10/03/2006
Foley is Gay, Says Attorney
Was Molested by Clergyman as Teenager
In a news conference late this afternoon, Mark Foley's lawyer claimed there was never any inappropriate sexual contact between Foley and a minor. He also said that Foley was molested by a clergyman as a teenager, and said that Foley is gay.
In other Foleygate news today:
ABC: Foley had internet sex with a page while awaiting house vote, invited page to his home to drink alcohol "so we don't get busted."
Disgusting conservatives responding to Foley with anti-gay smears. Think Progress: "The Foley scandal is not about homosexuality. As ABC News’ Maddy Sauer, who broke the Foley story, said today: 'This is an issue about minors and congressional pages that have gone to the Hill to learn about how our country works and, you know, are aspiring to work there themselves one day. It’s just — the story is not about whether the congressman is gay or straight.'"
Hastert's Decision: Stay and face the rising groundswell of angry conservatives, or resign and admit guilt and neglect.
Bush supports Hastert: "I know Denny Hastert. I meet with him a lot. He is a father, teacher, coach who cares about the children of this country."
Previously
The Talk: Foley, Jon Stewart, Hastert, Bay Buchanan [tr]
Mark Foley Scandal Updates [tr]
Investigations Begin into Cover-up Surrounding Mark Foley: Republican Leaders Knew of Misdeeds for Five Years, Did Nothing [tr]
Political Page Turner: Rep. Mark Foley Resigns Seat Over Inappropriate Emails [tr]
Male Page and Rep Mark Foley in Troubling Email Exchange [tr]
Posted 6:10 PM EST by Andy Towle in I'm Gay, Mark Foley, Republican Party | Permalink
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Da da da da another one bites the bust - and another one bites and another one bites
the republican empire begins to crumble
Posted by: AJ | Oct 3, 2006 6:25:07 PM
The newest revealed IMs detail Foley telling the kid that he and a friend could come 'party" at his house and drink alcohol. Uhmmmmthe drinking age anywhere in the US included DC does not go down to 16. Bad Bad Bad
Foley's denial that actual touching occured is going to get blown away soon since private home+ alcohol= you know damn well he touched them
With tons of calls coming from conservatives now for Hastert to step down, bush shouldn't be supporting him. Rove must be stupid because bush not distancing himself from hastert is going to taint him as well.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 3, 2006 6:32:15 PM
Ahh, here it comes... this is where this story starts to become very bad for gays. I can already hear the conservative nutjobs saying homosexuality is caused by being molested and should be "treated" or it leads to a continued path of child molestation.
Posted by: chrisb | Oct 3, 2006 6:44:25 PM
as for Hastert... well... if Bush meets with him and knows him he must be okay.
WTF?!
ChrisB is right... I always hate this stuff happening. I do notice how less often, in the media, they point out when this kind of thing is heterosexual. It's just 'with a minor' when it's them. HOMOSEXUAL always gets added as an extra-bad part when it can be. Sucks for us.
Posted by: Dustin | Oct 3, 2006 6:54:51 PM
Chrisb
I place the blame for this squarely on the shoulders of HRC
HRC should ahve been out in force on day 1 denouncing predators of minors, denouncing the coverup, and drawing a clear and distinct line between predators of minors and gays
HRC though must be getting huge donations from Nambla to keep their trap shut. Just another sign on how HRC has failed the gay community
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 3, 2006 6:56:36 PM
I'm sorry but conservatism is partly to blame for this situation, especially the current adminstrations stance on homosexuality and morality. Telling people they are wrong and treating them as second class citizens creates self-loathing and, in this instance, someone who needed help never sought help. Instead, they became predators using the same conservative idealogy that partly created them as a means to stalk innocent teenagers. For shame...
Posted by: AJ | Oct 3, 2006 7:03:44 PM
Where is HRC???
Anybody seen HRC anywhere?
Oh, HRC is at the beauty salon getting its hair and nails done up real pretty for their date to give Reichen of all people an award. Way to go HRC on being there making statements to the news denouncing this predation of minors, denouncing this cover up, and drawing a distinct line in the minds of the masses between predators of minors and gays.
I hope Reichen swallows to make it all worth your time.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 3, 2006 7:13:21 PM
I forgot the "NOT" being there in my post
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 3, 2006 7:14:38 PM
I love it when republicans start circling their wagons in the face of scandal. Usually they end up biting each others tails, as Boehner did to haster today.
Posted by: Marco | Oct 3, 2006 7:16:11 PM
The level of hypocrisy in the republican party is staggering.
Posted by: yoyomammy | Oct 3, 2006 7:17:16 PM
several things to ponder; what else is congress covering up, on both sides of the aisle, what sins are being hidden. to dems, history barney franks, gerry studds, and edward kennedy, a bridge on the vineyard with a dead mistress. to florida gop gov canidate charlie crist, a good time to come clean. and to the moral idiots on the faux christian right, the age of consent is 16, disgusting or not. and to mark foley, the closet is no place to hide, you could have won your district out, (note it charlie).
Posted by: titus | Oct 3, 2006 7:29:19 PM
I know people who have been molested as a child, drink alcohol and are gay.
They have NEVER molested a CHILD of 16 years!
These RepubliCONs are trash, and freaks of nature. Vote them ALL out this November 2006 especially because we CHILDREN can't be protected from them!
Posted by: FunMe | Oct 3, 2006 7:33:54 PM
Great. We now officially have another "gay American."
LOL!
As soon as Foley is done with his book he and McGreevy can go on book tour together.
Jimmyboyo, I think Reichen is looking better and better by comparison :) and as far as the HRC goes, I agree, and you might find this of interest too:
http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/2006/10/foley-must-refund-27k-to-gay-dnc-wing.html
Posted by: Pompeius | Oct 3, 2006 7:37:59 PM
I keep hearing liberals and moderates saying the Repubs are on their way out this November... yeah well that's what we were saying back in 2004 and we had our asses handed to us.
What frightens me most is that the Republicans can be this incompetent, corrupt, immoral and yet the Dems may STILL not turn the tide. We have to have more than just a weak and crumbling Republican Party. We need a STRONG Democratic Party to take its place.
Posted by: mark m | Oct 3, 2006 7:40:24 PM
Once again, it was his homosexuality that made him go after a minor. Please. Foley's lawyer should be zapped. Also, to bring the whole priest/church thing is to somehow explain his behavior drives me up a wall.
The fucker wanted some underage cock. He got caught. Deal with it.
Posted by: Steven | Oct 3, 2006 7:58:06 PM
Thanks Pomp for that link.
Titus, the federal Adam Walsh Act nullified all age of consent laws. Fed law superscedes and nullifies all state laws. Damn, it would seem that Nambla supporters never took a polysci class or civics class.
Foley's acts are criminal acts under the Adam Walsh act.
Any sexual communication let alone act with anyone under 18 by federal law is a crime. The debate is if the minor cut off age is 18 or 21 per the Fed. Either way doesn't matter in this case since all the pages in the Foley case, 5 so far, are between 15-16.
The irony is that Foley was instrumental in getting the Adam Walsh Act passed.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 3, 2006 8:07:18 PM
PS
Pomp, Yeah Reichen is starting to look better and better. Some mindless eye candy to releave my stress over all this. :-)
Titus....LOL chapaquidick...How about Laura Bush and her college days when she ran over her ex-boyrfriend not 1 time....not 2 times, but back and forth ...back and forth...back and forth....
glass houses and all
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 3, 2006 8:10:31 PM
OK, it looks like the HRC is starting to come out of it's coma...
FINALLY today it issues a full press release:
http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Press_Room&CONTENTID=34110&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm
It's not bad. Make's it clear that “It is completely unacceptable, regardless of party or sexual orientation, for an adult to engage in this kind of behavior with a minor."
It's a distinct improvement over the initial "no comment." I just wish they'd been a little quicker on the draw, proactive rather than reactive.
Posted by: Pompeius | Oct 3, 2006 8:11:12 PM
Thanks for the update Pomp
Yeah on them being late and all.
Titus I forgot to mention that per the new IM's....Foley stated that he would give alcoholic drinks to the kid and his friend at his private home. Uhm The drinking age is 21, not 16. Giving alcohol to a minor is a crime.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 3, 2006 8:19:11 PM
I knew this story would be twisted around somehow to make the left look bad. I'm sure Karl Rove's first phone call was to Foley and said "Just say you're Gay, get the heat of us." Now, that's all the story will turn into, never mind that the Republican Leadership knew about this.
Posted by: Kel | Oct 3, 2006 8:28:47 PM
Now that the Republican homophobes are out to bash us, where are the LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS? They have not even updated their website.
The only honorable thing for them to do is to expose EVERY ONE of the people from the radical religious anti-gay right that is funding them, now that they are all fanning out to call us child abusers.
Oh, and P.S. for the unhinged and very, very forgetful conspiracy theorists among us:
The reporter from ABC talking:
Mr. Ross dismissed suggestions by some Republicans that the news was disseminated as part of a smear campaign against Mr. Foley.
“I hate to give up sources, but to the extent that I know the political parties of any of the people who helped us, it would be the same party,” Mr. Ross said, referring to Republicans.
(snip)
It's starting to look like WE were going to be the October surprise again...but it's backfiring like the Schiavo issue did...
Posted by: banbanbanboom | Oct 3, 2006 8:32:40 PM
Ok, so now I'm totally jealous, first (apparently) Foley gets tagged by a clergyman, and then he in turn tags a teen.... how come I didn't get any action like that when I was a teen??
Posted by: Dan | Oct 3, 2006 8:50:01 PM
This is bad for everyone. Republicans, democrats, homosexuals. We are all gonna lose, and the shit is hitting the fan big time.
Posted by: Cory | Oct 3, 2006 8:51:52 PM
Does anybody notice that on the FOX NOISE CHANNEL onscreen graphics, Mark Foley is identified as a DEMOCRAT? Hoo boy, first they sit on the story a year, then they lie...
Posted by: BIGBAMBOOM | Oct 3, 2006 8:55:49 PM
Okay, blaming the HRC is nuts. There's nothing about this that demands the HRC get involved. Hell, the HRC would not have stopped conservatives from their homophobic attacks.
But Foley's admitting that he was molested as a child is a pathetic attempt to make him seem as a victim. It's also a slur on the millions of men and women who were sexually assaulted as children and have never molested a child or a teen. The guy first tries getting sympathy by heading into alcohol rehab and now says "It's not my fault because my priest touched me." Bullshit.
Posted by: noah | Oct 3, 2006 8:59:49 PM