Many readers have emailed insisting the Foley scandal will hurt Republicans in the upcoming elections. To be clear, I think the Foley scandal could seriously hurt Republicans this fall. As I wrote yesterday:

I do think this unfolding Foley scandal in the House has the potential to cause significant problems for the GOP across the board - including on the margin in these Senate races - we will have to watch how this news plays out over the next several days.

The point of my post today was that I thought Newt Gingrich did a pretty effective job on FOX News Sunday explaining the Republicans' position in the House and that the "gay-bashing" angle of the story may mitigate the degree to which it becomes an election issue. (Brit Hume's comments touched on the gay issue tangentially by bringing up Gerry Studds and Barney Frank.)

I do think the first several days of press coverage have hurt Republicans in a generic sense, and there is no question it has cost them at least one House seat (Foley's). The press is also not going to be an ally for Republicans in their attempts to set the record straight on what the time line was with the emails and instant messages, and at the end of the day the average person is going to see a Republican congressman engaging in repugnant behavior that was tolerated for way too long by his colleagues. That may or may not be fair to the House GOP leadership, but that is the impression that is forming - which is obviously not positive for the GOP.