A Moral Quandry
Is it wrong to feel, well, not quite happy but in some way uplifted by the scandal unfolding in the House Republican leadership?
To feel schadenfreude seems like a forgivable failing, at least in moderation. And it isn't like I'm actually rooting for each passing day to bring more pathetic and tawdry revelations and Republican infighting. So, can't I at least feel a bit giddy when it does, along with the disgust and sorrow?
Because frankly, we've long moved past the point where the problem was online sexual predation. We're now into the scandal being about pompous men full of their own power, who were willing, and are still willing, to violate all manner of principle to maintain that power. Each day, a new set of cobbled-up talking points are marshalled in defense of Hastert and his cronies, only to be made inoperative before the mouthpieces even get to recite them on the cable news shows, as new revelations occur, or some other scurrying rat throws the blame some other way. The problem for the Republicans at this point isn't about disgusting instant messages, it's about what the 'leadership' failed to do to stop them, and how they reacted when it all blew up.
I know that in my heart of hearts, I'd rather have the country up in arms about the torture legislation, angry over the cowardice and venality in the habeas corpus vote, brandishing flaming torches and pitchforks because Condi ignored Tenant and Black warning her in July of 2001 that they needed to do something about al Qaeda immediately, or taking a stand against the continuing outrages of Iraq and Katrina.
But, if the thing that finally gets the country riled up, if the thing that symbolizes to people what's wrong with the Republican Order in Washington, is the spectacle of these pompous white men scurrying around overly concerned with covering their asses, after years of knowing but not caring that Mark Foley was overly concerned with the asses of Congressional pages, should I reject it?
And is it wrong to want Denny Hastert to try and stay as long as possible, just so that the tawdry spectacle can be drawn out for a few more days before the election, so that the man who's been responsible for so much heinous legislation can also be responsible for a few more news cycles of embarassing revelations? Long enough so that every Republican Congressional candidate in the country has to answer the question "Will you vote for Denny Hastert as Leader if you get elected?" Long enough so that, smelling blood in the water, the rest of the power-hungry gang collapses into a feeding frenzy? Long enough so that every apologist and excuse-maker on cable TV has to watch the evolving story make a mockery of their statements, almost in real-time?
It feels awfully indulgent, somehow, but is it really wrong?
To feel schadenfreude seems like a forgivable failing, at least in moderation. And it isn't like I'm actually rooting for each passing day to bring more pathetic and tawdry revelations and Republican infighting. So, can't I at least feel a bit giddy when it does, along with the disgust and sorrow?
Because frankly, we've long moved past the point where the problem was online sexual predation. We're now into the scandal being about pompous men full of their own power, who were willing, and are still willing, to violate all manner of principle to maintain that power. Each day, a new set of cobbled-up talking points are marshalled in defense of Hastert and his cronies, only to be made inoperative before the mouthpieces even get to recite them on the cable news shows, as new revelations occur, or some other scurrying rat throws the blame some other way. The problem for the Republicans at this point isn't about disgusting instant messages, it's about what the 'leadership' failed to do to stop them, and how they reacted when it all blew up.
I know that in my heart of hearts, I'd rather have the country up in arms about the torture legislation, angry over the cowardice and venality in the habeas corpus vote, brandishing flaming torches and pitchforks because Condi ignored Tenant and Black warning her in July of 2001 that they needed to do something about al Qaeda immediately, or taking a stand against the continuing outrages of Iraq and Katrina.
But, if the thing that finally gets the country riled up, if the thing that symbolizes to people what's wrong with the Republican Order in Washington, is the spectacle of these pompous white men scurrying around overly concerned with covering their asses, after years of knowing but not caring that Mark Foley was overly concerned with the asses of Congressional pages, should I reject it?
And is it wrong to want Denny Hastert to try and stay as long as possible, just so that the tawdry spectacle can be drawn out for a few more days before the election, so that the man who's been responsible for so much heinous legislation can also be responsible for a few more news cycles of embarassing revelations? Long enough so that every Republican Congressional candidate in the country has to answer the question "Will you vote for Denny Hastert as Leader if you get elected?" Long enough so that, smelling blood in the water, the rest of the power-hungry gang collapses into a feeding frenzy? Long enough so that every apologist and excuse-maker on cable TV has to watch the evolving story make a mockery of their statements, almost in real-time?
It feels awfully indulgent, somehow, but is it really wrong?
posted by Paul at 3:14 PM |
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