Posted on 10/01/2006 7:45:10 AM PDT by Dane
Former page: We knew about Foley 'for years' By M.E. SPRENGELMEYER AND AMIE PARNES Scripps Howard News Service October 1, 2006 WASHINGTON — Sexually explicit messages from former Rep. Mark Foley to one former congressional page might be just the tip of the iceberg, the leader of an alumni association for former congressional pages told Scripps Howard News Service on Saturday.
While Foley resigned this week after published reports of "friendly" e-mails to one 16-year-old male page and the pending broadcast of more sexually explicit instant messages, similar graphic messages from him were received by at least three other teenage boys who once worked in the page program, said Matthew Loraditch, a Maryland college senior who runs the U.S. House Page Alumni Association's Internet message board.
Advertisement "I've known about them (messages) for several years now," he said Saturday.
"It was more like, 'Hey, look at this,' " said Loraditch, 21, who served in the page program in the 2001-02 session. "I don't think the people in question felt that uncomfortable. It was more, 'Ooh, look at that creepy guy.'
"It was definitely crossing-the-line stuff. The instant message stuff, and stuff I've seen and heard about, definitely couldn't be misconstrued" as merely "friendly" or innocent, Loraditch said.
Loraditch said during his time on Capitol Hill, Foley was one of the members of Congress who expressed what appeared to be a sincere interest in the young pages, often visiting the areas where they congregate in the corner of the House of Representatives chamber to chat or offer stories and advice.
Loraditch said he and other pages viewed Foley as gregarious and "flaky" at the time, and that he offered several of them, not including Loraditch, his personal e-mail when they were graduating from the program and saying goodbyes.
After Loraditch returned to Maryland and began attending college at Towson University, several male former pages told him they had received Internet messages that were similar to the graphic messages first reported by ABC News last week.
"At the age we were when those things happened, 16 or 17, when you see that kind of stuff, most people our ages know what's going on and know what's happening," Loraditch said. "You're not like a little kid who can be roped into that."
Loraditch said his friends all thought the messages were disturbing, but they did not report them, either because they did not think the messages posed a serious threat or because they might have worried about career consequences.
He added all his friends received the questionable messages only after they had graduated and left the program, when, theoretically, that would not raise the same in-house sexual harassment issues as if they had been sent when the former pages still worked for Congress.
"This all happened after we were outside the protective umbrella of all our supervisors, not when we were there," Loraditch said. "To me, that indicates some sort of thought process going on in Foley's mind."
The case has prompted many congressional leaders to talk about stepped-up vigilance to protect the young men and women who serve as congressional pages, who get an up-close look at Congress while doing messenger-like duties for lawmakers.
Loraditch is a big backer of the program for its one-of-a-kind educational benefits, and he believes none of the supervisors who run the program were aware of any inappropriate messages at the time.
"The supervisors I worked with, if any of them had been told, it would have been dealt with at the time promptly," he said. "All of our supervisors were great people. They love pages. Half of them were former pages, and they've got kids of their own. If they had known about it, it would have been dealt with."
In the wake of the Foley scandal, many pages worry the program could be altered drastically or eliminated in an overreaction intended to protect teenagers.
"The page program is a good program. I firmly believe that the program could not have done anything more to protect the pages," Loraditch said. "It all happened after we left and had done our service."
"He's a garden-variety homosexual, the kind that liberal democrats protect, honor, and defend among their own."
And, since Foley was not among their own, Dims have been first and loudest in yelling "fag!" They're a living example of that old Soviet joke about pretend to work, and they pretend to pay you.
At what age do you draw the line? NAMBLA's?
From a psychiatric point of view, it has more to do with sexual maturity.
What is the legal age of consent?
Does he have to be one or the other?
I think he's both.
Ol Mark would have done much better to hire only girl pages. He would still be congress critter Foley
Was that on Fox News Sunday? I might tune in when it repeats on Fox tonight. The Hume-Williams exchange might make it worth my while!
Have the phone ringing calling barney frank's Congressional office with barney answering "hwello" and then have another phone ring and then the high pictched "dee-dee-dee" with the recording "We're sorry but mark foley's line has been permanently disconnected".
I'm glad the scumbag is gone, and wish a former president who abused his trust with an intern would have gotten his marching papers as well.
Congress is a cesspool.
I saw the kid too... he said foley softened them up as pages, then after they finished paging, he started the email/IMs
there is nothing to defend in foley's actions... nada, zilch,... he has embarrassed us as a people over and above all else, that is more important than his feelings or the feelings of his family...
IMVHO, he needs to be made an example of... We have had a PRESIDENT participate in abhorent behavior with a woman who was not his wife in the Oval Office, and like it or not, she was barely of age when it began...a very young adult...
foley is a disgrace to all of US regardless of party affiliation, however much the dems are loving it...
Okay... I have to ask...
Is sex with an intern "just sex" and therefore not an important consideration if they're doing their job well? Or is it a moral outrage that demands that the entire political party be taken out and shot?
Because, as I recall, trying to have sex with a young intern (legal age here) is not reason for a person to lose their job in DC. I mean, we can all be disgusted, but it's none of our business.
Isn't that what I was told a few years ago?
Will this severely impact the election? I fear the RATS will go overboard with this. Foley is scum, and I'm glad he's gone. I just don't want to see him cost us, come November 7.
Question for Rahm: Which is worse?
A) Forcing a Congressman to resign after learning that weird emails are supplemented by newly revealed text messages to a 16-year old boy page.
Or
B) You defending a President who put his penis in the mouth of a 19-year old girl intern in the Oval Office.
Foley need to move to Mass. and run as a demonicrat. He could not lose.
If he were a Democrat, he'd be hailed as a freedom-championing role model.
In fact, if he would only openly "convert" to liberalism, the Advocate would dedicate an issue to his redemption and reclamation.
Every thing I have heard says that Foley did nothing illegal.
The page was over the age of consent of 16.
The page was male, but the Dems have Barney Frank.
There's the issue of being a page, but the Dems have Monica.
The messages to the page were not via government IM, but were private.
I think Foley is a creep, but what was illegal? I hate to say it, but what did Foley do that hasn't been done by the Dems, and done proudly?
Does anyone else find it odd that when all the focus this week was on Klintoon, suddenly this is leaked out. OK, by whom, Bill, Hill, Burger, Carville, etc..............
Very suspicious to me.
"He was targeting young men, not prepubescent boys.".... hmmm, wonder how old one has to be to be a page...
Did Foley actually DO anything? Or just chatted?It is a real shame because as a Congressman he did quite a few good things. I sure hope Foley doesn't kill himself over this. I hope he can meet with one of those Christian groups who attempt to change sexual orientation. Does anyone know if they are at all successful?
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