Foley Money Not Good Anymore

Fox News is reporting that lawmakers and other recipients of funds from former Congressman Mark Foley are quickly divesting themselves of the money he gave them.

Some of Foley's GOP colleagues — who cushioned their campaign wallets with political contributions from the congressman — are quietly separating themselves from him by giving away the thousands of dollars he contributed to their campaigns.

"This is an attempt to symbolically distance themselves from what Rep. Foley may or may not have done wrong," said John Samples, a political analyst at the libertarian CATO Institute.

Samples said the return or donation of money is a ritual that follows any scandal.

"When someone gets into some kind of trouble, then the contributions that were ever made are considered tainted," Samples said.

The fact of the matter is that two weeks ago, Foley's money was good and was going to be spent. Now, the very same money is not so good.

While I understand the effort from a PR standpoint, it just seems to me that at a time when a man is being dragged through the mud, his largess is somehow unwelcome. It just seems mean.