If only the GOP leadership had taken action the day they discovered Foley's activity. If they had, none of this would have been an issue and the leadership would have had the high ground because they took the necessary and correct action.
Instead they are on the defensive as they should be.
What did they know, and when did they know it? And most importantly, why didn't they do something to protect innocent children and get rid of a pervert in their midst? They could lose the majority status in Congress for their failure and no excuses in the world will save them.
As has always been said, it's always about the coverup. America is the home of second chances and forgiveness. If the House GOP would have acted as soon as they sniffed this problem with Foley, it would have made a big difference. Voters would easily see it as some isolated incident by a pervert and would have given the GOP the benefit of the doubt. Now the story is much larger than that, needlessly so-- and voters won't be forgiving about that.