Conservatives Must Deal with Gays in Republican Party

Mark Foley is gone. The scandal involving a series of risque e-mails from the Congressman to one or more Congressional pages has ended in forced resignation - but the finger pointing continues. It is nearly impossible to talk about news of the scandal without mentioning the term October Surprise (first used in 1968). The recent release of the 2005 e-mails derailed Foley's candidacy - and deservedly so! But now the Liberal wackos are trying to implicate House Speaker Denny Hastert in an effort to pick up seats in the House. It's not important whether Hastert knew last year. There is only one issue to focus on here: Homosexuals in the Republican Party.

Conservative activists are beginning to discuss the Mark Foley scandal as indicative of a GOP that has become too tolerant of gays in their midst. Regardless of the party's efforts against gay marriage, the argument goes, the fact that Republican officials accept gay congressmen, such as Foley, and staffers will mean the party will have problems. The point of the scandal is this: For generations, Washington, D.C., has been home to a community of gay and lesbian politicians and staffers who live in the closet, hiding their private lives for fear of ostracism if not persecution. The question I want to debate is whether Foley's homosexuality is part of the problem and what led to his inappropriate behavior with pages.

As a Conservative thinker, I firmly believe that homosexuality leads directly to interest in underage partners. I need to add here that there's as yet no evidence of any improper physical contact between Foley and the former pages - despite what the Liberal media is trying to sell you. Denny Hastert responded to the behavior precisely the way that Liberal protectors of gay rights have responded to other scandals (take Barney Frank in 1987, for instance). Early warnings of Foley's behavior toward young male pages may have been overlooked or treated with deference, fearing a backlash from the radical gay rights movement. Why is this backlash such a big deal on Capitol Hill?

Answer: There is a much larger network of gay and lesbian staffers than anyone in the media is reporting. There are homosexuals in prominent positions, for conservative politicians in fervent opposition to gay rights. This is the real issue brought to light with the Mark Foley scandal. The members of the network protect each other. In fact, there seems to be a sort of "velvet mafia" of gay staffers and politicians on Capitol Hill (coined by ABCNews). As Conservatives, we will need to deal with the issue of gays in the Republican Party during the next few years. Many of us have been asking why the Republicans seem anemic when it comes time to stand up for truth. I believe this is one of the answers!