A 'bipartisan' investigation of the Foley affair?

In all the steady stream of ink spilled into the rancid sea now known as the Foley affair, none is more disingenuous and telling than one word so cavalierly thrown into the mix in the dark of night: bipartisan.

In an effort to sop up the mess so the gathering waves would stop lapping at his doorstep, Rep. John Shimkus, an Illinois Republican, issued a statement Friday night. The press release came after Rep. Mark Foley, a Florida Republican, resigned as his electronic correspondence with former House pages was being divulged, betraying his predatory instincts.

"As chairman of the bipartisan House Page Board in late 2005," Shimkus began his statement, "I was notified by the then clerk of the House, who manages the page program, that he had been told by Congressman Rodney Alexander [a Louisiana Republican] about an E-mail exchange between Congressman Foley and a former House page. I took immediate action to investigate the matter."

Bipartisan? Use of that word suggests that both political parties were represented in this investigation. As we now know, however, Shimkus did not initially consult the sole Democrat on the page board, Rep. Dale Kildee of Michigan, who learned of Foley's behavior only late last week.

With the benefit of hindsight, Shimkus now says he's sorry he didn't consult Kildee earlier, because now it appears to be political. Uh, yeah, it WAS political, Congressman. The fact that Rep Tom Reynolds, the chairman of the GOP's congressional election committee, knew about this months before Kildee speaks volumes about just who is serving whom on Capitol Hill. It is the very integrity of Kildee, a 16-term veteran, that would've given the Shimkus "investigation" at least a patina of respectability and dignity had it been truly "bipartisan."

Instead, Shimkus and his allies in the House GOP leadership, mindful that every seat counts this fall, crossed their fingers, then plugged them in the dike.

Speaker Dennis Hastert has some explaining to do, too. Apparently, he was aware of Foley's E-mailing, but he says he was unaware of any explicit nature. So what? If a member of Congress is E-mailing any page, it is improper and worthy of a full investigation. Hastert did not take any action. Let's remember Hastert owes his position to then Rep. Tom DeLay, the Texan and former majority leader still under indictment.

This latest scandal may not have any bearing on the elections outside of Foley's district in Florida. But it should be another reminder to voters that there is something rotten in the GOP-controlled House, to wit: Foley, DeLay, Bob Ney, and the unsurpassed and unforgettable Duke Cunningham, a case study in selling his office. These outrages far surpass any wrongdoing by Rep. William Jefferson, the Louisiana Democrat whose freezer was stocked with $90,000 on top of frozen foods.

The coverup, some folks learn too late, is always worse than the crime. Those initial fingers in the dike just don't hold. Now the sea of iniquity is a tsunami.