Human Rights Campaign Response to the Foley Scandal
The Republicans are spinning things so fast about the Foely sleaze scandal that it's a wonder they don't fall down from dizziness. Republican Congressman Foley solicited sex from a minor...period. And the Republican leadership knew about it well before the story broke and they did nothing except try to cover it up. THAT is the scandal.
All the Republican posturing about gays and liberals is all just a smoke screen to try and hide the clear fact that the Republicans ALLOWED A SEXUAL PREDATOR TO REMAIN IN CONGRESS.
But the Republicans want to blame the gays. This is the response from the Human Rights Campaign:
Congressman Mark Foley’s sexually-charged communications with young congressional pages was reprehensible and we have strongly condemned it. We have also been equally quick to condemn some in the GOP for their attempts to blame this scandal on the GLBT community.
Just hours ago, following Speaker Hastert's press conference, I sent a letter to him expressing outrage at the efforts of some in his party to scapegoat gay people for this unfortunate situation. You can read the full letter here.
At the beginning of the week, I issued the following statement to the press:
“Gay or straight, Democrat or Republican, it is completely inexcusable for an adult to have this kind of communication with a minor. Congressman Foley brought shame on himself and this Congress by his horrible behavior and complete lack of judgment. We strongly condemn his behavior.â€
On Tuesday, we issued a press release condemning the Republican leadership for avoiding responsibility and for trying to blame our community. You can read the press release here.
On Wednesday, HRC Vice President, David Smith, appeared on MSNBC to combat Charmaine Yoest of the Family Research Council. Her group has been saying that the House Republican leaders were afraid to investigate the Foley matter because they were afraid of being labeled “homophobic.†That’s right! - the same members of Congress who have been trying to write our community out of the Constitution were supposedly unwilling to stop Foley because they were worried about their image as gay bashers. This is some of the most convoluted nonsense out there. David did an excellent job of going after FRC’s illogical and inflammatory statements...
Yesterday, I also submitted an editorial to Huffington Post, the popular online website run by Arianna Huffington. We need to get the focus of this debate back on topic. It has nothing to do with Mark Foley’s sexual orientation and everything to do with the fact that the pages were teenagers entrusted to the care of Foley and the entire House of Representatives...
Last night, I continued HRC’s full-on offense against the scapegoating and half-truths permeating this debate, when I appeared on CNBC’s “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch.†Donny had an excellent show looking at how the media continues to perpetuate and exacerbate the more outlandish excuses for the scandal. (Foley was molested as a child; he was in the closet; and, so on. All of these issues are beside the point.)...
Keep up-to-date on developments and HRC’s aggressive response to the smearing and vilifying of our community by visiting www.hrc.org and please feel free to forward this message.
That about sums it up. The Foley sleaze scandal has nothing at all to do with the fact he is gay or about sex per se. It has to do with the fact that Foley used his position of power to solicit sex FROM A MINOR with full knowledge that that person was a minor, the Republican leadership were INFORMED ABOUT IT and they DID NOTHING. What part of "no sex with minors" do the Republicans not understand?
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Foleygate | Republican coverup | Republican scandal | Republican sleaze | scandal | Human Rights Campaign | Mark Foley | Republican Party
FBI seems to disagree with you
Submitted by mole333 on 6 October 2006 - 4:42pm.
The page is reported to have been 16 at the time. And the FBI certainly thinks it may qualify as soliciting a minor. And THAT is the crime. Sex and being gay are not crimes. Soliciting sex with a minor IS a crime and SHOULD be a crime. Or are you in agreement with NAMBLA? You seem to be.
First off, if it is as bad as Clinton, then REPUBLICANS should be calling for Foley's head just as avidly as they did for Clinton's instead of covering it up. Since they didn't, they are at least guilty of extreme hypocricy and hence their claims of "morality" seem out the window.
Second, whatever your claim, the Federal government is indeed investigating Foley for soliciting a minor. I am assuming the FBI knows the law. Including laws Foley helped enact under which they are considering prosecuting him.
So stop being a hypocrite and admit that the Republican leadership has let America down on this one.
typical liberal with a selective memory
Submitted by JayColeman86 (not verified) on 6 October 2006 - 10:40pm.
I find it amusing how many democrats and liberals are pouncing on Foley. Have they forgotten their own sex scandalls in the past few years? Many involving minors. Let me fill you in with a list i found on libertypost.org:
10. Sen. Daniel Inouye. The 82-year-old Hawaii Democrat was accused in the 1990s by numerous women of sexual harassment. Democrats cast doubt on the allegations and the Senate Ethics Committee dropped its investigation.
9. Former Rep. Gus Savage. The Illinois Democrat was accused of fondling a Peace Corps volunteer in 1989 while on a trip to Africa. The House Ethics Committee decided against disciplinary action in 1990.
8. Rep. Barney Frank. The outspoken Massachusetts Democrat hired a male prostitute who ran a prostitution service from Frank’s residence in the 1980s. Only two Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to censure him in 1990.
7. Former Sen. Brock Adams. The late Washington Democrat was forced to stop campaigning after numerous accusations of drugging, assault and rape, the first surfacing in 1988.
6. Former Rep. Fred Richmond. This New York Democrat was arrested in 1978 for soliciting sex from a 16-year-old. He remained in Congress and won re-election—before eventually resigning in 1982 after pleading guilty to tax evasion and drug possession.
5. Former Rep. John Young. The late Texas Democrat increased the salary of a staffer after she gave in to his sexual advances. The congressman won re-election in 1976 but lost two years later.
4. Former Rep. Wayne Hays. The late Ohio Democrat hired an unqualified secretary reportedly for sexual acts. Although he resigned from Congress, the Democratic House leadership stalled in removing him from the Administration Committee in 1976.
3. Former Rep. Gerry Studds. He was censured for sexual relationship with underage male page in 1983. Massachusetts voters returned him to office for six more terms.
2. Former Rep. Mel Reynolds. The Illinois Democrat was convicted of 12 counts of sexual assault with a 16-year-old. President Bill Clinton pardoned him before leaving office.
1. Sen. Teddy Kennedy. The liberal Massachusetts senator testified in defense of nephew accused of rape, invoking his family history to win over the jury in 1991.
It is amazing how democrats failed to punish their own. Actually it isn't. Considering how their liberal polocies have done nothing but help sexual predators.
www.theangryconservativeforchange.blogspot.com
Typical Republican Failure to get the Point
Submitted by mole333 on 7 October 2006 - 10:21am.
Nothing, NOTHING in what you say is relavent to the case of Foley. Instead of condemning Foley you defend him and when pushed all Republicans can say is "well Democrats do it too."
That is the LAMEST excuse in the book! The absolute lamest and it shows that the Republicans have lost any claim to "morality" they ever had.
If you have read my writing before, you would know that I have attacked corrupt Democrats in the past. Unlike you and your fellow NAMBLA Republicans, I object to corruption in my own party. As a Brooklyn Democrat, that means I have a lot to object to.
But you are faced with a sexual predator and a cover up by the leadership in your party and yet you don't condemn it. All you do is whine that Democrats do it too. Well, some of your examples are not comparable, some are. You don't include the many Republicans (remember Packwood?) who have had sexual scandals. And...what the Democrats do in NO WAY excuses the failure of the Republican leadership to stop a sexual predator in their midst.
You need to take a close look at the hypocricy and sleaze of your own party. Corruption is at an all time high and 90% of it is Republican corruption. In Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, California, Texas, New York and most other states, Republicans are as corrupt or more corrupt than during the Harding administration. And semi-false claims that the Democrats are bad too are not an excuse.
Not a minor
What if the page in question was not legally a minor? But was instead legally of age for consensual sex?
You do know that the age of sexual consent in DC (and in numerous many other states) is only 16 years old, right? And that it appears that the page in question was actually 18 years old when the IMs occurred? Right?
So...Foley did misuse his power, and inappropriatley engaged a page in sexual banter. I'm still not sure how this is anymore outrageous than Mr. Clinton's behavior with the too-young-but-still-legal intern. Except for that part where he actually did have sex with her.