[foley] can one man’s folly destroy a party

Started to read this thing from MSNBC: Foley tips party into crisis with core voters. The latest scandal … could prove the "tipping point" for social conservative voters, already disillusioned with their party's congressional and presidential performance. According to a Reuters-Zogby poll on Wednesday, the Democrats have a clear lead over the Republicans in 11 of the 15 races and there are growing indications that the Democrats could also be in a position to win the six seats they need to recapture the Senate for the first time since 2002. "The mood among conservative voters in America reminds me of the atmosphere among British Conservatives in 1997 shortly before Tony Blair became prime minister," said Frank Luntz, probably the most influential Republican political consultant. "The level of incompetence and mismanagement by the Republican leadership has been so bad it would take an act of God to regain their momentum." Well maybe so but not just over Foley, surely? Can one man destroy a party?