Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers charged with enforcing ethics in the U.S. House of Representatives met on Thursday to begin an investigation of a sex scandal that has ensnared top Republicans and could harm their chances of keeping control of Congress in the November 7 elections. The top Republican in the House, Speaker Dennis Hastert, also scrambled to keep his job amid criticism of how he handled the case of former Republican Rep. Mark Foley (news, bio, voting record)'s unwanted advances on teenage boys. Foley resigned last week after disclosure of his lurid electronic messages. With polls beginning to show the...

Elizabeth Edwards is blasting Second Lady Lynne Cheney for objecting to John Kerry calling her daughter "a lesbian" during Wednesday night's presidential debate. In the ugliest outburst yet in the Kerry-lesbian contretemps, the woman who wants to replace Mrs. Cheney told ABC Radio network news Thursday morning, "I think that [Mrs. Cheney's complaint] indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter's sexual preferences." While praising Mrs. Cheney as "a wonderful advocate" for her daughter in the past, Mrs. Edwards said Mrs. Cheney had "overreacted" last night when she called Kerry "not a good man" for publicly identifying...