Mark Foley

steve11 · 10-09-2006, 03:09 PM

I can�t believe there isn�t a thread on Foley here yet so might as well have one.

So far the situation stands with it being fairly certain Foley did send sexually charged messages to the pages, however if he had any contact other then IM sex is not known yet, and quite honestly of little relevance to the far greater problem surrounding this.

The evidence is starting to point to some sort of cover-up, and if not an outright cover-up at least people would have looked the other way while this conduct was going on right under everyones nose. This is a dicey issue as covering up (or even ignoring for that matter) a child potential child molester within the House is disgraceful. If so it�s going to thouroughly tarnish the Republicans. Interestingly enough the republicans level the accusation that Democrats sat on the evidence that they had for 3 years only to release it in perfect timing for a major election season.

My personal views-

I should start this off with a preface. Having worked in DC and in the government (all be it briefly) I find it hard to believe that one side could have known about his personal life, while the other remained ignorant of it. It�s hard to say who found out about it first (though all details point to the republicans back into 2000), but it�s safe to say both knew about it for at least 3 years prior to this �leak�

Frankly I think we are in a position where both parties are guilty. The Republicans for engaging in a quasi cover-up, and the Democrats for looking the other way till the opportunity to go forward and cause the most damage reared it�s head.

Political predictions-

The republicans might not in as much trouble as one would think. The fact that signs strongly hint at a democratic leak, and prior democratic knowledge gives them some wiggle room. The danger is that the core religious right that is very much anti-homosexual will simply not show up and vote. The fact that several prominent gay republicans are now leaving their office might be an effort to get around this and help �purge� the party prior to elections to win voters back. It�s an uphill battle but I think t he damage has been done.

The democrats really should just sit back and avoid pushing to hard on this issue if they want to remain clean. The republican party is already tearing itself apart in contradicting statements over who knew what when, which makes them seem dishonest and hints at a cover-up. Democrats getting to involved just opens up they questions of why they waited for the leak, who knew what when on their end.

10-09-2006, 03:09 PM	#1
steve11 Troopa Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Washington DC Posts: 91	Mark Foley I can�t believe there isn�t a thread on Foley here yet so might as well have one. So far the situation stands with it being fairly certain Foley did send sexually charged messages to the pages, however if he had any contact other then IM sex is not known yet, and quite honestly of little relevance to the far greater problem surrounding this. The evidence is starting to point to some sort of cover-up, and if not an outright cover-up at least people would have looked the other way while this conduct was going on right under everyones nose. This is a dicey issue as covering up (or even ignoring for that matter) a child potential child molester within the House is disgraceful. If so it�s going to thouroughly tarnish the Republicans. Interestingly enough the republicans level the accusation that Democrats sat on the evidence that they had for 3 years only to release it in perfect timing for a major election season. My personal views- I should start this off with a preface. Having worked in DC and in the government (all be it briefly) I find it hard to believe that one side could have known about his personal life, while the other remained ignorant of it. It�s hard to say who found out about it first (though all details point to the republicans back into 2000), but it�s safe to say both knew about it for at least 3 years prior to this �leak� Frankly I think we are in a position where both parties are guilty. The Republicans for engaging in a quasi cover-up, and the Democrats for looking the other way till the opportunity to go forward and cause the most damage reared it�s head. Political predictions- The republicans might not in as much trouble as one would think. The fact that signs strongly hint at a democratic leak, and prior democratic knowledge gives them some wiggle room. The danger is that the core religious right that is very much anti-homosexual will simply not show up and vote. The fact that several prominent gay republicans are now leaving their office might be an effort to get around this and help �purge� the party prior to elections to win voters back. It�s an uphill battle but I think t he damage has been done. The democrats really should just sit back and avoid pushing to hard on this issue if they want to remain clean. The republican party is already tearing itself apart in contradicting statements over who knew what when, which makes them seem dishonest and hints at a cover-up. Democrats getting to involved just opens up they questions of why they waited for the leak, who knew what when on their end.