FIVE WORST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD

SPECIAL "TOP NINE" EDITION (WEEK SEVEN)


As I sat down to write my weekly FIVE WORST PEOPLE list I just couldn't find it in my heart to eliminate the four very deserving individuals who would inevitably be left off if I were to insist on being slavish to my FIVE WORST rule. So, I thought that I'd introduce a special edition this week, given how important it was to enlightening the American people to just how morally bankrupt today's Republican Party truly is. We bloggers and blog readers have known for years that this is the case, but the actions (and inactions) of the GOP this week have really been something of a coming out party (so to speak) so I thought it would be alright to commemorate it with a special NINE WORST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. Without further ado, away we go!


We get things rolling today with White House press secretary Tony Snow, who began the GOP effort to downplay the whole Mark Foley controversy by calling the various exchanges between Foley and underage pages as "naughty emails." Of course, hours later he was amending his comments since the "naughty emails" thing really sounded a little flippant. Ya think?

Just once I'd like to see Joe Lieberman actually side with the Dems on something important. Time after time he has spit in the face of his fellow Democrats in order to cozy up with his future caucus in the GOP. Lately it's been all about holding up Bush's ass on Iraq, but this week it was about crapping on the Dems for actually taking the crazy step of demanding accountability from the Republican leadership in the House. But, I guess since Joe is about four weeks away from declaring a party change (assuming he gets reelected), he's already working on becoming indoctrinated into the GOP-think of "take no responsibility, EVER".

So does Newt Gingrich want a new job or something? Because he sure was making himself out to be the protector against gay bashing with his appearance on Fox News this week. Newt tried to sell a bill of goods that the House leadership didn't go too hard after Foley for fear of appearing as if they were gay bashing. I think that Jon Stewart said it best a couple of days ago when, in reply to Newt's nonsense said, “And by the way, equating a 52-year-old congressman who preys on 16-year-olds with being gay may be one reason the GOP is accused of gay-bashing.”

Matt Drudge was the first one out of the gate with the inevitable attack that the pages were actually to blame for the entire Foley controversy. After all, those boys can be so darn seductive when they're ... existing. So Drudge actually dug up that old chestnut - you know the one - how a rape victim really isn't a victim because they were asking for it. Maybe their skirt was too short or perhaps the fact that they chose to wear a low-cut dress means that no man can be held responsible for their actions. Because apparently, like the woman, those pages were asking to be stalked by a predator like Foley. And the latest news from Drudge is that he's pushing a story how all the various IMs are just a big prank that "went awry". Except that still doesn't absolve Foley of the main jist of the case - namely that he was having inappropriate and possibly illegal instant messaging conversations with underage boys. Nothing that the right wing throws out ever debunks this one key fact.

Hey, did you hear what Ben Stein said about gays? Something about how it's a big part of gay life to get all hot and bothered whenever a young boy walks past. But it's okay for him to say this because his best friend is gay. If I were that guy, Stein would be my former best friend since I would find it awfully difficult to even sit in the same room with a man who purports to be my best friend yet thinks that I'll pop a stiffy whenever I see a little boy in the line at a McDonalds.

I hear that New York Congressman Tom Reynolds has a new motto: when the going gets tough, call in children to form a human shield. And that's exactly what Reynolds did. Knowing that he was in some amount of trouble given that he knew of Mark Foley's "naughty emails" problem yet still pushed Foley to run for reelection this year, did Reynolds decide to unflinchingly face the press? Of course not. He held a press conference in front of a group of children and supporters. When the supporters asked f0r the children to leave so that they could actually have a frank discussion on the Foley matter, Reynolds refused. To actually use children to protect oneself from tough questions has got to be a new low in the annals of GOP history. Oh, and his constituents seem to agree with my assessment. Latest polling shows him trailing his Democratic opponent by five percentage points in a SurveyUSA poll and eight points in an internal poll. This guy is head of the NRCC (and his only job is make sure the GOP keeps their majority) and he's in serious danger of losing his seat. I would think that's almost unheard of, but these are strange times in politics. And by strange I mean voters are pissed that the GOP sat on their hands while a member of their caucus was out cruising for underage male Congressional pages.

I'm kind of angry on one level about the entire Foley controversy and coverup for one reason: Bill Frist said some insanely stupid stuff that during a normal news week would have gotten huge play. After visiting Afghanistan, Fristy seems to believe that it's time to forgive and forget with the Taliban and let them return as a part of the new and improved Afghan government. I personally think that this is huge! He's ready to allow a government that was complicit in the 9/11 attacks to return to a position of power. This is so wrong on so many levels - what about the brave armed forces who lost their lives (and continue to put their lives at risk) to depose the Taliban? I always knew that the GOP views our military as a disposable commodity but for Frist to come out and so openly shit on their sacrifices (and not to mention those who perished on 9/11) is just dispicable. And this is a man who wants to be our next president.

At number two we have the sexual predator that started it all, former congressman Mark Foley. Depending on what reports one has read, and there are more coming out every day, Foley may have actually been stalking young pages since the mid-nineties upon taking office. (Hey, anybody else remember a seminal event in the nation's history when a certain president was getting impeached for lying about a blowjob? And all the while this pedophile was running free in the halls of Congress.) Oh, and did I mention that, just like anyone caught with their pants down (sorta pun intended) he's gone ahead and checked himself into rehab for alcoholism. Because why else would he do this kind of stuff unless he was drunk, right? Oh, and he was molested by a clergyman about forty years ago too. So, to recap, Foley is supposedly a drunk who was molested as a teenager who, because of the booze and the molesting is now a flaming homo who likes boys. Yeah. Got it.

And finally, coming in at numero uno this week is House Speaker Denny Hastert, who actually got more posts this week than Foley did. And to be fair, he did have a busier week than Foley. After all, it is awful hard work blaming everybody else for your lack of leadership. To date, he has pointed the finger at some many different people that he is probably going to have to get out the DC phonebook in order to find someone he hasn't already blamed. I always thought that the GOP was supposed to be the party of personal responsibility, yet the man (and his party) seem pathologically incapable of shouldering any of the responsibility.

Here's the latest tally after five weeks:
George W. Bush - 17 points
George Felix Allen Jr. - 12 points
Joe Lieberman - 11 points
Denny Hastert - 9 points
Bill Frist - 8 points
Mark Foley - 8 points
John McCain - 7 points
Tom Reynolds - 6 points
Donald Rumsfeld - 6 points
Dick Cheney - 6 points
Ben Stein - 5 points
Chris Wallace - 5 points
ABC - Path to 9/11 - 5 points
Matt Drudge - 4 points
Geoff Davis - 4 points
Matt Drudge - 3 points
Marilyn Musgrave - 3 points
Michelle Malkin - 3 points
Condoleeza Rice - 3 points
Ann Coulter - 3 points
JD Hayworth - 2 points
John Boehner - 2 points
Michael Savage - 2 points
Neil Cavuto - 2 points
Tony Snow - 1 point
Frank Gaffney - 1 point
Hugh Hewitt - 1 point

(Points are awarded based on five points for a first place finish, four points for second and so on. Points will be carried over from week to week. NOTE: This week is a little different given the expansion of the roster so first place gets nine points and so on down the line.)