Republican Congressman Sends Sex Messages to Underage Boys

Foley's Lawyer:

He never had sexual relations with minors.
He's in rehab for 30 days.
Resignation was Foley's choice, not others.
He's gay... this is being announced as part of his rehab.
He was sexually abused 40 years ago by a clergyman.

 

What a bunch of crap!

So I guess it's all okay for the republican leadership to keep everything under cover and we should feel sorry for Foley.

Dam liberal clergy!!!!!

 

Poor Foley... a victim all this time and too afraid to come "out" in the Party of "Personal Responsibility."

 

wait..this cuts both ways.

he is personally responsible. but let's be real about what causes this sort of behavior. the man has a problem, and he needs to get it sorted out. if it stems from abuse, then that would be pretty typical. it's a good thing he is seeking counseling.

i'm not suggesting he shouldn't be held personally responsible. but let's be careful not to crucify the man. or the liberals will come out smelling like hypocrites to.

 

I haven't touched on this subject at all yet. I have been sitting back and watching, but if I were going to give a 'why' to the reason that these facts were released it did not occur as a result of any sort of introspective revelation or any need for forgiveness.

The information from Foley's lawyer strikes me as a calculated political move, designed to make people feel sympathy for Foley and lessen the anger against Republicans in general. At the same time, most of the statements from Democratic politicians strike me as designed politically to incite anger against Republicans.

In the end, it is sad to say, this whole deal hasn't actually upset me at all. Not because the issues have no relevance, but because I expect no better out of Congressmen and Senators. I'm sure there are plenty more Republicans and Democrats out there with dirty little secret lives that don't match their public facade.

I don't think these people really feel much of anything any more beyond the basic acceptance/rejection of voter approval. Their actions exist only as reaction to public sentiment and if the public decided raping babies was appropriate behavior they'd all be lining up to see who was the first to get a chance to bugger little kids on national TV.

 

Have you guys heard that Florida newspapers and Fox News had the emails in hand and decided not to run with the story or investigate if further?

The word that ABC is possibly aware of more congressman doing similar things is chilling. If they can get the evidence, they need to name names. Republican or Democrat, whatever, these guys need to be ousted if they exist.

 

yes, i saw that on drudge this morning and posted a link here
see post #59

i dont doubt that more names will pop up - republican and democrat. like i said, every major news outlet in the country has reporters digging and digging for anything right now.

 

Max...

I have doubts whether he really was abused. He refused to name the guy until after he had finished his therapy? Sounds iffy, especially after he has already made claims that alcohol was to blame.

The whole world knows Foley is gay and targeted boys. He only resigned and admitted to it after he got caught (in a big way... I still think the GOP was letting him slide before the story broke). If he was abused, why announce it... why not deal with it privately in therapy? Is there any reputable therapist that would have you announce to the world that somebody still living molested you and then say you can't name the person until after your therapy is over? It doesn't make sense. By doing it the way he did, it has served no other purpose than promoting his own victimhood and, more importantly, casting doubt on every living clergyman from his hometown/childhood. To throw that out there without backing it up and thus tarnishing the reputations of people is not good.

I think if you take a step back you'll see what the lawyer was really saying is not "My client screwed up and needs help," but more like "Please don't send my client to jail and if a trial does come, the jury pool needs to be aware that he was abused as a child and thus cannot help himself."

 

Kind of blows out of the water the lame republican talking point they came up with today that this is all an election year hit job on Foley and the RNC doesn't it?

 

certainly all possible. but it seems hypocritical for me to hear dems rush to condemn a man when they're always arguing for restraint and process when he doesn't have an R by his name.

 

I think the republicans should talk about family values now.

 

The problem with that talking point, is that the allegations are true. The e-mails and IM's are there and very well documented. It's only a "hit job" if spurious rumors are brought against someone. If "hit job" has actual proof, then it is much stronger.

 

wasn't clinton crucified by republicans for having consentual sex with an adult?

 

1. He was married in each instance
2. Monica Lewinski was an intern in his Office; he in essence was her boss
3. He denied it repeatedly-- even to a Grand Jury I believe
4. He lied to the American people about it-- he even wagged his Finger of Truth at us
5.. He was The President of the US
6. The American People were told during his campaign that that part of his life was over.... Hillary on 60 Minutes > ~"I'm not a 'Stand By Your Man' kind of woman..."

 

Siding with the child molester. Nice!

 

going back to the basic acts (consentual sex with an adult VS inviting sexual messages toward a minor), which is worse?

or simply, which is criminal?

 

Bush makes Clinton look like honest Abe. The only person that should be pissed about Monica is Hillary.

I'm more pissed being lied to by Bush since that got us into a needless war then being lied to by Clinton who was just getting his rocks off.

I still do not understand the Republican hatred of Clinton, yet Republicans defend Bush to the bitter end. Which President has served the country better? I'd say Clinton.

 

Partisan politics >>>> truth and logical correctness (i.e. not contradicting yourself).

That's the way it is in America.

 

You're misrepresenting what I said. Of course he's entitled to due process and a fair trial (I mean, he's not been designated an enemy combatant by the President!) should it come to that. And I don't recall many Dems defending Gary Condit. Or Marion Barry. Or James Traficant. Or Al Bustamente. Or Dan Rostenkowski.

Still, we do know for a fact that Foley pursued young boys, we do know that he did so with obvious glee, we do know that he did so while important votes were being taken, we know he did so after the House GOP leadership ignored the situation (at best). What he did not do is own up to his actions after using the rhetoric of family values and responsibility to put him in a place where he could target young boys. In fact, today he used the very language the Republicans have run against all these years and it is symptomatic of these folks that when they are caught, it is always "well, I'm different, so I can play the victim card." See Rush, see Duke Cunningham, see a bunch of others... Why not say "I need some alone time" and call it good?

 

So what.

So the **** what. Bush lies, Condie lies, they all lie. How did Clinton's lie impact the country? Do tell...

Ooooooooooooo. How did Clinton's lie impact the country? Do tell...

Hey better yet, explain to me how Bush could tell us all we're gonna get OBL, but then say he's not a concern? How did Bush not know the levees would fail, even though he was told they would? How did Bush know Saddam had WMDs, even though it appears no data supported his accusation? Jesus christ, get some perspective....

Hypocrite.

So what.