When I read the first story on Drudge, it sounded as if Mark Foley, a Republican Congressman from Florida might have been smeared by implication. That is, while writing a 16 year old page wasn’t the brightest act in the world, the emails in this article could have been for awkward mentoring, rather than misplaced sexuality. Sadly, my first impression is almost certainly not true — if subsequent stories are accurate, the guy has a problem with inappropriate behavior, and it sounds as if he’ll be lucky merely to be smirched and not arrested. What was he thinking? He can’t even go the McGreevey route, because there’s the “little” problem of pedophilia.
And as is always the case with politics, the story has much larger implications. The AP story says Foley was a shoo-in for reelection to his district — that is, he was a safe Republican seat. That’s now gone and, unless the GOP can front a viable Republican candidate in 40 days, that district will be Democratic. When you’re fighting a numbers game, that’s the last thing you need.
No matter how you look at it, this is a bad, bad story.
UPDATE: Icky, icky, icky. Mothers all over America are shuddering. It’s not the homosexuality. It’s the fact that he’s using his powerful position in Congress to prey on minors.
UPDATE II: Clarice Feldman doesn’t excuse Foley’s conduct. She does, though, cast a jaundiced eye on (a) the timing of the sudden release of full information about Foley’s correspondence and (b) the way the attack is being shaped against the entire Republican leadershi. Along the way, she discovers the inevitable Soros connection behind this type of thing.
UPDATE III: More on the suspicious political game-playing.
Filed under: Elections, Republicans, Sex |
Bookworm Room (ARCHIVES) 
I don’t understand. What is he supposed to have done that is inappropriate?
There isn’t anything in these stories that even implies pedophilia. There’d better be a lot more involved in this, or the guy really has been smeared.
Apparently in addition to avuncular emails, he was sending text messages asking the boys if the messaging made them “horny.” People who saw the text messages — which some of the boys predictably saved — also said he enjoyed discussing sexual organs with them. Unless these text messages are fraudulent, that kind of interaction is every mother’s nightmare when it comes to her own child.
ABC has the IM exchanges. Pretty hard to believe that Foley would be so stupid. It’s a shame because he was such a good congressman with some real potential for the future, regardless of his sexual proclivities.
If he were liberal, this wouldn’t have even made the papers, not that I condone the disgusting behavior, far from it. It’s okay with me if Foley goes to jail as long as those of the liberal persuasion who are guilty of similar behavior join him there.
What’s amazing to me is that Foley immediately resigned while a Democrat in a similar situation would just tough it out knowing their constituents couldn’t care less about morals, but are only interested in what a politician can do for them.
It’s the double standard that sends me up the wall. It’s sickening how the left can always ferret out people to come forward with accusations against Republicans.
There are reports that the Republicans knew about this last year but did nothing about it. I truly hope that those reports are false.
I highly doubt the papers would remain silent had this been a Democrat. The shock value of a politician using his political position to proposition minors is a reprehensible enough act that even CNN would cover it.
I have to agree with erp. Barney Frank got caught a few years back with his boyfriend running a gay cat-house – why is he still there? Teddy Kennedy got caught indulging in vehicular homicide a few years ago – why is he still there?
The double standard seems to be that the republicans have some (you need a microscope to find it, but it is there) of your actual sense of honor left; the democrats have none.
I would say one thing about these sorts of matters. Don’t fall into looking at the issue from the Bill O’Reilly viewpoint: pedophilia (if that is indeed what has gone on here) isn’t a bad, or indeed any other kind of “choice.” Even the creeps don’t actually like being creeps. It isn’t something over which they exercise much – if any – control, like most compulsions.
Steve, you’re very naive if you think the media care about “news.” They only care about forwarding the liberal agenda. Just because you haven’t heard about liberal politicians behaving badly doesn’t mean they haven’t been, it only means you haven’t been told about it.
Was not Barney Frank caught in a paige scandal also? Or was that the Barney Frank wantabe here in Texas?
Pedophilia by men for boys, is more than one step removed from pedophilia by men for girls. In the latter, it is because the man doesn’t get the genetic wiring that tells him that vulnerable small girls are verboten, like the rest of the human race. Part of the instinctive to protect children. That genetic wiring is necessary simply because a lot of the feminine traits are directly similar to traits in children. Softness, voice tone, height, musculature, etc. So not only do pedophilia by men for boys lack that genetic coding, it also lacks the restrictive coding that prevents homosexuality as a bar to procreation. There is really no treatment for such cases, unless you can come up with a RNA retro virus that changes a person’s genetic makeup and you know which sector to change in the code.
teve, you’re very naive if you think the media care about “news.” They only care about forwarding the liberal agenda. Just because you haven’t heard about liberal politicians behaving badly doesn’t mean they haven’t been, it only means you haven’t been told about it.– Erp
EXACTLY! Remember how quiet the media were about Clinton’s sexcapades?
The fact is that Republicans still retain enough moral fiber to clean their own house. Foley resigned, and he should probably be prosecuted. When Democrat Barney Frank was similarly caught “hosting” a teenage boy in his apartment, who ran a gay prostitution ring out that apartment. During the Clinton years, Republican House Speakers Newt Gingrich and Robert Livingston were found to be conducting extramarital affairs. Both resigned. Clinton? ’nuff said. Here is a great summation of how Congress has dealt with Republican versus Democrat scandal up-to 1994. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/congress.htm.
The fact is that Republicans still retain enough moral fiber to clean their own house.” — Danny
Far be it for me to stop you from being a cheerleader for the GOP (I personally think politicians of all stripes are ethically challenged), this simply isnt true.
If the media hadn’t contained copies of the e-mail and IMs, do you think anything would be done about it? The GOP leadership knew about this problem last spring.
There’s this:
WASHINGTON (AP) – Rep. Thomas Reynolds, head of the House Republican election effort, said he told Speaker Dennis Hastert after learning a fellow GOP lawmaker sent inappropriate messages to a teenage boy.
Reynolds, R-N.Y., was told months ago about e-mails sent by Rep. Mark Foley and is now defending himself from Democratic accusations that he did too little.
And this:
“House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Washington Post last night that he had learned this spring of inappropriate ‘contact’ between Foley and a 16-year-old page. Boehner said he then told House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).
“Boehner later contacted The Post and said he could not remember whether he talked to Hastert.”
Moral fiber? Please.
Whether you’re discussing politicans or the Catholic Church, power corrupts. People with power want to stay in power and they’ll sweep things under the carpet if they can.
But yes, let’s hear how moral the Republican party is. It’s as entertaining as listening to those who truly believe that the Democrats are all about helping the “little guy.”
Timing is everything.
Albright:You wouldn’t suppose that he has Osama Bin Laden locked away in a far off prison, to be released right before elections, do you?
People who think like that, are going to act like that.
Far be it for me to stop you from being a cheerleader for the GOP
hey Danny, may I cheer for the GOP too, given your seniority amongst the GOP rank and file? I really really want to!
Technically the “liberal agenda” is whatever makes you feel good, powerful, and gets you up in society. So yes, the media will take any chance to throw anyone over the bus, even the notorious ‘liberal’ Clinton since being a liberal is about caring about your own career and your own self, not anyone else, not even a fellow guildie.
An old Chief taught me a great lesson. “Never chase the hired help! Just don’t do it. There are plenty of other fish in the sea.”
What I do not understand is why people get obsessed with young folks. There are easier ways to let go of your inhibitions and they don’t lead to resignation……………
I really don’t disagree with you as much as you may think, T.S. I am a conservative who refuses to vote for my former (Dem) party because I happen to agree with those that describe the Democrat party the “evil” party and the Republican as the “stupid” party. As far as I am concerned, the Republicans have squandered the past eight years of Congressional rule through pettiness, avarice, cowardice and stupidity. That being said, when Republicans get caught being stupid (e.g., Trent Lott, Newt Gingrich, Bob Livingston), they resign in shame. When Democrats get caught (Teddy Kennedy, Gary Studds, Barney Frank, Mel Reynolds, Clinton), they and the Democrat Party play the victim card, pretend that it’s no big deal, and do anything they can to close ranks and hold on to political power. It’s no accident that Rep. Foley’s most outraged critics today are conservative commentators. For all the faults of the Republicans, they remain the only viable party. I wish that we could count on two such parties, but it is what it is. The Democrats have no shame.
Have to disagree with you, T.S. The differences are vast.
Everybody in the Democrat party came leaping to Frank’s defense, in contrast to Republicans in this case – or in the case of Richard Nixon. (“What did he know and when did he know it?” came from Howard Baker – a Republican: evidently more interested in justice than party.)
Compare and contrast that to ANY democrat in the Clinton impeachment. (Let us remember that they were both accused of PRECISELY the same things: obstructing justice and lying to the American people. Nixon did the honorable thing and resigned. Clinton spent months trying to smear and destroy anyone who was against him. A difference? I think so.)
William Jefferson from Louisiana was caught with $90,000 in his office by the Justice Department – the Democrat party did its damnedest to shift the issue from his wrong-doing to the propriety of the Justice Department breaking into a congressional office to collect evidence. (Very dangerous precedent they were trying to establish, by the way – in effect saying “we in congress are in fact above the law.”)It took WEEKS for Nancy Pelosi and a couple of others to sort of lukewarmly say that perhaps – just maybe – Jefferson might have done something wrong. And he didn’t immediately – dare I say honorably? – resign, either.
Clinton, referenced above, we all know about. His reaction to being an ethical mess and credibly accused of rape, accused of the Lewinsky deal, accused of ethical and bimbo eruptions right, left, and sideways, was to maintain a unit specifically for the purpose of smearing and destroying any female accuser who popped up.
If Foley were Clinton, he would right now be doing his best to delve into his life and destroy this kid, his family, his schoolmates, and everybody in the Democrat party.
Foley didn’t do that. He resigned – reflexively; right now, not tomorrow.
Even Tom Delay, who is accused of a bunch of stuff that I think will turn out to be nonsense, is off to court to establish that it is in fact nonsense – but first he resigned.
Think there’s a Democrat out there who would? I’d like to know who.
I see a considerable behavioral difference there.
Not even someone like Danny can get points and respect from the Left. Even someone like Danny, with small influence in GOP circles and policies of seniority, gets little recognition from the Left. What hope does Bush have in uniting the country under a 100% let’s vote in the President game?
It’s not exactly reasonable, the requirements the Left have for purity. But then again, I don’t think purity ever had anything to do with reason or rationality. Liberman seems to have caught some of that, or most of that.
The GOP and their allies like Danny, are the “others”. Sometimes traitors, sometimes just people who are cheerleaders. But regardless, none of what they say ever gets through to the Left’s density orientated politics. It’s all about density, if you have enough density, nothing can get through and pierce their shield of power.
[…] Anyway, back to the timeline: As Clarice Feldman explains, Soros-funded groups got hold of the sexual IMs (the ones the Republicans hadn’t seen) back in Spring and held onto them. Using a front website, they eventually placed the emails on the internet and conveniently “discovered” this nonentity of a website just in time for the current election cycle. Since then, in chorus with Republicans (myself included, when I first heard the story), the Democrats — stalwarts of a party that constantly claims Republicans are homophobic — have cheerfully been castigating Foley as a pervert (see here and here for example). […]
[…] Anyway, back to the timeline: As Clarice Feldman explains, Soros-funded groups got hold of the sexual IMs (the ones the Republicans hadn’t seen) back in Spring and held onto them. Using a front website, they eventually placed the emails on the internet and conveniently “discovered” this nonentity of a website just in time for the current election cycle. Since then, in chorus with Republicans (myself included, when I first heard the story), the Democrats — stalwarts of a party that constantly claims Republicans are homophobic — have cheerfully been castigating Foley as a pervert (see here and here for example). […]