Furor Over GOP Memo on Foley

It was with interest that I read the two front-page articles (June 8) concerning the reprehensible behavior of those in the highest echelons of the Republican political organization (“GOP Aide Quits in Furor Over Memo on Foley” and “Ethics Epidemic: Fingers Are Pointed at the Media”). They are especially fascinating when paired with another front-page story of that day, “House Votes Restrictions on FSX Deal With Japan,” detailing some minor curtailments on what looks like a wholesale giveaway of American technology, a deal strongly backed by the current Administration.

Is there a hidden benefit in this handing over of years-long research and testing to a country that has barely concealed disdain for the idea of establishing a civilized trade relationship? We seem to be saying, if they won’t buy our know-how, we’ll have to just bestow it upon them.

It is the same shortsighted, parochial attitude that approves the dismissal of issues and debate in favor of demagoguery. In the ethics article, it was no surprise to find a Republican political adviser revealing that popular television shows with neo-fascists at the helm are plumbed for topics of an acceptable level of ugliness.

In a television interview about the release of the so-called attack memo, Republican National Committee Chairman Lee Atwater said he was almost certain that had he seen the memo in question, it wouldn’t have gone out. Almost. Atwater felt no need even to voice the empty phrases of assurance and outrage that Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole and President Bush managed. It is hard not to entertain the thought that the mid-level RNC staffer who supposedly resigned in shame didn’t slip right into a better, job with a sympathetic agency head.

The composite picture is an ominous one--a group of power mongers who care nothing for the good of the country as a country, as a diverse whole with a need for sensible leadership, as an entity which must endure beyond their average life spans. This denotes an exclusive interest in the short term, and carries the pervasive odor of wanting to rule, rather than govern.

PRISCILLA MAYFIELD

Orange