Don't Know Nothin' 'Bout History

I got up last Sunday morning, turned on ESPN, and realized something. Sports reporters are easily the smartest journalists in all of the news media. I learned from sport reporters that it has been 6 years since the Yankees won a World Series. It has been 22 years since the Detroit Tigers’ last World Series victory and 17 years have elapsed since the Oakland A’s last won. Before the first pitch of every season, Chicago Cubs fans are reminded that their team has not won a World Series since the Bronze Age. Until two years ago, Boston Red Sox fans were forced to endure a similar indignity.
What does this all mean? It means that, only in sports journalism, does history exist. For that matter, only in sports journalism does context exist. In front page and evening news journalism, events occur in complete isolation from any historical context.
A couple of weeks ago, the Democrats’ long anticipated October Surprise was unveiled and Mark Foley, an obscure Republican from Florida, abruptly resigned his seat in the United States House or Representatives and since then, the whole affair became a national campaign issue. Before that, I had never even heard of Mark Foley. But now, when I pick up a newspaper or turn on the news I am told that the Mark Foley episode is hurting Republicans across the country. I have to scratch my head and wonder why this should have any consequences for anyone but Mark Foley.
Somehow, this has become a no-win situation for Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. I have never seen his appointment calendar, but I strongly suspect that it is crowded with more urgent business than chasing down rumors of phone sex – particularly as no laws seem to have been broken. The boys to whom Foley sent naughty notes were all of the legal age of consent. I have no doubt that if Hastert had moved more forcefully to get Foley to clean up his act, he’d find himself accused of homophobia.
As for historical context and how sexual indulgence should reflect upon a political party, we have the recent history of an ex-president who not only had sex with an intern in his office but lied about it too. We then had the spectacle of the president’s entire party saying that the sex was nobody’s business and lying about it, committing perjury, suborning perjury and intimidating witnesses were okay too.
But one should not even make too much of that, except to note that not one Republican has defended Foley.
No, if you want to see what malfeasance has to say about a political party, you need to look at a story that has gotten almost no attention at all, but should. In Maryland, Republican lieutenant governor Michael Steele is running for Senate against representative Ben Cardin for the seat left open when Paul Sarbanes announced his intention to retire.
Even before the primary, Democrats targeted Steele primarily because he is black and any significant erosion of the black vote could cost the Democrats this seat. So, two staffers from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which operated out of New York Senator Charles Schumer’s office, illegally stole Michael Steele’s identity to gain access to his credit records. This is of particular interest as Senator Schumer has made identity protection one of his signature political issues.
Now what tells you more about a political party – the sexual proclivities of one member, or a concerted opposition research effort that allegedly culminated in a felony?
Before you answer, consider this. Once the malefactors were exposed to the public and the press, they were fired. Good start. However, when last I looked into the case (some months ago I confess), the Democratic Party was paying two lawyers $500 per hour to defend the staffers. Can anyone show me a single receipt showing that the Republican Party is helping Foley out at all?
Oddly, the story I just told you is generally not considered news. You haven’t heard it, right? New Yorkers who rely upon the New York Times as their sole source of news will have no idea that the senior senator from their state was involved in these dirty tricks. The Gray Lady published one small blurb, but never mentioned that Schumer’s office was involved.
If only this were a sports story....