Repub Sex Scandal: Curiouser and Curiouser

The plot thickens. Here's Lawrence O'Donnell's latest revelation about Denny Hastert:

... Many chiefs of staff are close, very close, to their bosses on Capitol Hill. But none are closer than Scott Palmer is to Denny Hastert. They don't just work together all day, they live together [emphasis mine].

There are plenty of odd couple Congressmen who have roomed together on Capitol Hill, but I have never heard of a chief of staff who rooms with his boss. It is beyond unusual. But it must have its advantages. Anything they forget to tell each other at the office, they have until bedtime to catch up on. And then there's breakfast for anything they forgot to tell each other before falling asleep. And then there's all day at the office. Hastert and Palmer are together more than any other co-workers in the Congress.

Read the entire post by O'Donnell on Huffington Post to understand why this is important to the evolving Foley scandal. An earlier post by O'Donnell provides more background, as does this story from today's Washington Post -- which reports that another Congressional staffer has backed up the contention that Hastert knew of Foley's problems long ago.

You really have to wonder about these odd, secretive, repressed Republicans and what they are capable of doing to protect their own interests -- including the stealthy actions and lies of Rep. Heather Wilson regarding the infamous disappearing file on her husband when she was Secretary of the NM Department of Children, Youth and Families.

What emerges is how hypocritical so many of these right-wing types are, always putting themselves out front as sterling models of morality and "family values," meanwhile using gay marriage and other wedge "morality" issues to stir up hatred. Not surprisingly, they themselves often eventually get caught doing the very things they are supposedly so vehemently against.

I have to say that this kind of denial, dishonesty and mean-spiritedness is evident in the handling of almost every right-wing issue these days, from the Iraq occupation, to their sorry excuse for a prescription drug plan, to economic fairness. These types are masters of saying one thing and doing another. But maybe -- just maybe -- the tables are turning at last and more will be revealed. Has the light of day ever been more essential in discovering the real meaning of what's gone on in Washington during the Bush years?