This is a column for all those Republican die-hards who have been writing me with threats containing insulting and scatological references because of my assertion that the GOP is unfit to govern.
I did not decide yesterday or last week that the Republican leadership is unfit to govern because of the Mark Foley scandal.
I actually came to that conclusion long ago, when I saw the Republicans betray virtually every single point in the party's platform.
They have badly botched immigration and border issues.
They have increased taxpayer spending exponentially.
They have created massive new bureaucracies instead of eliminating old, useless and oppressive ones.
They have failed to protect the lives of the unborn.
I could go on and on.
I used the Foley scandal as one illustration of incompetence, arrogance, betrayal of principle, self-destructive tendencies, counter-productive decision-making, short-term thinking and reactive policies.
Despite the anticipated onslaught of condemnation from the Kool-aid drinkers, I am more convinced than ever that Republicans will take it in the shorts in November and not have a clue as to why they were defeated by a party that offers the American people nothing but lies and a chance to vote against the party in power.
Republicans had a chance to be rid of Foley a year ago. He was considering not running for re-election. By then, the Republican leadership was well aware of this man's shortcomings, his moral failures. They were aware of the "inappropriate" e-mails to House pages. They were aware he was a closeted homosexual. They were aware of the way forces within the homosexual activist movement had attempted to blackmail him on issue such as the Defense of the Family Act. If they weren't aware of any of these factors, they were, again, out to lunch, totally negligent in their responsibilities to their House, their party and their country.
Rather than agreeing with Foley that it was time to move on, the Republican leadership persuaded him to run again this year.
Yes, I know the Democrats probably used the information they gathered on Foley, saved it for this rainy day and dropped it on ABC News as an October surprise.
This does not surprise me. This is exactly what I expect the immoral Democrats to do.
What does surprise me is that some well-intentioned Republicans – people who really love this country, people who believe in constitutional government, people who are decent, moral human beings – never attempt to hold their own politicians accountable for their abject failures.
Clearly, if we don't do that, we will never raise the level of political discourse in this country – we will never raise the standards of political behavior.
"Well, Farah, what are we supposed to do?" these people will ask me, "Let the Democrats win? Let the party of Barney Frank and Gerry Studds and Ted Kennedy have their way with us?"
It is a scary thought. But you can't beat something with nothing. And, unfortunately, in many of the races we have for Congress this year, that is what Republicans are attempting to do.
I am not telling anyone not to vote this year. I am not suggesting that there isn't an appropriate time to use our discernment to elect good candidates when they are running. I expect to vote for some Republicans this year. But I will do it knowing that it won't make much difference to the future of our country. I will do it understanding that each of us must do much more than vote every two years if we expect to take America back.
Get Farah's spot-on prescription for taking America back.