Foley Quits Amid Allegations of Email Sex Scandal

blueflame1 wrote:

An organization of conservatives says House Majority Leader Dennis Hastert and other Republican leaders who knew there was a problem with former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, but didn't thoroughly investigate, should resign. [..]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52251

The "Dump Hastert Movement" you allege seems - as yet anyway - to not have any support among the Republican members of Congress - House or Senate,- nor does there seem - as yet anyway - to be prospect of it doing so. Boehner's radio talkshow commentary does not amount to a floor motion. Of course, as more develops, more may develop. I do not expect, however, that developments will trend toward Hastert's removal.

Foley scandal hits Ohio

The Columbus Dispatch
Wednesday, October 4, 2006

WASHINGTON ?- Two senior Ohio Republicans yesterday called for the resignation of any House GOP leader who knew about the sexually explicit electronic messages sent by a Republican congressman to teenage pages but failed to act.

Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, who is in a tight battle for re-election against Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown, said last night that "if anybody in the leadership had information and didn't take the appropriate action with that information, then they're going to have to resign."

"Did they know he was a predator?" DeWine asked, referring to Republican Mark Foley of Florida, who resigned from Congress last week after publication of the e-mails to former House pages. "Did they have reason to believe he was a predator? And if either one is true and they didn't do anything, they should resign."

Rep. Deborah Pryce, of Upper Arlington, the No. 4 House Republican, said that "anyone who was aware of these instant messages needs to take responsibility. Anybody who had knowledge of that needs to step down."

The comments by DeWine and Pryce occurred as Republicans reeled from the fallout of a sexual scandal that could help end their 12-year control of the House of Representatives. And it was a further sign of the crumbling GOP support for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and possibly House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester. [..]

You find her entertaining, because you are a jerk, just like she is.

Cycloptichorn

Ticomaya wrote:

Quote:

By Ann Coulter

This is the very definition of political opportunism. If Republicans had decided to spy on Foley for sending overly friendly e-mails to pages, Democrats would have been screaming about a Republican witch hunt against gays.

Ah, nonsense. Fifty-something politician actively preys on teenage pages - scandal. Period. Whether the pages are boys or girls dont make any difference - not to Democrats anyway - people would have been indignant either way.

Perhaps the fact that Foley wasn't just preying on teenagers but - oh no! - was being gay and going for boys, in particular, is a big deal for Coulter and the Christian conservatives. Perhaps for them gay preying is just that much more of an issue than regular preying.

But Democrats are not the ones with a hang up on this. For them, the gay angle is irrelevant. A Republican Congressman preyed on teenage pages. Either which way they would have pounced on that.

If anyone seriously thinks that, if the Republican Party had denounced and disciplined Foley for preying on teenage boys, the Democrats would have defended Foley, he or she should check his head. Even just from a cynical power-politics POV: not even the Democrats are that suicidal.

When you can't defend, attack attack attack!

Cycloptichorn

Funny, I knew about this six years ago. I was wondering when it was going to come out.

Cycloptichorn wrote:

When you can't defend, attack attack attack!

Cycloptichorn

Yeah Tico... you have to defend yourself when someone calls you a jerk... not attack that person... wait a second... isn't calling someone a jerk attacking???

I'm rather sure, Foley's extensive knowledge of child-exploitation laws has helped guide him as to how far he could go without violating the law.

As far as I know, prosecutors need evidence that Foley solicited sex and traveled to have the sexual encounter, and that a sexual tryst happened.

Seems unpossible.

Oh, he was molested. That explains it.
Oh, he's gay ?- and an alcoholic ---- all is forgiven.

The press is already acting a little wary. But to make things worse, we understand that there are other revelations about lawmakers' misbehavior with pages waiting to erupt. Other members, other pages, other scenarios that haven't become public. If any of that dirt breaks in the next 24 hours -- well, it would most likely blow a hole through the GOP message that they've got the situation under control, and start a whole new wave of what-did-they-know, when-did-they-know-it. And it will be even less enjoyable than the first round.