Posted on 10/02/2006 9:19:15 PM PDT by SmithL
Former Rep. Mark Foley's salacious correspondence with teenage boys working as congressional pages is the kind of story that not only obliterates interest in whatever bills Congress passed before leaving town but promises to hit a much rawer public nerve than the corruption scandals that have already removed three Republicans from office this year.
It strikes especially hard at "values voters," the conservative Christians who make up the core of the Republican Party.
"This kind of thing just should not happen, and there is no excuse to justify it in any way." said Rev. Bob Schenck,... National Clergy Council, a politically active group of conservative church leaders.
"A big deal should be made of it, and we intend to make a big deal of it," he said. "We plan to address it in pulpits across the country, that this is an egregious moral violation, and we all will be held accountable."
A swirl of unanswered questions remain over who in the Republican leadership knew what about Foley's exchanges and when they knew it. GOP leaders dismissed the first e-mail exchange that came to light months ago as "overly friendly," but some conservative activists now say the messages "had predator written all over them." Foley, a Republican congressman from Florida, was chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.
A criminal investigation has been opened and shows every indication of keeping the scandal alive through the election.
"The electorate is 20 percent Republican, 20 percent Democrat, and 60 percent disgusted,"
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
The media loves this. Nothing physical happened but the media is going to make it sound like many boys were ravished by Foley.
Carolyn Lockhead from the San Fransicko Comical. Like Im supposed to care what she has to say.
Remember Barney, and his live in boy toy, who turned his Mass. townhouse into a homosexual brothel??
The MSM never mentions that, do they?
PUKEMAO!
This article is a MESS.
:::banging head:::
Foley should be gone. He's a pervert. That still doesn't change my mind about voting Republican. We get rid of our crooks, perverts etc., democrats keep theirs and keep voting them back into office.
I still will trust Republicans before trusting a democrat.
I have a great Senator and I will vote for him.
Is anybody else watching Chris Matthews on Leno spewing the Dem talking points? He is saying that Republicans were more worried about protecting one of their own than the children
Now Woodward is "non partisan"
Good God you are kidding me
I don't watch Cris Matthews. Besides, he's the real alcoholic.
The writer of this article should read this:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1712501/posts
I just read a portion of the IM transcripts; Foley's a sick man, but what seems odd to me is the boy's responses. He doesn't seemed bother at all by Foley's perverted advances. I don't think all the covers have been pulled yet.
The case isn't going to turn off the conservative base. The conservative base isn't that stupid. They know that Foley is the problem of the people of his district and if they make it their problem, they get high taxes, funds cut for the War on Terror, 2 years of impeachment hearings, a roll back on partial birth abortion legislation, Pelosi as Speaker of the House, Conyers as head of Judiciary, so, no, they're not going to be that turned off.
Where were all these concerned nobodies when DEMOCRAT Gary Studds was getting it on with a 17 year old male page in the Congressional restrooms?
As I recall they were all building a wall of "privacy issue" around Studds, who resisted a Congressional censure motion and was re-elected the following term.
How times change - or is it that Foley is a target Republican and Studds was a mascot Democrat.
No, they WILL stay home if they perceive the republicans as having ignored clear signs of immorality in their midst, whether it is true or not. Just as some stayed home in 2000 after they found out Bush had a DUI and hadn't told them about it.
They are what they are. People can be upset that the value voters act like this, but they are the key to republican control of congress, like it or not.
If there is a reason to replace Hastert, this is it -- maybe put Shadegg in his place. Show the value voters that the republican party takes ethics seriously.
It's not fair, but you have to ask whether you are willing to lose 50-60 house seats to keep Hastert around. Because if the value voters stay home, it will be a bloodbath.
Actually the Democrats (and their friends in the MSM) who invented this "scandal" to play out at this time hope that the "value voters" will stay home. That way those whose lifestyle closely parallels foley's will see the power of their votes magnified.
Buggering Boys while DEMOCRAT is perfectly acceptable now...
Foley's BIGGEST mistake was not switching parties 2 weeks agao....
Anybody stupid enough to care about this was already voting for the democraps.
"Foley e-mail sex scandal hits the GOP hard "
Oh doesn't the SF Chronicle wish! What we have is a bunch of dims screaming on talk programs, and so far, every time I have heard someone advise them that the Dims had different standards when one of their own was actually having sex with a page or an intern.
Today on Fox they had one dim babette who tried to refer to it as a "culture of corruption", and much to my surprise, Shep Smith shut her up. He didn't let her get another word in during the inerview.
How is this possible? Don't the queers see Foley as one of their's and now want to vote with the GOP?
After all, the dems are "chewing him up" and we know queers only believe they can bite their own.
I am just too confused on this issue...
notice how the media treats a conservative gay person... were it the other kind of gay there would be no such savagery as this
Not only by Foley - but the House leadership, anyone who accepted funding from Foley and all of the sexually repressed christians. We are all child molesters!
This is a local problem that local people in Foley's district will handle. I doubt that most of Middle America even know who Foley is or cares. This scandal is strictly limited to politicalholics on the blogs and in the MSM.
Well, I guess this ruins the Republicans' chances in San Francisco.
Lucky for you you have a great Senator. In CA we have none.
IF we allow this to happen and this Dem Tactic to prevail we have have gone over the rubicon. Public civic discourse already at a low point will sink unto a level that is frigtning.
If this is deemed acceptable it will be used again And yes someone on our side of the fence might deem those tactics acceptable and then we all fall further in the mud. It just seems how the vicious cycle works.
A stand has to be taken here. As the facts that we know today I feel Hasert did no wrong. If there is a time to stand for Principle it is now
Don't confuse the MSM and the Comical with the facts. They can't handle the truth.
I don't agree with the title's premise.
Understanding demographics .. it's important to know that a guy called in to Rush's program today and he was hoping mad AT THE DEMOCRATS. He said he wasn't very happy with the repubs and he had been considering sitting out the election .. but this dirty trick by the dems has made him mad as hell. Now .. he's voting and only for repubs.
Like I said .. it may seem anecdotal, but if you study demographics .. that one phone call really represents THOUSANDS of other callers (who didn't call but felt the same way).
The dems have been sitting on this for awhile - because Hastert knew of the E-MAILS about 3 years ago - Foley was warned at that time - but when the Instant Msgs started is unknown and Hastert said he found out about them 5 days ago. So .. who knew about them before then ..?? And .. who waited to release them late in the election cycle ..??
And .. several months ago Rush wrote an article about the excessive lies that will be used during this election cycle. I believe we're actually seeing that come to pass.
Which we don't have. There is zero evidence of physical acts. In fact, the instant messages have Foley specifically saying to one alleged page it was only "fantasy" and nothing would happen. Even the "warning" has been retracted by the former page who allegedly claimed one had been given regarding Foley.
These were not young "boys." According to Drudge's radio show last night, in D.C. sixteen is the legal age for sex. Sixteen is also the minimum age required for congressional pages. The explicit IMs were with one (or more) *former* pages.
There's NO evidence of a cover-up. The GOP knew of the benign, overly friendly, email and *not* the instant messages.
The MSM have people believing the Republicans covered up a homosexual pedophile's predatory activities involving underage boys just to try to keep a congressional seat in the upcoming election. That's RAT B.S. talking points.
Ignored? Past page scandals. Rep. Gerry Studds, a Massachusetts Democrat, was censured after admitting he had a consensual homosexual relationship with a 17-yr-old page. He eventually retired in 1996. Rep. Dan Crane, an Illinois Republican was censured after admitting he had a consensual heterosexual relationship with 17-yr-old page and was defeated in 1984.
Clinton PARDON of convicted Congressman Mel Reynolds who (among financial crimes and child porn charges) had sex with a 16-yr-old female volunteer. Reynolds has gone on to work for Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH. (Snopes)
WE'RE DOOMED!!!!
They won't vote for the Dems, they'll just stay home. When they stay home, Rats win.
That is a very good point and one "stay-at-homers" had better consider. After all, Foley HAD NOT molested any of these kids (keeping my finger/legs/toes, etc., crossed), but the idiot Dem was caught in the bathroom with that youngster. It might be a good thing to resurrect that story, and its conclusion, for everyone. Frankly, I had forgotten about it too.
Actually, if we had no Senator in CA I dare say we'd be in better shape!
Correct!
"I like, you know, for some reason, uh, think this story is funny. He just like sent him email and messages? And he's in trouble? All they did to me was make me wear an ankle thingy. That congress guy needs to start wearing dresses and womens wigs! If he looks hot enough as a homo transsexual transvestite whatever he'd be OK! Those democrats would leave him alone."
{terrible problem for the GOP and the Religious Right was going to abandon them forever over}
Chris Matthews wishes for that, in the same way he wishes for someone to watch his show.
Regardless of what happens next month, I have a feeling conservatives are going to take a more hands on approach in the party.
Can't disagree with that.
Values voters cannot be that irrational, they know what legislation Republicans/Conservatives push vs the commie vampires.
A pol in the House who turns out to be a criminal has zero to do with my Republican Rep.
As was said above, DUI in 2000. People stayed home.
Yes, people have been upset about spending. Yes, they've been upset about illegal immigration. I'm one of them on the last. But character is just as an important issue to a large segment of the base and it's clear the Dems/MSM plotted to find a way to make them stay home the way they did in 2000. Sickening, really, that some people allowed the abuse of children for political timing but there it is.
Will these same voters sit home this time? I don't know. I came out and voted for G.W.B. anyway after the DUI, but I wasn't happy he hadn't shared it earlier. I can't predict if they'll stay home or begrudingly come out and vote. You can't either. It's clearly what the Dems are hoping though.
Yet Barney is still in Congress and Foley has already resigned, and, for all we know, Barney might still be at it with his underage gay pals!
No question there is a double standard here. Democrats living in glass houses are already throwing all the stones they can muster - through their MSM - because there isn't anything more substantial for them to place on the table five weeks before the election.
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