"Foley-Gate" Hurting Republicans

It doesn't look like all the denials, finger-pointing and excuses are doing House Republicans much good. It looks like the American people have finally figured out that Republicans like to talk about values, but do very little to live by those values. The Republicans' chances of retaining control of Congress are now in question, after the people learned that they covered up for a child molester in their ranks for months, and probably years.

A new USA Today / Gallup Poll shows the Democrats now have a 23 point lead in Congressional races. Just three weeks ago, this poll showed Democrats and Republicans as being dead even. Here are the results of both polls:

SEPTEMBER 17----------------OCTOBER 8

Democrats.....48%-------------Democrats.....59%
Republicans.....48%-----------Republicans.....36%
Undecided.....4%---------------Undecided.....5%

But the good news doesn't end there. For the first time in a poll, the public says they would trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle terrorism by 46%-41%. They also trust Democrats more to handle the war in Iraq, and 56% of the people said invading Iraq was a mistake.

But while the terrorism and Iraq numbers look good for Democrats, it is the Foley cover-up scandal that is really rocking the Republicans. The Gallup Poll said 54% of the people believe the Republicans improperly covered up for Foley and his indecent actions.

It looks like the mistakes and misdeeds of the Republicans are finally coming home to roost. It may even be bad enough to cost them some seats they had thought were safe. It now looks like the Democrats have a real chance to take control of both the House and the Senate. Who would have thought that possible a few months ago?