"Not if every statement is prefaced by, "Foley is a dirtbag and his behavior will not be tolerated on either side fo the aisle"."
I'm just concerned that the only word that'll stick is the BUT that follows that statement. In many ways I don't care what the Republican party does to itself. I'm not one. I've never belonged to a party and am surely not seeing anything these days that would convince me to do so now. All I want is honest people with good ideas that I can vote for.
I can see your concern. The statement is a stand alone, and does not need "but" to tie it to anything. In actually, the next word in the statement is "and".
"Foley is a dirtbag and his behavior will not be tolerated on either side of the aisle AND so are the people that potentially endangered a child by with-holding this information in order to gain political advantage in an unethical manner. Foley has been dealt with by the Republicans. His career is over; unlike democratic politicians Franks and Stubbs who had similar or worse problems. Now it is time to deal the rest of the people involved in this mess".