Hey Republicans...quit whining!

Republicans this week are bemoaning the fact that the media, and none too few soccer moms, are holding the entire party accountable for the under-a-cloud resignation of Rep. Mark Foley, a congressman found to be a bit too intimate with minor-aged pages.

The GOP feigns shock. Afterall, if the media is so relentlessly in pursuit of this the month before the November elections shouldn’t they at least try to put the Foley scandal in perspective with the Democratic Reps. Barney Franks, Gary Studds, Gary Condit and President Bill Clinton scandals of yesteryear. The rabid liberal media didn’t seem nearly so interested in accountability then as they seem to be now with Foley and the GOP.

The real lesson in all this – get over it. Get over it Republicans, cultural conservatives and those pleased to be dubbed the religious right. If your favorite political party has a supposed moral core that wants to advertise on issues like, for instance, what constitutes a family, the Judeo-Christian value system and the protection of life at its earliest conception - then don’t be surprised that you might be judged by a higher standard by those to whom you are selling your vision of the world.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount taught us that “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” In other words, high moral principles mean a higher standard of accountability for yourself. So, when one of your political party falls in sexual disgrace, then don’t be surprised if a liberal secular media jumps all over it with glee and then gladly pounds your chances for majority power in Congress to a pulp weeks before an election.

I, for one, thinks it is important to set a high standard and then live up to that standard with firmness, humility and kindness. And when that standard is not met by our team, we should own up to our failing, take appropriate action and let the political or public perception fallout drop where they may. What we shouldn’t do is whine about how unfair it is that no one likes us now because we a) didn’t nip this problem in the bud when we could have and b) by golly, why can’t people remember names like Frank, Studds, Condit and Clinton when we need them to?

Two answers to that last question. The Democrats and the media have no such high standards and the Republicans have advertised that they do.

Quit whining, clean up your House and face the future in a state of renewed focus. That the Republican House didn’t think this a good strategy a year ago, what we might really be talking about here is a well-deserved minority focus.