Quote of the Day

"But, you know, this is a political issue in itself, too, and what we’ve tried to do as the Republican Party is make a better economy, protect this country against terrorism — and we’ve worked at it ever since 9/11, worked with the president on it — and there are some people that try to tear us down. We are the insulation to protect this country, and if they get to me it looks like they could affect our election as well."
--Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, on why holding him accountable is bad for America.

Translation: 'The Republicans and I are the only things keeping America from being destroyed by Al Qaeda, so if you consider voting against us in *our* elections, or try to take me to task for coddling sexual predators, then the death of America will be on your head.'

I guess they are so used to reflexively using 9/11 as a rhetorical bludgen to justify everything and demonize those who dare question them, that Mr. Hastert didn't even realize how vile he sounds. How low can they go? And why after all the scandals this week am I still not convinced they will lose?

Fox News, meanwhile, labels Rep. Foley a Democrat. AP did the same. Darn that liberal media!

Oh, and then there is this disgusting incident... The head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), held a press conference yesterday to address concerns about the Foley issue, in which he literally surrounded himself with young children. When reporters asked if the children could be escorted out so they could discuss the adult content involved in this scandal, Reynolds said "I’m not going to ask any of my supporters to leave".

I wonder if these people can even remember what having a soul was like.

[Related: Hastert may have just days to save his job (U.S. News & World Report)]