Using history is how you set expectations of future behavior. Want to know how the media measures up? Here is a little taste:

The Media Research Center (MRC) decided to measure what it calls "the aggression of TV assignment editors" surrounding the Mark Foley scandal since it came to light on Friday evening, September 29. According to their research, the "Big Three" networks -- NBC, ABC, and CBS -- aired 152 stories about the matter between that time and Wednesday morning, October 11. NBC aired 56 stories, ABC 50, and CBS 46. Only a fraction of those stories, says MRC, were "brief anchor updates."

In contrast, MRC points out that media reaction to another Capitol Hill sex scandal several years ago -- specifically, one involving a Democratic congressman who was eventually convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice, and solicitation of child pornography. In covering both the 1994 indictment and 1995 conviction of Representative Mel Reynolds, the same three networks' coverage amounted to 19 stories. MRC calls that an "undeniable double standard."

Now, we all know there have been sex scandals in American politics from the beginning. I seem to recall one or two surrounding George Washington (neither really proven...but they make a great story). There will probably be more in the future, too. The issue is will both parties deal with these situations equally. Going by history, I'll stand by my statements in the original post.

Then, there is this fromChickenhawk Express, quoting from the letter the page's parents setnt to CNN:

In the fall of 2005, as soon as Congressman Alexander became aware of the e-mails received by our son, he called us. He explained that his office had been made aware of these e-mails by our son and that while he thought the e-mails were overly friendly, he did not think, nor did we think, that they were offensive enough to warrant an investigation.
Rather, we asked him to see that Congressman Foley stop e-mailing or contacting our son and to otherwise drop the matter in order to avoid a media frenzy. He did so. If we had any other knowledge or evidence of potential impropriety, we would have asked for the matter to be treated differently. For instance, we were not aware of the instant messages that have come to light in the past few days.

So based on the parents' statement the situation was handled exactly as THEY wanted it. The parents were satisfied with the action taken. Plus their recollection follows right in line with Hastert's recollection. Now because of a political vendetta, they ARE involved in the media frenzy that they tried to avoid.

And...people still want me to believe this is not a Democratic/Anti-Republican witch hunt for election purposes? Please have the courtesy to give me more credit than that.