The allegations about Foley surfaced almost a year ago and he was told to "be mindful of his conduct". Apparently the misconduct was reported to people on the RNC who were more concerned about keeping a sure seat and the political fallout than anything else. He was not removed from his post as co-chairman of the Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus which is beyond belief but presumably he could not be removed without raising questions. He is obviously a sick man but how many others knew about it and attempted to keep it quiet until after the elections? They could keep the seat and replace him with one of their own, so who is more disgusting?
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/30/foley.quits/index.html
| Quote: |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. Mark Foley "was not honest about his conduct," according to the chairman of the House Page Board, referring to e-mail exchanges between the former congressman and a teenage male page who has called the correspondences "sick, sick, sick."
After the e-mails were publicized, ABC News released text messages allegedly sent by the congressman to other teenage male pages.
In them, Foley allegedly said he wanted to take the teen's clothes off, and in another he allegedly asked a page if he made him "a little horny," ABC News reported, saying other exchanges were too graphic to make public.
Foley, a Republican served his district in Florida for six terms, abruptly resigned from Congress on Friday, apologizing "for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent."
The House voted unanimously Friday to launch an investigation.
Foley, who co-chaired the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, did not mention the messages that brought him down. (Watch how his resignation has sent shockwaves through the capital -- 2:54 Video)
The lawmaker who oversees the page program, Rep. John Shimkus, a Republican from Illinois, said that he had learned about of Foley's e-mails in late 2005 and "took immediate action to investigate the matter."
He was notified by Rep. Rodney Alexander, a Republican from Louisiana, in whose office the page had worked. Alexander forwarded the e-mails to the clerk of the House.
"We ordered Congressman Foley to cease all contact with this former House page to avoid even the appearance of impropriety," Shimkus said in a statement Friday.
"It has become clear to me today, based on information I only now have learned, that Congressman Foley was not honest about his conduct."
Shimkus said he is working to "fully review this incident and determine what actions need to be taken."
'Simply acting as a mentor'
Shimkus recalled that when he initially questioned Foley about the e-mails, the congressman assured him that he was "simply acting as a mentor" and that "nothing inappropriate had occurred."
Foley said he was e-mailing to find out if the teenager was OK after Hurricane Katrina and "wanted a photo to see that the former page was all right," Shimkus said.
Foley was ordered to have no further contact with the former page and advised "to be especially mindful of his conduct," Shimkus said.
"And he assured us he would do so," Shimkus' statement added. "I received no subsequent complaints about his behavior nor was I ever made aware of any additional e-mails."
In his e-mails, Foley purportedly asked the page to send a picture of himself to the congressman, asked the teen what he wanted for his birthday and made comments about another former page in which Foley allegedly said he acted "much older than his age" and was "in really great shape." (More details)
Some GOP leaders knew of contact
An aide to Rep. Tom Reynolds, the New York congressman who heads the National Republican Campaign Committee, said he knew about the matter a year ago.
The GOP panel coordinates election efforts for House Republicans, who now must find a candidate to replace Foley in Florida's 16th District, six weeks before the election.
Majority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, learned about the contacts from Louisiana Rep. Alexander in the spring, said Boehner's spokesman, Kevin Madden.
"It was Congressman Alexander's opinion that the contact was not of a professional nature," Madden said.
Boehner blocked a vote Friday on a resolution offered by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asking the House Ethics Committee to begin a preliminary investigation into Foley's conduct and the GOP leadership's response to it.
The California Democrat's resolution would have started an investigation of "when the Republican leadership was notified and what corrective action was taken," according to her statement. |
| diverden wrote: |
| He is obviously a sick man but how many others knew about it and attempted to keep it quiet until after the elections? They could keep the seat and replace him with one of their own, so who is more disgusting? |
I agree, he's a sicko that should have been removed from office a year or more ago.. and the fact that he was left in charge of that committee is even worse
this is exactly the same as the congressmen/page scandals of 1983.. back then, it was two congressmen who were caught having indecent.. no, actually felonious, relations with pages.. of them, the Republican congressman quickly resigned after having been caught having sexual relations with an underage female.. the other, Democratic Rep. Gerry Studds of Massachusetts refused to apologize and said it was 'nobodys business' that he was having sex with an underage male.. he stayed in Congress for another 10 years, which full Democrat support
but regarding the current situation, the democrats were also aware of this situation for about a year.. they weren't all that concerned about it, or about the well-being of the page, until now.. not coincidentally right before Foley's re-election bid.. this reeks of political manipulation
I'm very glad that Foley is out.. I just have to say that I wish the Democrats were more concerned with doing the right thing, than increasing their powerFirst of all, Foley should have his balls cut off if these allegations are true. As should any pedophile.
Secondly,
| JoeFriday wrote: |
but regarding the current situation, the democrats were also aware of this situation for about a year.. they weren't all that concerned about it, or about the well-being of the page, until now.. not coincidentally right before Foley's re-election bid.. this reeks of political manipulation
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The fact that the dems 1) sat on this until they needed to use it and 2) are now having a cow over this (because they've already said in all of the polls and public tv addresses that a man's personal moral values have nothing to do with their ability to guide the country.) makes me sick.
What makes me more sick is that the political side of this has literally gotten all the attention. How much time is spent on the discussion of the crime? The victim? (The CRIME being child abuse, NOT 'if the Repugs can get away with it', and the VICTIM bieng the boy involved, not the Repug's reputation) i guess this is what a leprechaun would call an October Surprise! Not very surprising if you ask me. It is disappointing, but not surprising that a Republican is having questionable cyber-sexual relations with a someone whose Job title is Page. Whatever happened to Intern or something. Secondly it isn't surprising that dems would carefully place both but-cheeks over the story for a year and try to use it to their advantage. They are desperate and need all the help they can get.
But there really isn't anything like a good ol' Washington sex scandal. The good days are back baby!
Oh and to answer the question posed, I think they are all scum!!! The dems are just a little bit less scummy -but scum nonetheless!!
there is a saying
"what do democtracts to their secretary , reps do the same to the country"
it seems they changed their attitudes.
i think Foley is not the only pervert in senate.
yes .. foley is may not be the only onw who involve such sick activity ... proper investigation may disclose many other people .. but for this time foley is the guilty person and he should get a penishment which could be a signal to other people ... this is an exmaple of abuse of power and authority ...
I don't think we can assume that the democrats sat on this story to bring it out now, they aren't that smart and if they were, they would have waited another week or two. I teach Internet safety classes to parents and students in public schools. It amazes me that the speaker of the house and the others who knew about Foley for several months or even years, did nothing. They told him to stop with the overly friendly e-mails and he agreed. Did it not occur to anyone to do an investigation, that he might have been lying? Do they believe that perverts, creeps and predators tell the truth! How could you read the "overly friendly" e-mails and not be creeped out and not have flashing sirens going off in your head. Are we supposed to think they are naive or stupid. I can understand that they did not know about all of the other IM's and e-mail but that is because they did not do any investigation at all. Is that because they did not want to know or because they did not want it to come out and impact the party of family values. I do not think it is a valid argument to blame whomever leaked it, presumably a democrat, or blame the democrats for obstruction or witholding information. By all indications, the Republicans knew of the issues many months before any democrats caught wind of it and the republican leaders decided to imitate the ostrich.
Is this really the prerequisite for running for a government office - that is the full disclosure of your sexual preference? Sure, I know this may be an old story but it seems to get highlighted in one form or another at least once a year. I truly do not understand why sexuality is such a big issue for government officials. Of course if you are like the former congressman Mark Foley (a much loved Republican) and your sexuality is geared for those still in puberty then I can understand why people would ask questions. In this case, the subject of homosexuality was a by product of another subject that involved inappropriate (verbal or sexual) contact with teenagers. Now if you watch the "fair and balance" Fox network, then you know they would probably have you believe that this was just a plot by Democrats to provide negative press for the 2006 election. The truth is that no one forced Mr. Foley the get on a computer and send "naughty messages" to teens. So what does homosexuality have to do with this? Basically, Mr. Foley brought it into the public. Whats ironic about this situation is that even though Democrats are known for supporting "Gay"issues and Republicans don't, is that republican constituents that are homophobic may end up voting for Democrats or not voting at all. My final thoughts on this subject is simple - sexuality has nothing to do with a persons effectiveness as a government employee and if you are currently a government employee, it is best to review your moral obligationsbefore talking to underage teens - lol .
| dbaker6165 wrote: |
| Is this really the prerequisite for running for a government office - that is the full disclosure of your sexual preference? . |
This is how the left tries to win elections. They can't win on their views or actions, they can only win by lies and constant attacks by the MSM, hollywood, and big names in extreme left-wing political positions like Kennedy and Palosi.
