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Washington Prowler

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And it isn't like Republicans are helping matters. It is now part of the MSM and blogosphere mantra that House Republican leadership knew of the vile instant messages months ago, when in fact there is currently no evidence to confirm it. "The level of passing the buck isn't surprising, but it's still disappointing," says a Senate leadership aide looking across the Capitol. "Part of it is out of survival mode, but throwing everyone under the bus only encourages the media and the left to get louder. I don't recall anyone demanding Rep.Dick Gephardt resign his post because of Mel Reynolds [an Illinois congressman convicted in 1995 on 12 counts, including sexual assault and solicitation of child pornography, and other crimes; his sentence was later commuted by President Bill Clinton]. Democrats tend to hang together better in these kinds of cases. Why can't Republicans learn their lesson?"

Some say it is because the Foley case hits so close to the social conservative base. "We'd look like hypocrites if we did on Foley what the Democrats did with Frank, Studds, Reynolds, and Clinton," says a House leadership aide. "But we need a cooling down period, and we haven't had that opportunity."

Which comes back to where we started: the trickling out of the IM messages, the timing of the leaks, and the organizations driving the story in the media.

"There is no question that Foley had to resign. That there should have been a formal ethics investigation and if laws were broken a criminal investigation," says a House GOP leadership aide. "But this story should have played out in the middle of July if not earlier, perhaps when Foley was being talked about as our guy to challenge for the Republican Senate nomination. Instead, it happens just when things are looking a bit better for our party. It's frustrating, but we've overcome this stuff before. Foley is gone. For now, the question for Republicans across the country is this: do you want Nancy Pelosi as House speaker, or someone like Mike Pence? That's where conservatives should be focused."

topics:
Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Law, Energy