Congressman Mark Foley resigned

[HeartofTexas]

it may well have come from a Karl Rove memo.

Amen to that! Somewhere there is a vast Republican play book constructed by Karl Rove, and that one's definitely in it.

 

[Nova]

I assume it was clear that I'm not suggesting Garcia's careless remark is in any way equivalent to Foley's predation. But the fact that Garcia so quickly made use of the same response tactic shows just how pervasive the "Rove playbook" is in the Republican party.

 

[Straitfan]

Well, no, what's wrong with this country is that at least half the population never matured beyond a second-grade mentality.

Grown-ups recognize that some "wrongs" are serious, some are trivial, but all may be evaluated in terms of the harm directly caused by said "wrong."

That is of course based on what one considers serious vs trivial! Your "trivial" may not be the same as those with quote second-grade mentality, which I will state again, we wonder what is wrong with this country, one cannot pick and chose what is trivial and what is not when it comes to right and wrong... (JMO, of course!) (Don't believe you are trying to say because one may think Clinton was also in the wrong means, one has no mentality.)

 

[Straitfan]

HELLO..... clinton wasn't a child molester, at least she was legal.

Yes you are right she was legal,(though not so sure how one see's big difference in a 17 yr old vs one who is 18 yrs old, pretty similar mentality one would think!) That being said no clinton was not considered a child molester, but he was the PRESIDENT!! Don't believe that makes his actions any more ok than someone else's.

 

[Masterj]

Yes you are right she was legal,(though not so sure how one see's big difference in a 17 yr old vs one who is 18 yrs old, pretty similar mentality one would think!) That being said no clinton was not considered a child molester, but he was the PRESIDENT!! Don't believe that makes his actions any more ok than someone else's.

Monica Lewinsky was born in 1973 and began having an affair with Clinton in 1995, making her 22 years old. I don't know where you are getting this 17/18 year old info from, but it is inaccurate.

 

[Nova]

Monica Lewinsky was born in 1973 and began having an affair with Clinton in 1995, making her 22 years old. I don't know where you are getting this 17/18 year old info from, but it is inaccurate.

Maybe from Fox News and the like. They've been subtracting years off Lewinsky's age for some time now.

 

[Nova]

That is of course based on what one considers serious vs trivial! Your "trivial" may not be the same as those with quote second-grade mentality, which I will state again, we wonder what is wrong with this country, one cannot pick and chose what is trivial and what is not when it comes to right and wrong... (JMO, of course!) (Don't believe you are trying to say because one may think Clinton was also in the wrong means, one has no mentality.)

Certainly not. I think we all agree Clinton made mistakes.

But adults MUST decide which wrongs are serious and which are trivial. A parking infraction does not equal mass murder. Consensual sex between legal adults does not equal preying on minors.

 

[RiverRat]

Tuesday, October 17, 2006, 5:31 pm

By BRIAN SKOLOFF, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Foley tells church of alleged abuser

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Disgraced former U.S. U.S. Rep. Mark Foley has revealed to the Archdiocese of Miami the name of the Roman Catholic clergyman he says abused him as a teenager, a close friend of Foley's said Tuesday.

The name was not made public and it was not immediately clear whether the person was still active in the church or is alive.

Foley's civil attorney Gerald Richman was to make the announcement at a news conference Tuesday evening, the friend told The Associated Press, on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the case.

According to the source, the church offered Foley counseling in the matter, which Foley accepted. He plans to begin that counseling after completing treatment for alcoholism. The archdiocese did not immediately respond to phone messages and emails Tuesday.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061017/BREAKING04/61017002

 

[SadieMae]

Foley just totally wierds me out. My hinky meter is way up on him...who wants to bet the priest he "says" molested him is someone dead? I think Foley is a liar all the way around. JMO

 

[Nova]

...who wants to bet the priest he "says" molested him is someone dead?

My thought exactly.

 

[reb]

awwwwwwwww,,,, poor baby!!! did 'ums get molested by a priest!!!?

nice try, to distract attention away from youself, and make yourself out to be the victim here.... (NOT!!!!!!)

 

[Straitfan]

Monica Lewinsky was born in 1973 and began having an affair with Clinton in 1995, making her 22 years old. I don't know where you are getting this 17/18 year old info from, but it is inaccurate.

And 18, 22, and what he was approx 30 yrs older, which is/nor has never been my point to begin with.. He was the President!!, whether she was 15 or 30 does not play in my equation!.. He was a public , elected servent who had the responibilty as well as the rest of them to do right! Rep/Dem makes no difference whatsoever when it comes down to right and wrong.

 

[Becba]

Foley just totally wierds me out. My hinky meter is way up on him...who wants to bet the priest he "says" molested him is someone dead? I think Foley is a liar all the way around. JMO

They said on CNN tonight that his so called molestor is still alive. It makes no difference to me in my opinion about Foley. It is hard to beleive his allegation when he only comes out with this after he is in trouble. If he was molested, get the Preist off the street and in jail. But it will not change what Foley was up to.

 

[Nova]

They said on CNN tonight that his so called molestor is still alive. It makes no difference to me in my opinion about Foley. It is hard to beleive his allegation when he only comes out with this after he is in trouble. If he was molested, get the Preist off the street and in jail. But it will not change what Foley was up to.

Yes, indeed. And how odd that he waited until now to speak up and protect others from that priest, given that Foley was head of a committee formed to protect minors.

 

[Nova]

And 18, 22, and what he was approx 30 yrs older, which is/nor has never been my point to begin with.. He was the President!!, whether she was 15 or 30 does not play in my equation!.. He was a public , elected servent who had the responibilty as well as the rest of them to do right! Rep/Dem makes no difference whatsoever when it comes down to right and wrong.

The President has a special obligation not to commit adultery? I missed that part of the Constitution. Apparently, most presidents miss it, too.

 

[Maral]

Yes, indeed. And how odd that he waited until now to speak up and protect others from that priest, given that Foley was head of a committee formed to protect minors.

Good point, Nova. I hadn't thought yet about how he could have protected others by speaking up a lot sooner if he was indeed molested by a priest. Doesn't say much for the guy, does it?

 

[windovervocalcords]

Since it was widely known on Capitol Hill that Foley was a closeted homosexual, he was never going to rise above the "lavender ceiling" in the Republican party leadership. Moreover, he had raised prodigious amounts of campaign money, so what other kinds of leverage did they have against him other than his sex scandals simmering beneath the surface?

[size=-1]For the White House and the Republican Congressional Leadership the CAFTA was a signature issue that year. The telephone calls between the two ends of Pennsylvania Avenue must have been frantic and the logs of such calls should be preserved. [/size]

[size=-1]But who could they flip? What leverage or sweeteners did they have? Did they attempt to blackmail him by letting political rivals "out" him? Or did they "greymail" him by promising to help Foley sweep these emerging scandals under the rug? Or did they promise to try to give him a "soft landing" in the event the allegations should become public? [/size]

[size=-1]If Foley's sexcapades were even whispered in this political context that day, then this scandal could lead right in to the White House and possibly even to the Oval Office.[/size]

[size=-1]Is this another smoking gun which will emerge when House Members and staff are put under oath? Whatever the truth is, the official rational behind Mr. Foley's vote switch has never made much sense. He and the Republican Leadership should be asked to explain his shifting position on the CAFTA vote.[/size]
http://www.counterpunch.org/tree10162006.html

 

[Cypros]

VERY interesting, windovervocals.

 

[IdahoMom]

The priest who molested Foley, knowing he was about to be "exposed" (sorry, no pun intended), has come forward with this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15329373/

snip

A Roman Catholic priest said he had an inappropriate two-year relationship with former Rep. Mark Foley in the 1960s that included massaging the boy in the nude, but he did not specifically remember having sex, a newspaper reported Thursday.
The Rev. Anthony Mercieca, 72, described several encounters that he said Foley might perceive as sexually inappropriate, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported. They include massaging Foley while the boy was naked, skinny-dipping together at a secluded lake in Lake Worth and being nude in the same room on overnight trips.

Mercieca said there was one night when he was in a drug-induced stupor and there was an incident but he couldn't clearly remember, the newspaper reported.

and

Earlier this month, Roth said "Mark does not blame the trauma he sustained as a young adolescent for his totally inappropriate" e-mails and instant messages. "He continues to offer no excuse whatsoever for his conduct."

 

[ISPTRAX]

Mercieca said there was one night when he was in a drug-induced stupor and there was an incident but he couldn't clearly remember, the newspaper reported.

I smell REHAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!