Saturday, September 30, 2006
pedophiles in congress
I was out of town and without internet access all day today presenting at a conference in Casa Grande, so I'm just catching up on the Rep. Foley resignation story now.
Let me get this out of the way from the start: child sexual abuse crosses all boundaries, including party lines. The fact that a grown man in his fifties, regardless of his political stripe, engages in sexually explicit internet dialogue with a 16-year-old boy is reprehensible. If I see one person try and claim that only Republicans are pedophiles, I will open up a can of whoopass on them so fast they'll wish THEY could resign.
If you have the stomach for it, ABC, which broke the story, has a link on this page to a full PDF transcript of a very graphic instant messenger exchange between former Representative Foley and the then-16-year-old former page. I won't link directly to the PDF, just to protect those of you who might click the link by accident.
It looks like Republican House leadership knew about Foley's at-best-inappropriate behavior for at least ten months and did nothing to discipline him or otherwise address his behavior. It is clear from the IM transcript that what Foley did was sexually predatory.
Though I am tempted to repeat rumor and innuendo, I will refrain from naming names here because I have no hard evidence to justify the claims I could very reasonably make based on the sources I have. I will say this: there needs to be some more digging throughout the House and Senate. I do not believe this is an isolated incident. Pedophiles generally cluster and find each other one way or another. And knowing now how the Republican leadership either ignored this or tried to cover it up, it does beg the question, who else might they be covering for? Sexual predation has no place in the United States Congress or anywhere else for that matter.
It's a good bet I'll have plenty more to say about this as more details unfold and I process the implications a bit more. I fully expect that Foley's conservative former allies will now use his actions as ammunition against the LGBT community, even though he has never previously openly identified as gay. This is the #1 myth about people who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual - that we're all sexual predators just waiting for an opportunity to convert your children. I already got my toaster, thanks, I'll pass on the sex-with-children.
So let me be clear: I don't know whether Mark Foley self-identifies as gay or straight. His actions were reprehensible and he should be held accountable. Foley's predatory behavior had nothing to do with his actual or perceived sexual orientation (that's his business, not ours). Nothing. Sexual violence is not about sex. It's about power and control. In this case, you have a Member of Congress more than three times the age of his target communicating in an immature manner clearly below his position and receiving sexual gratification from that dynamic.
That said, Foley was one of only a handful of Republicans in the House to vote against the Federal Marriage Amendment earlier this year. The FMA failed to garner the necessary two-thirds majority it needed to move forward toward ratification, but just barely. Foley's vote did actually make a huge difference. Not a very politically smart move in a district that has a PVI of R +2.4. It's irrelevant at this point, but one does wonder about what his motivation might have been.
It's late, I've had a long day. I'm sure I'll have something more lucid and coherent to say during the weekend.
Let me get this out of the way from the start: child sexual abuse crosses all boundaries, including party lines. The fact that a grown man in his fifties, regardless of his political stripe, engages in sexually explicit internet dialogue with a 16-year-old boy is reprehensible. If I see one person try and claim that only Republicans are pedophiles, I will open up a can of whoopass on them so fast they'll wish THEY could resign.
If you have the stomach for it, ABC, which broke the story, has a link on this page to a full PDF transcript of a very graphic instant messenger exchange between former Representative Foley and the then-16-year-old former page. I won't link directly to the PDF, just to protect those of you who might click the link by accident.
It looks like Republican House leadership knew about Foley's at-best-inappropriate behavior for at least ten months and did nothing to discipline him or otherwise address his behavior. It is clear from the IM transcript that what Foley did was sexually predatory.
Though I am tempted to repeat rumor and innuendo, I will refrain from naming names here because I have no hard evidence to justify the claims I could very reasonably make based on the sources I have. I will say this: there needs to be some more digging throughout the House and Senate. I do not believe this is an isolated incident. Pedophiles generally cluster and find each other one way or another. And knowing now how the Republican leadership either ignored this or tried to cover it up, it does beg the question, who else might they be covering for? Sexual predation has no place in the United States Congress or anywhere else for that matter.
It's a good bet I'll have plenty more to say about this as more details unfold and I process the implications a bit more. I fully expect that Foley's conservative former allies will now use his actions as ammunition against the LGBT community, even though he has never previously openly identified as gay. This is the #1 myth about people who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual - that we're all sexual predators just waiting for an opportunity to convert your children. I already got my toaster, thanks, I'll pass on the sex-with-children.
So let me be clear: I don't know whether Mark Foley self-identifies as gay or straight. His actions were reprehensible and he should be held accountable. Foley's predatory behavior had nothing to do with his actual or perceived sexual orientation (that's his business, not ours). Nothing. Sexual violence is not about sex. It's about power and control. In this case, you have a Member of Congress more than three times the age of his target communicating in an immature manner clearly below his position and receiving sexual gratification from that dynamic.
That said, Foley was one of only a handful of Republicans in the House to vote against the Federal Marriage Amendment earlier this year. The FMA failed to garner the necessary two-thirds majority it needed to move forward toward ratification, but just barely. Foley's vote did actually make a huge difference. Not a very politically smart move in a district that has a PVI of R +2.4. It's irrelevant at this point, but one does wonder about what his motivation might have been.
It's late, I've had a long day. I'm sure I'll have something more lucid and coherent to say during the weekend.
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One point you mention cannot be stressed enough regarding the misconceptions about homosexuality and pedophilia.
Too many times the anti-gay movement, purposely in some cases and ignorantly in others, blur the line between the two. I never hesitate to correct this mistake when I hear it from people that fall victim to this dis or misinformation.
Being Catholic in the current political enviroment, I have plenty of opportunity to confront purveyors of this lie. My morning drive to drop off my kids at Catholic schools has transformed from a sea of "W" stickers to Munsil stickers. Thankfully there aren't too many, we are in "Mitchell country" here in Tempe so we cancel them out with Janet and Harry stickers.
My biggest problem with this situation is, are the police involved and if not, why not? GOP leadership knows for more than 10 months and no criminal investigation?
And you know Rove had to have been informed, to control the story and the spin, right?
I hope this is the final nail in the GOP coffin.
Peace,
Tim O
Too many times the anti-gay movement, purposely in some cases and ignorantly in others, blur the line between the two. I never hesitate to correct this mistake when I hear it from people that fall victim to this dis or misinformation.
Being Catholic in the current political enviroment, I have plenty of opportunity to confront purveyors of this lie. My morning drive to drop off my kids at Catholic schools has transformed from a sea of "W" stickers to Munsil stickers. Thankfully there aren't too many, we are in "Mitchell country" here in Tempe so we cancel them out with Janet and Harry stickers.
My biggest problem with this situation is, are the police involved and if not, why not? GOP leadership knows for more than 10 months and no criminal investigation?
And you know Rove had to have been informed, to control the story and the spin, right?
I hope this is the final nail in the GOP coffin.
Peace,
Tim O
We need more allies like you. Thank you.
A report to either law enforcement or Louisiana's child protection agency should have been made as soon as the allegations arose. I find it very telling that the Congressman who sponsored the young man as a page in Foley's office claimed that they were not trying to protect Foley, but protect the parents of the boy. Why not to protect the boy?
It's not clear from the information we have that Foley actually committed a crime, although there are news outlets saying that he may have violated laws he helped write and enact. Given the opportunity, I firmly believe he would have escalated his behavior and actually physically molested this young man. If he hasn't already done with other young men already. The IM conversation leads me to believe this wasn't Foley's first time at the rodeo.
A report to either law enforcement or Louisiana's child protection agency should have been made as soon as the allegations arose. I find it very telling that the Congressman who sponsored the young man as a page in Foley's office claimed that they were not trying to protect Foley, but protect the parents of the boy. Why not to protect the boy?
It's not clear from the information we have that Foley actually committed a crime, although there are news outlets saying that he may have violated laws he helped write and enact. Given the opportunity, I firmly believe he would have escalated his behavior and actually physically molested this young man. If he hasn't already done with other young men already. The IM conversation leads me to believe this wasn't Foley's first time at the rodeo.
That paragon of moral virtue, Newt Gingrich, just gave the GOP House Leadership a pass on their non action regarding Mark Foley. Check the Foxnews Sunday transcript.
He says, if they acted too quickly, it would be seen as gay bashing since it was male/male relationship.
This guy is fucking sick.
He ignored the predatory pedophilia and made it a gay=pedophile issue.
You know he knew exactly what he was doing.
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He says, if they acted too quickly, it would be seen as gay bashing since it was male/male relationship.
This guy is fucking sick.
He ignored the predatory pedophilia and made it a gay=pedophile issue.
You know he knew exactly what he was doing.
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