Foley Fallout: The second casualty

The second casualty in the Foley sex scandal, and the first thrown under the bus by the GOP, is Kirk Fordham, Foley's ex-chief of staff. Fordham, who - like Foley - is gay, has been active in Florida politics for a long time, serving as finance director to Mel Martinez's successful 2004 US Senate campaign before joining Foley's staff. Fordham was, before resigning today, the chief of staff to GOP Rep. Tom Reynolds, head of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee and someone who is knee-deep in the Foley mess.

Fordham's statement was all bluster, denying that he did anything wrong while slamming the Democrats for making the Foley scandal an issue.

“I have resigned today from Congressman Tom Reynolds’ office. It is clear the Democrats are intent on making me a political issue in my boss’s race, and I will not let them do so.

“Like so many, I feel betrayed by Mark Foley’s indefensible behavior. Again, I will not allow the Democrats to make me a political issue in my boss’s race, and I will fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.”

Read the full statement here.

It's obvious that, even if he had a big role in covering up Foley's actions, Fordham didn't resign from his post - he was fired, or at least forced out, by the GOP brass. With this scandal is continuing to grow and disgust the public, the GOP needs to start chucking loads of people under the bus to try and undo the bad press from their inaction or cover up at the start of this thing. This is not over yet.