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[by Ross Levine]

Scandal is to politics what turning points are to a movie script:  the action is proceeding in a linear fashion when all of a sudden, something causes the plot to shift directions.  And just as turning points keep the audience engaged in a film, so scandals keep us engaged in politics.  Without scandal, government would be dull indeed.

Scandal is also something that helps protect us from the abuses of our rulers.  A good scandal cuts politicians down to size, and helps check their wanton lust for power.  Think of it as the sun that melts the wings of Icarus.

When a scandal rocks Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court or any other lofty government entity, we should all, along with feeling outrage, heave a collective sigh of relief.  In totalitarian regimes, there are no scandals, since the regimes themselves are scandals. 

Here in America, the recent events surrounding ex-Representative Foley's fondness for underage pages prove that our government is not yet lost to us.  A scandal as juicy as this one reassures us that our leaders have only tenuous control over their personal and/or professional lives, and that they have little understanding of the nature of hypocrisy. Were they more competent, more able to hide their indiscretions and cover up their cover-ups, we would be well on our way to becoming an authoritarian state.

Apparently there's little chance of that.

An even greater joy provided to us by Foley and friends is the unadulterated pleasure of watching the corrupt as they go through the mandatory stages that follow the exposure of their scandalous behavior.  First comes denial, of course ("I thought they were just overly friendly e-mails.") Then anger ("The Democrats made me do it!  If the gay rights lobby weren't so powerful ... !") Then comes, well, possibly depression, but in the case of our present-day Republicans, it may be back to denial for a while. 

Last is the resolution -- a resignation maybe, a demotion, or, as is often the case, the fortune to hang on, albeit weakened.   Clinton is an example of the latter, as is Donald Rumsfeld, though of course, one can hardly compare a scandalous dalliance with a scandalous war.

It is important to note, however, that scandal does not only expose the corruption itself, but the mindset behind it.  Foley's sins are fairly obvious -- his IMs were some of the best porn we've seen in years -- but what about the various other GOP cast members who knew what they knew but did not think it necessary to act?  What were they thinking?  Could it be that today's Republican Party is ill-equipped to handle deviant behavior?  When it comes to actions and feelings beyond what is considered the Republican norm, the attitude seems to be look away, that to acknowledge a so-called moral infraction is to admit fallibility.  No wonder so few Republicans can stomach abortion, or the distribution of condoms to prevent AIDS.  By viewing human behavior in simplistic terms, they can charge forth on the campaign trail with a zero-tolerance message that makes them sound tough and decisive.

Alas, Achilles had his heel, but the Republicans seem vulnerable all the way up to their cheeks.  When Hastert and company found out about Foley, naturally they took no meaningful action; Foley was one of their own, a white dude skilled at raising money and voting the party line, and to oust/out him would have been a bit of a PR problem.  That there might be a bigger PR problem down the road was not their main concern, for politicians in general are always more about today than tomorrow.  So they may have attempted to rope Foley in a little, but as far as really coming down on him -- no way.  One can only believe that each and every Republican is so worried about his own human failings that they dare not punish another of their kind lest the magnifying glass be turned on them.

But what do we make of the fact that Foley was the chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children?  Wouldn't Dennis Hastert have had the sense to pull him aside and tell him to discretely find another committee to chair, like highway maintenance or landmark preservation, something far removed from the realm of his senses?  Decidedly not, for here lies another Republican strategy – that the best way to hide a sin is to denounce it.  You don't want to just slink away to the sidelines where you won't be noticed – you need to get out in front of your vice where everyone can see you swinging your sword at the dragon.

There's one more way that scandal serves to protect us from the excesses of our leaders:  it helps familiarize them with the truth.  Without scandal, a politician might spend his or her entire career telling nothing but lies.  But once a scandal breaks, some measure of truth must come forth, since after all, truth is the last resort of the desperate.  In this regard, we can hope that if a politician is involved in enough scandals, he or she will eventually learn not to lie.

But even if they do keep lying, the people, post-scandal, no longer have an excuse to be fooled.  They must finally recognize the duplicity of their elected officials and do something about it.  If they don't -- well, that's a scandal of a different sort, and might I say, one that's not so easy to forgive.

October 20, 2006