The Democrats Do Have Way A Mucking Up A Good Opportunity

I guess that's the one little spark of hope I've been keeping alive. The Democrats have become so unfamiliar with absolutes and moral standards, that when they do criticize someone who has legitimately done something foul - like Foley - they've no idea how much force to bring to bear. They get so giddy they just go all out full-throttle. The same can be said of their national security stance. They can't just criticize the war plans and how they were executed, they have to let people like Cindy Sheehan and John Murtha slander our men and women fighting on the ground and everyone on up to the Commander-in-Chief.

Jonah Goldberg says that as usual their actions will backfire.

Let me be clear: I carry no water for the House GOP. Less than a month ago, I wrote that it would probably be a good thing if the Republicans lost the House, so I'm hardly inclined to rally to their flag because of their handling of this Foley mess. But let me make a prediction: Despite the moral panic sweeping Washington right now, this will backfire on Democrats, liberals and the gay left.

Liberals made sexual harassment their signature issue, rending their clothes and gnashing their teeth over Sens. John Tower and Bob Packwood and Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, among others. The puritanical zeal of these inquisitions cannot be exaggerated.

Then came Bill Clinton, who was, by any fair measure, a worse womanizer than Thomas or the rest of them. The Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit led, inexorably, to revelations of alleged rape and scandalous behavior with an intern. Forced to choose between power and principle, liberals and feminists held an impromptu fire sale on principles.

Fanning the flames of righteous fervor over Foley will probably reap electoral benefits for Democrats. But the time will come when something like the "Foley standard" will be inconvenient to Democrats. In response, liberals will hold another fire sale. And yet, they will be stunned again when people claim the Democrats don't stand for anything.

Nuance - despite what John Kerry says - is not one of their strong suits.