Harper’s Mews looks at the subject in a post that should be read in full. Part of it:
I would not yet count out the Republicans, though. They may yet hold on, since Foley was only one person reperesenting one district; though, as I say, there will probably be some losses. Legislation would become tougher to pass for them, but could still be done if they learn the lost art of (shudder) bipartisanship. Bill Clinton performed as president quite nicely under a Republican Congress, and that was with them baying for his political blood. George W. Bush could yet do the same — if, again, he learns “compromise� and “bipartisanship� are not dirty words. That may prove, actually, the strongest salt in the election wounds. But the United States always works best when we achieve compromise on the issues before Congress, and it can again.
If I predict a hard time for anyone, it is for the homosexual men and women who work in Congress, from employees to Senators. Most especially, I fear for Republican gays who are out of the closet. From my reading, conditions have been tightrope for them at the best of times. Now, with the public revelation of Mark Foley, a public if not blatant gay, as a pedophile, the worst homophobic fears have been realized. What gains the Log Cabin Republicans have made for gays in the GOP may be swept aside if the Karl Rove base demands its pound of flesh to stay true to the party.
Read it in its entirety.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.