Congressman Resigns: Sent Letters to 16 Yr Old

[Lex]

From CNN.com

Congressman resigns after former page questions e-mails

From CNN's Dana Bash
CNN Washington Bureau



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. Mark Foley, a Republican from Florida, resigned Friday from the House, a day after a former congressional page questioned e-mails Foley had sent to him.
Foley apparently sent the e-mails in August 2005, when the male page was 16 years old.


"Today I have delivered a letter to the speaker of the House informing him of my decision to resign from the U.S. House of Representatives, effective today. I thank the people of Florida's 16th Congressional District for giving me the opportunity to serve them for the last twelve years; it has been an honor," Foley said in a written statement.


"I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent."


In the e-mails, which were obtained by the Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Foley discussed a second page, saying "I just emailed [him]... hes such a nice guy... acts much older than his age... hes in great shape... i am just finished riding my bike on a 25 mile journey now heading to the guy... whats school like for you this year?"
Foley then asked the page for a picture.
The young man, who forwarded the e-mails to another congressional staffer, called the e-mails "sick, sick, sick."


"Maybe it is just me being paranoid, but seriously. This freaks me out," the page wrote in the e-mails obtained by CREW.


A spokesman for Foley told CNN the congressman acknowledged he had an e-mail exchange with the former page but flatly denied that it was anything inappropriate.


Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois said he supported Foley's resignation.
"He's done, as of now; he's done the right thing," Hastert said. "I've asked John Shimkus, who is the head of the Page board, to look into this issue regarding Congressman Foley. We want to make sure that all of our pages are safe, and the page system is safe."


"None of us are very happy about it," Hastert said.


According to GOP sources, Foley is concerned there may be other potential politically damaging e-mails or information out there and has concluded it's best not to run again for office.


Foley, who is considered a moderate, has been in office for six-terms.
His Democratic opponent in the race, Tim Mahoney, called for an investigation into the matter Thursday. Mahoney's campaign denied having anything to do with the information getting out.

Also, the emails.

I seriously have to wonder what goes in in people's heads these days. Really. Wow.

 

[Dave NoCal]

And he was the chairman of a committe to protect children form internet predators! The sheer brazen hypocricyof some of these "family values" republicans never ceases to amaze me.

 

[rawbone8]

from Salon:

"In 1983, the House censured Massachusetts Rep. Gerry Studds for having a sexual relationships with a 17-year-old male page. Studds was reelected the next year and served in Congress until 1996."

This dude is in Florida though, so I'd venture to say he's TOAST.

 

[Pecker]

He's definitely a pedo and I'm glad he's out of there. I'm sure that, if the authorities want to press charges, the can dig up more dirt on this guy. This boy is probably not the first.

As for these "family values" republicans - I happen to be one - and I am not a pedophile.

 

[DC_DEEP]

I doubt he's toast, friends. Think back... a few tearful apologies, a few fervent pleas to jesus for forgiveness, perhaps a token bit of counseling, and he's not just forgiven, he's an icon (with caveats).

No one seems to believe me when I rant about the guys on any given federal government committee being the worst perpetrators of those they claim to police, and the worst offenders against those they claim to protect (drunken sots on alcohol/drunk driving committes, lobbyist puppets on ethics boards, flaming queens and pedophiles on "pro-marriage, family values" committees, on and on...)

 

[fortiesfun]

I'm intrigued. The e-mails are ambiguous, at best. Not that I am defending this guy. I'm glad to see him gone. He has been a crusader against almost everything I value for a long time, but still, I wonder what more there is that we haven't heard yet. Seems too little to justify a resignation given the amount of in-your-face illegality going on these days. (Abramoff, etc.) Sitting on the edge of my chair wondering what else we'll hear in a few days.

 

[mindseye]

The comparison between Foley and Studds is shaky for two reasons:

1. The censure against Studds was for an indiscretion that occurred ten years prior: he was censured in 1983, but the encounter took place in 1973.
2. The encounter with the 17-year-old page was consensual. The age of consent in Washington DC at the time of the offense was 16. (However, Washington DC had an anti-sodomy law on the books at the time.)

Foley has announced, though, that he won't run for re-election. So, the fact that Studds won re-election is academic.

 

[HotBulge]

In no way do I support Congressman Foley's advances on a minor - it's unprofessional and exploitational - but don't you think he's buying into a double standard. Specifically, American society sends its adolescent males a mixed signal - you are young, but at the same time you are men and therefore are not supposed to be easy prey i.e. "victims". In those emails, you can hear him befriending the page and talking about his maturity. Foley probably never expected the young page to lose his cool or to betray a confidence, a buddy-buddy exchange.

 

[mindseye]

As for these "family values" republicans - I happen to be one - and I am not a pedophile.

No, but you're straight. Anyone who's openly gay and a Republican has a serious conflict of interest to reconcile. (We don't see black Klansmen or Jewish Nazis -- why are there so many Log Cabin Republicans?!) I wonder if Foley was just in serious denial about his fantasies and/or the political realities -- and that's how he could resolve his conflict of interest.

 

[joyboytoy79]

I've read the emails and they seem pretty ambiguous. I also wanted to point out that is voting record has been pretty pro-gay (voting against DOMA, against the constitutional amendment, etc).

I've also not seen anything to suggest that he ran on, or supported a "family values" platform/agenda.

All this being said, the man has RESIGNED, effective immediately. He not only withdrew his run for re-election, he flat out quit. This makes me wonder if there isn't a lot more to this story than 3 emails that only vaguely hint at him thinking a page boy has a nice body.

 

[Lex]

No, but you're straight. Anyone who's openly gay and a Republican has a serious conflict of interest to reconcile. (We don't see black Klansmen or Jewish Nazis -- why are there so many Log Cabin Republicans?!) I wonder if Foley was just in serious denial about his fantasies and/or the political realities -- and that's how he could resolve his conflict of interest.

I would add that people who have gay children and siblings and are Republican also have serious conflicts of interest as well.

 

[coopturn]

I would add that people who have gay children and siblings and are Republican also have serious conflicts of interest as well.

What? According to the Human Rights Campaign it was a Democrat president (Clinton) who was responsible for signing the two "most sweepingly anti-gay" pieces of legislation in history: DOMA, and Don't Ask Don't Tell. So I guess gays, their parents, and their siblings shouldn't vote Democrat either.

 

[Pecker]

I've read the emails and they seem pretty ambiguous. I also wanted to point out that is voting record has been pretty pro-gay (voting against DOMA, against the constitutional amendment, etc).

I've also not seen anything to suggest that he ran on, or supported a "family values" platform/agenda.

All this being said, the man has RESIGNED, effective immediately. He not only withdrew his run for re-election, he flat out quit. This makes me wonder if there isn't a lot more to this story than 3 emails that only vaguely hint at him thinking a page boy has a nice body.

I understand that the e-mails 'released' so far are incomplete and that they are actually quite explicit.

Enough so, anyhow, to cause the former page to call them 'sick' and enough to cause the Rep. to resign immediately.

 

[rawbone8]

ABC says there's more

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/
Foley pushed child porn bills, asked: "Do I make you a little horny?

Before he resigned from the House of Representatives today, Florida Rep. Mark Foley was the co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus and somebody who spoke out a lot about the risks young people face from adults who might sexually exploit them.
When Foley wasn't doing that, ABC News says, he was instant-messaging male House pages with questions like, "Do I make you a little horny?"







excerpt from Salon article

 

[mindseye]

What? According to the Human Rights Campaign it was a Democrat president (Clinton) who was responsible for signing the two "most sweepingly anti-gay" pieces of legislation in history: DOMA, and Don't Ask Don't Tell. So I guess gays, their parents, and their siblings shouldn't vote Democrat either.

1. Signing legislation into law is different from voting for it. DOMA passed the Republican-controlled Congress by 85-14 in the Senate, and 342-67 in the House -- both large enough margins to override a veto. (I concur with you that DADT was a betrayal on many levels.)
2. I've tried to find a date for the quotation you cited, since I'm skeptical it reflects the current position of the HRC, but I was unable to find *any* hits for "most sweepingly anti-gay" in Google. (Removing the hyphen found one hit that was not attributed to the HRC.)

 

[joyboytoy79]

I understand that the e-mails 'released' so far are incomplete and that they are actually quite explicit.

Enough so, anyhow, to cause the former page to call them 'sick' and enough to cause the Rep. to resign immediately.

I do not question Mr. Foley's wrongdoing. I think the fact that he resigned speaks volumes to his guilt.

I do wonder why this is happening SO close to an election. It seems the St. Petersburg Times had the story last November. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-Congressman-E-Mails.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin Why didn't they publish it then? I'm all for the guy quitting. I make no qualms about not being supportive of the current Republican party and it's tactics. I'm not supportive of the Democrats starting the same bullshit though. This issue should have been addressed a year ago, so this man was not in a position to continue hurting young men.

 

[B_Stronzo]

I just be lovin' this thing.

His ass is grass.

 

[Lex]

What? According to the Human Rights Campaign it was a Democrat president (Clinton) who was responsible for signing the two "most sweepingly anti-gay" pieces of legislation in history: DOMA, and Don't Ask Don't Tell. So I guess gays, their parents, and their siblings shouldn't vote Democrat either.

My statement referred to the fact that the current and most recent Republican platform (a national one at that) had anti-gay bias as one of it's core message. Many won elections based on little more than "God hates fags" (carefully disgused as other rhetoric, of course).

ABC says there's more...

Mark Foley ...spoke out a lot about the risks young people face from adults who might sexually exploit them.

When Foley wasn't doing that, ABC News says, he was instant-messaging male House pages with questions like, "Do I make you a little horny?"

This current revelation is murky and alarming for several reasons, one being the fact that many will use it as an example to further promote the idea of pedophilia equating to homosexuality. Nothing could be more untrue.

 

[DC_DEEP]

What? According to the Human Rights Campaign it was a Democrat president (Clinton) who was responsible for signing the two "most sweepingly anti-gay" pieces of legislation in history: DOMA, and Don't Ask Don't Tell. So I guess gays, their parents, and their siblings shouldn't vote Democrat either.

You always have such an interesting take on issues. Are you implying or assuming that any gay who does not vote republican, automatically votes democrat?

Honestly, all you partisans really turn my stomach. Yes, republican supporters and democrat supporters alike.

 

[mindseye]

Honestly, all you partisans really turn my stomach. Yes, republican supporters and democrat supporters alike.

Six years ago, I'd have agreed with you. During the 2000 elections, we had a presidential race, a Senate race, and a House race on the ballot -- and my votes went to a Democrat, a Republican, and a third-party candidate.

Not by design, mind you -- just happened that way. And I won't deny that even then, I tended to favor Democrats over Republicans (it's just that one of the Democrats that year was soooooo awful...)

But a lot has happened in the past six years, and the Republican Party has contrived to damage the constitutional foundations upon which the country was built, in an effort to consolidate power here and abroad, and to increase the wealth of the already-wealthy. I won't go into detail here, because it's beyond the scope of thisthread, but I'll be happy to write a hundred pages on the subject at the drop of a hat.

This is not an indictment of conservatism -- conservatism and decency are not mutually exclusive. It's a condemnation of a political party that has abandoned its. . .our. . .core principles. I have become a staunchly partisan Democrat since 2000, because I believe pacifism and dissent are not treason, that habeas corpus is non-negotiable, that the right to a fair trial belongs to all people regardless of citizenship, and that the separation of powers doctrine is too successful to abandon.