Report: Foley story was 'supposed to drop just before election'

RAW STORY
Published: Tuesday October 10, 2006

(Updated.)

A story appearing in the American Spectator claims that news of then-Congressman Mark Foley's (R-FL) inappropriate communication with pages was supposed to be released by Democratic "party operatives" at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington or American Family Voices just ten days prior to the election.

C.R.E.W. has contended that they received Foley emails many months ago, and turned what they had over to law enforcement, rather than passing it along to journalists. The organization plans to release a "fact sheet" detailing their account of involvement in the affair later today.

Republican rebuttal?

The Washington Post reported that the Republican National Committee has issued "talking points" to conservatives which focus on Democratic connections to both groups, in an attempt to push back against the public outcry regarding the scandal which has concentrated on GOP leaders. Polls indicate that many believe that Republican House leaders engaged in a "cover up" for the former Florida Congressman.

"The RNC is shipping reams of information to conservative radio hosts, television commentators and bloggers," Jim VandeHei and Chris Cillizza wrote for the Post. "Those GOP talking points detail the Democratic connections of groups including the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and American Family Voices, which are working to turn the scandal into an issue with national implications."

Excerpts from American Spectator column:

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According to one political consultant with ties to the DNC and other party organizations, "I'm hearing the Foley story wasn't supposed to drop until about ten days out of the election. It was supposed the coup de grace, not the first shot."

So why the rush? According to another DNC operative: bad polling numbers across the country. "Bush's national security speeches were getting traction beyond the base, gas prices were dropping, economic outlook surveys were positive. We were seeing bad Democratic numbers in Missouri, Michigan, Washington, Arizona, Florida Pennsylvania, even parts of New York," says the operative. "A month before, we were looking at launching an offensive against Republicans who according to polling barely held a five-seat majority if the election were to be held at the end of August. That was doable for Democrats from September 1 to November 7. But by mid-September, Republicans were back to having held seats for a 15-seat majority. In the Senate, it looked like a wash. We held seats in Florida, Nebraska, picked up seats in Pennsylvania, but that that was about it. They were holding in Missouri and possibly within reach of Maryland and Washington. We were looking at a disaster in the making."

So how to remedy? "You pull out the bright shiny things that distract the average American voter away from the issues we all know they care about -- national security, anti-terrorism -- and focus on the ugly: Foley and Iraq."

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FULL SPECTATOR ARTICLE CAN BE READ AT THIS LINK

Skepticism

Skeptical about the America Spectator column, Allah Pundit at the conservative Website Hot Air featured a "Prowler-bashing flashback!"

"A reader reminds me that the Prowler once quoted an unnamed 'Republican leadership staffer' as blaming Harry Reid for that Terri Schiavo memo that turned out to have been written by one of Mel Martinez’s staffers," wrote Allah Pundit. "Read the quotes; see if they sound any more realistic to you than the quote in today’s piece."