Musings 176--Taking a stand on moral issues can kill you.

You would have thought that republican politicians would have learned by now that morality is a bad thing to take a stand on. Now I'm not saying that politicians shouldn't have moral values. What I am saying is that, as a politician, moral values should never be nailed down as to its exactness.

Everybody is against bad things. That is always a good stance to take. The absolute defining of the bad things, however, can be very hard to do, and usually becomes very dangerous to do. There are a few things that are considered universally bad. Murder and rape are at the top of the list, but after these two it gets a bit fuzzy due to circumstances of events. The court system has come to understand this. That is why there are so many different ways in which people can be charged in a case.

When the conservative republicans staked out morality as their center piece many years ago, they charted a course to where they are today. Democrats, on the other hand, are the party of forgive and forget. They truly believe in the old adage: "To err is human, to forgive is divine."

When morality is your main concern, there is no forgiving or forgetting. The self-rightness of owning the moral high ground does not let you slip up. If you do, you are tossed away forever into the biblical "lake of fire." Being straight laced is a full-time job.

Thus, when conservative republicans mess up, it is neat to watch them savage each other. What Mark Foley (R) of Florida did was very wrong. However, it could have been worse. He could have actually had sexual relations with a capitol page. He didn't--at least that is the evidence available now.

Foley has resigned from the House of Representatives and has checked himself into an alcohol clinc. Speaker Dennie Hastert is catching more hell than Foley. The conservative Washington Times has asked for Hastert to resign as speaker. He supposedly knew about problems with Foley months or even years ago. Thus, he tried to cover it up. Well...maybe, or maybe not.

Since the republicans are the party of morality; then, they cannot give Foley or Hastert a pass. If they do, they will look like the forgive-and-forget democats. Heads must roll.

Foley was a pretender who latched onto the conservative mantra that kids are the most important creatures on this planet. They have a real fascination with babies. Foley apparently had a real fascination with babies after they got a little older. Hence, he maneuvered himself into a position where he could be around these young men and women.

When a conservative republican learns of an immorality--such as Hastert supposedly learned about Foley--he has no recourse but to cut immediate ties with such behavior. If he doesn't he gets painted with the same ugly brush that now paints Foley. There is no maneuver room when you stand on morality and that is your only issue. Thus, standing on morality can get you killed.

Personally, I think it would be good riddance to both of them. Foley, who now admits to being gay like it is a disease, is definitely a pedophile. Hastert is a either a liar or senile, since he doesn't remember being told about Foley.

Stay tuned, this is just getting interesting.