Simply Naughty Emails?

The great equalizer of self-righteous rantings against OPS – "Other

People's Sins" – is that your own eventually will jump up to smack you.

The great equalizer of self-righteous rantings
against OPS — "Other People's Sins" — is that your own eventually will jump up
to smack you.

Recall the history of Matt Glavin of the now
defunct Hannibal Hamlin Institute in Hallowell in the 1980s and darling of the
religious right in Maine. He was caught — not once, but twice — for certain
unsavory activities at a public park in Georgia, following his successful
disbarment suit against President Clinton in Arkansas.

What is captivating about the latest
congressional scandal triggered by Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., is the thundering
silence from a Christian Right more intent on securing its professed agenda of
family values than policing the rotten apples in its own political machine.

It is now clear that Foley has long been
notorious for hitting on underage legislative pages — high-achieving sons of
proud American parents. It is clear, as well, that Foley's antics have been no
secret in the seats of Republican power in Washington. His atonement was to
serve as chairman of the Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus.

Yet, this predation was swept into the category
of "simply naughty e-mails," a term coined by the erudite Tony Snow, the
president's press secretary. Snow points us to a lot worse things that go on in
Washington: "Look, I hate to tell you but it's not always pretty up there on
Capitol Hill, and there have been other scandals, as you know, that have been
more than simply, uh, uh, uh, naughty e-mails."

Uh, uh, really! Tell us about it!

So, Foley has apologized, resigned and played
the "alcoholic" card by admitting himself into a locked facility, God only knows
where. Speaker J. Dennis Hastert refuses to step down for enabling him and thus
putting other children in jeopardy, and we are now embarked on more important
missions such as stopping North Korea from testing nuclear missiles.

Sort of fills you with confidence, doesn't it?

Here is a news item for you: The Christian
Coalition gave Foley an 84 percent rating.

Out there with Foley on the proverbial limb is
Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., the National Republican Congressional Committee
chairman, who, after hearing about Foley's "naughty e-mails," demanded $100,000
from Foley for his campaign coffers instead of demanding his resignation.
Nobody, it seems, thought to alert the pages' organization about the danger its
members were in.

Earlier this week, it was my privilege to be
invited to sign on with 15 other religious leaders nationwide to a letter to
Hastert. We demanded resignations from all those involved in the coverup of
Foley's proclivities. The letter came out of Chicago from an organization called
Faithful Democrats. Here are excerpts:

"We were deeply saddened to learn of the
appalling behavior of Congressman Mark Foley. His sending sexually explicit
instant messages and e-mails to numerous congressional pages … shocked America
… The bitter irony is that the leaders of a political party that emphasizes
family values may have deliberately betrayed those values for political gain.
This is a moral failure — and a symptom of a Congress that has lost its moral
compass …

"We therefore call for the repentance and
resignation of all members of Congress who knew about Foley's misdeeds yet
failed to stop them. Investigations into this scandal must be immediate,
independent, bipartisan, and mindful not only of Foley's crimes, but also of the
possible efforts to hide them …"

George Bernard Shaw, when asked about the adage,
"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," had this to say:
"Power does not corrupt. But fools in positions of power corrupt power."

Three years ago, I relinquished my lifelong
Republican Party membership on grounds of Christian conscience, a decision that
affirms itself with each passing day.

It was not an easy decision, but it was the
right one for me.

To the Christian gentleman who held prayer
meetings, asking his god for my defeat in 2004; to the Christian friend who
called to inform me that I had sold out to Satan; to my president, who has
divided the world into his own version of good and evil, Foley stands as a
one-word warning: "Checkmate!"

The lesson is very clear. Wherever you find
someone ranting about OPS — "Other People's Sins" — keep an eye on your kids.
Fools are about!

Published in Central Maine Newspapers on Thursday, October 5.