What happens on the internet, stays on the internet, for everyone to see!
New York Daily News – September 30, 2006:
A Republican congressman from Florida who crusaded against Internet sexual predators resigned yesterday amid allegations he sent raunchy online messages to boys who work as congressional pages.
“I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida,” Rep. Mark Foley said in a statement.
The statement unfortunately included his official congressional logo, which prominently displays a snapshot of Foley surrounded by a crowd of boys.
Foley’s problems began this week when a teenager who worked as a page for a different congressman complained about e-mails Foley sent him last year, when he was 16, asking for his picture and wondering what he wanted for his birthday.
Foley insisted there was nothing inappropriate about the messages and blamed a smear campaign by his Democratic opponent, who is 13 points down in the polls.
But when ABC News obtained explicit instant messages that Foley allegedly sent to other teenagers who worked on Capitol Hill, the congressman abruptly quit in a letter to House Majority Leader Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).
Excerpts of the instant messages:
XXXX: ugh tomorrow i have the first day of lacrosse practice
Maf54: love to watch that
Maf54: those great legs runningXXXX: my last gf [girlfriend] and i broke up a few weeks ago
Maf54: good so your getting hornyXXXX: brb [be right back] …my mom is yelling
Maf54: ok
XXXX: back
Maf54: cool hope she didnt see anythingXXXX: ya slow things down a little im still young…like under 18 dont want to do anything illegal…im not 18 till feb 23
Maf54: i know..
Maf54: nothing will happen
Maf54: just dreaming
Nothing inappropriate?
Sounds obvious what this pervert was after. I wonder how many other boys he victimized.
The Democrats are playing hardball now. They’re getting these Republicans out any way they can. And they have to if America is to be saved from a demonic executive branch now preying on us.
However, the achilles heel of the Democratic party is that they are more honest than the Republicans. The elephants have no qualms about rigging elections, especially now that electronic voting leaves no trail behind. Electronic voting is the end of democracy.
#2. This was not a partisan hack-job, any more than George Allen’s macaca outburst was. This is a guy with serious problems self-destructing. Hopefully, he did not act out any of the stuff he fantasized about.
#2 This has nothing to do with politics. It just another perv who got caught. Dem or Rep is doesn’t matter.
The GOP wants you to forget this storry as soon as possible.
But you need to remember it hte next time some conservative blow hard tries to claim that the Republicans are the party of “values.”
Oooops!!
For this guy to resign so suddenly, there must be some even scarier skeletons in his closet that we haven’t learned about.
So, when ABC obtains IM records without a warrant……they are heros exposing a “pedophile”? But when the U.S. Government taps international phone conversations with terror suspects….they are wiping their ass with the Bill of Rights?
Which is it? Are they just heros because they exposed a republican, or because he was a sick fuck? Why are his IM conversations a matter for the public, but international calls with terror suspects aren’t?
>For this guy to resign so suddenly, there must be some even scarier
Yes, because nothing shown here was illegal. All this means is that Foley is gay, as the boys were older than the age of consent, and far too old for him to be considered a pedophile.
>hard tries to claim that the Republicans are the party of “values.”
Except the Democrats would defend him, and wouldn’t want him to resign, and would hold a press conference saying that he’ll go down in history as one of our greatest Congressmen.
No. 11, good point. As a Republican, I applaud the delousing of my party. Both parties need it.
And if he were a Democrat, he would write a book about it and appear on Oprah.
#13. You don’t think he is going to eventually write a book about it? He will probably find Jesus and be a big player on Christian TV and radio.
#14, After an appropriate period of finding Jesus.
#8, The page gave up the records. I agree with others though, there must be even scarier records.
#5. I imagine the GOP (at least the GOP White House) simply loves this story – knocks Bob Woodward’s book down off the front pages.
perverted sex sells, perverted policy-making, mmm …. not so much. If Foley was ready to talk to ’60 Minutes,’ what are the odds that Woodward would be allowed to keep his slot?
#14. Oh, yeah – he is going to be communing with Charles Colson for some time before finding his way onto the shelves of our local ‘Left Behind & More’
#10, Yes, because nothing shown here was illegal. All this means is that Foley is gay, as the boys were older than the age of consent, and far too old for him to be considered a pedophile.
Comment by AB CD — 9/30/2006 @ 10:03 am
Uummm, AB CD, the page was only 16 when the exchange occurred. That is under the age of consent and definitely illegal in Florida and most other states. While the exchange might be legal, it is very close to the line and I wouldn’t want my kid being talked up like this.
The most surprising thing is YOU defending a gay man propositioning an underage teenager. Where is that stern Law and Order rabble rouser we have all come to know and love?
Can you even imagine the congressman’s screwed-up all-consuming internal forces that must be at play for him to even attempt such a thing? A congressman. A gay congressman. A gay congressman who crusades and writes laws against child abuse.
A political deathwish to say nothing of the actual abusive episode.
The charitable part of me wants to explain this away by citing what must be the intoxicating sense of omnipotence that goes with positions of high power. But that ain’t it.
RBG
ABCD,
Do you have an underage daughter or son? If so, can you give us their online screen name? AOL, MSN, ICQ, myspace are all acceptable.
What states have an age of consent higher than this? People can complain all you want about how you wouldn’t want this happening to your children, but you seem to be OK with the current age of consent laws.
Here’s a list of every state’s age of consent.
And here’s a story about Barney Frank & his former prostitute boyfriend. The boyfriend ran a prostitution ring out of Frank’s townhouse.
#22….Matt….wow…..I thought I knew the laws on consent….but I’m totally amazed at how most states have 16 str8 up or with proviso’s. And whats with the higher ages for Homosexual consent (except Montana, which is 13, it’s lower)?
According to the list….Foley broke the law of Florida AND La…..18 for adults over 24 in Florida and 17 in La.
Searching for a positive here….I found that at least Foley didn’t have a sham marriage, thus causing hurt and pain to them.
According to all the stories coming out now, the Republican leadership in the House knew about the emails to the La. kid back in November, but because of the parents not wanting to pursue this, just made him aware they knew and he needed to stop. Now of course the rest of his crap is coming to light and roost.
I hope he gets prosecuted.
ABCD,
I guess you don’t have kids…. or if you do, you seem to be pretty protective… Don’t worry. It will be just some harmless flirting… Stuff about how I like to jerk off and how hot your daughter/son looks in shorts… Innocent stuff! Hand it over then!
#3 and #4. Would you have sex with an 18 year old? I have. Am I pervert? The law says no. I say no. The girl said no (no means yes, yes means maybe, maybe means no). The point is, is that I’ve broken a 34 year old virgin but an 18 year old taught me something new. Age is not an indicator of maturity. The kid was 17. I had sex when I was 15 with a 24 year old. What’s the difference? They never had an physical contact. It was just verbal. Most people in America are sex shy. Prudes. Anytime they go out calling others names like “sex offender” what they really are saying is that they are resentful that they couldn’t get laid even if they were chicken eggs. The truth is they are just chicken shit.
0113addiv,
I think that when you espouse the moral high ground, you should take it yourself.
No one’s telling you who to bang, but Mark Foley was telling America that he was going to protect the underage with his laws and committees.
Okay let’s try and focus on what matters here. The boy was underage, Foley was one of the members working on legislation to protect children from pediphiles preying on children, Republican members on the committee responsible for the Page program let Foley continue even after being notified in September 2005, the only Democrat on the committee was kept in the dark.
So now does the GOP stand for Grand O’Party or Grand O’Pediphiles?
If anyone is trying to get political gain out of this on either side it’s sickening. Foley is obviously a sexual predator and this transcends politics.
I for one would like to see him hung by his raisins in one of Pres. Bushs secret torture hotels.Heck Foley probably would have paid for it with one of his J. Edgar Hoover collectable sets of F.B.I Pumps and Panties…
Here is the Foley instant message exchange in full:
http://mparent7777.livejournal.com/12915143.html
Teenagers are not children. The law says as much in almost all countries where age of consent is typically 14-16. The indidividual states as well have lower ages of consent than the federal govt uses to define a “minor” for internet/telephone contact. Even in DC, age of consent is 16.
In fact Foley did not commit a crime, because the age of consent in the jurisdiction is 16. Federal solicitation charges depend on the laws of the jurisdiction. There’s no indication that he offered to pay for sex. Sexual harassment is also an unlikely charge because the page in question was not in his emply.