Boyz to Men: Mark Foley and the Congressional Pages
I have to admit that when I first heard about the Foley email thing last week I thought it was a simple political hatchet job. The initial reports detailed emails that to me sounded pretty pedestrian. I couldn't understand how a congressman making small talk with a former page via email was anything more than political nicety. Wow, was I wrong.
When a Republican member of congress who was sailing to re-election—in this most critical mid-term year—abruptly resigns and heads for the hills, you know there's something nasty lurking in his closet. And now the stink is sticking to GOP leadership who are being questioned about how they handled the initial report that Foley was getting a bit too friendly with underage pages. The Justice Department is now involved and Foley himself has gone Hollywood by checking himself into rehab. Get ready for this to be the October Surprise Rove wasn't counting on.
UPDATE: ABC has what they say are transcripts (PDF) from one of Foley's IM sessions with a young page. It gets pretty nasty--fair warning.
Comments
it's pretty damn amazing stuff. i had the first reaction on friday afternoon as you mentioned. though, the hook that kept me in it and scrounging for information was that he packed it in so quickly. the fallout is going to take a couple others down easily. i'm curious how the repbulicans can spin this to save face.
on another site, i read an interesting little conspiracy theory that the republicans could have been holding it over his head to keep him as a swing vote on critcal votes. that may be a little out there, but interesting none-the-less.
the im's are pretty damning. read some on slate and some on abc. probably just the tip of the iceberg. soon more will come forward and it'll be more salacious soundbites. afterall, nothing sells like a sex scanadal.
Posted by: vitas | October 2, 2006 2:35 PM
The spin is already happening surprise, surprise, it's to blame Clinton. The reason Foley got his keyboard sticky is because Slick Willy couldn't keep his cigars dry! Of course!
"Go read the Starr Report, if you have the stomach for it," says Michelle Malkin!
And it's not just Clinton, it's all the "liberals" whoa re to blame for a Republican getting his itch on.
"In their hearts and minds and their crotches, they don't have any problem with what Foley did," Rush Limbaugh said.
Can you smell the desperation?
Posted by: Derek Phillips | October 2, 2006 3:21 PM
Big difference between Clinton's extramarital shenanigans, and this pervert's pedophilia!
I mean, hey, we all know teenagers are hot, but Jesus man, you can't send them dirty messages! Sheesh.
Personally, I'm more appalled that a U.S. Congressman doesn't know the difference between "your" and "you're" ("good so your getting horny").
Then again, anyone who's seen my lazy IM typos knows I have NO room to talk, ha ha.
Posted by: Jake | October 2, 2006 4:44 PM
Unbelieveable.
Now Drudge is helping by suggesting that it was the kid's fault for "leading" Foley on. What the fuck?
Posted by: worpswede | October 2, 2006 11:58 PM
These fucknuts need to be shunted back to the minority party. Playing the put-upon underdogs is really becoming unseemly.
When are they going to give up their crippling moral relativism, and learn that character DOES matter?
Posted by: barabajagal | October 4, 2006 8:20 AM
Get your page on: http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/images/gywo.writ.gif
from http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war58.html
via http://www.lancewaxer.com/
Posted by: Jake![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://poljunk.gloriousnoise.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
October 5, 2006 11:20 PM
one week later and i can't believe the amount of spin. clinton operatives, abc, george sorros, liberals, bloggers, booze, priests... and even the pages are to blame!
foley just ducks into hiding at a "rehab clinic" and only speaks through a mouthpiece of an attorney. hastert "accepts responsibility", but then turns around and starts pointing the finger at everyone short of the pope. and it seems that every other repbulican that has any casual association to foley is pointing at eachother.
funny.
Posted by: vitas | October 6, 2006 7:14 AM
Oh, and "Mr. Foley wants you to know he is a gay man," according to his attorney. As if that explains away everything...
Posted by: steve-o | October 10, 2006 10:10 AM