Foley Consuming GOP As Elections Draw Near - washingtonpost.com

If the Rethugs win this time, there can be no doubt that Gooper skullduggery is the reason.

Foley Consuming GOP As Elections Draw Near - washingtonpost.com:

In both parties, there is rough agreement among operatives that the impact of the Foley scandal is likely to be felt in two different ways.

There are several places where local factors could amplify the scandal's destructive power against Republican candidates. Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R), who is facing questions about his own role in responding to reports of Foley's conduct, is suddenly in a tough race against Democrat Jack Davis in an upstate New York district. In Pennsylvania, Republican Rep. Don Sherwood's already troubled campaign hardly needed anything that might remind voters of his admission earlier this year that he had an affair with a woman who accused him of physical abuse.

Beyond these specific races, however, many strategists in both parties believe the scandal might echo principally as a metaphor for a GOP leadership that over the past year has drawn more attention for ethical lapses and partisan turmoil than legislative achievements.