GOP deputy House whip quits

[Judy G. Russell]

A member of the GOP leadership in the House of Representatives resigned today, after sexually suggestive emails he sent to a 16-year-old House page surfaced on ABC News. The male page described the emails from Rep. Mark Foley (R-FLA), deputy whip of the House GOP, as "sick, sick, sick" and said the emails "freak... me out."

Ironically, Foley chaired the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus...

[Judy G. Russell]

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 — Top House Republicans knew for months about e-mail traffic between Representative Mark Foley and a former teenage page, but kept the matter secret and allowed Mr. Foley to remain head of a Congressional caucus on children’s issues, Republican lawmakers said Saturday.And every one of them should be ousted, from leadership and from Congress. These pages are KIDS, for heaven's sake -- high schoolers. And nobody did anything???

[Pats]

They're the ones with all the family values, too.

[Judy G. Russell]

They're the ones with all the family values, too.Yeah, right. Anything they value should be part of their family, or some such...

[MollyM/CA]

Ironically, Foley chaired the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus...

Good way to meet boys? (on F___-finding expeditions?)

Ever read the Robert B. Parker (Spenser) mystery on just that?

[Lindsey]

And nobody did anything???
I heard somewhere that someone (the Republican House leadership or their staffers, I suppose) had warned the pages to be leery of Congressman Foley... :rolleyes:

Sherrod Brown (the Democratic Congressman from Ohio who is challenging Republican Mike DeWine for his Senate seat) was all over this on "Meet the Press" today, saying the very same thing that you are saying. And I agree. These guys were all over President Clinton for hitting on a White House intern, which granted, is pretty egregious, but who was, at least, (chronologically) an adult. Congressional pages are minors -- 15 or 16 years old.

It probably shouldn't boggle my mind that he chaired the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus (and recently proposed legislation cracking down on explotatition of children over the Internet), but it does. What was he thinking??? (OK, OK, I know the answer to that: I have to consider which head he was thinking with. Still...)

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

It probably shouldn't boggle my mind that he chaired the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus (and recently proposed legislation cracking down on explotatition of children over the Internet), but it does. What was he thinking??? (OK, OK, I know the answer to that: I have to consider which head he was thinking with. Still...)"Still" indeed. So now they're going to get the Republican-controlled Justice Department to investigate, which means nothing, since it probably isn't a crime for the GOP leadership to do a see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil routine. But it is still simply outrageous.

[Judy G. Russell]

Good way to meet boys? (on F___-finding expeditions?)
Ever read the Robert B. Parker (Spenser) mystery on just that?Nope, haven't read it, and I do like Spenser...

[Lindsey]

So now they're going to get the Republican-controlled Justice Department to investigate, which means nothing, since it probably isn't a crime for the GOP leadership to do a see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil routine.
Right; ideally, something like this should be referred to the House Ethics Committee, but that hasn't been functioning for some time now. :mad:

Time for a House cleaning.

(I'm going to blame the "wandering 'i'" typo in my spelling of "exploitation" on Foley!)

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

A truly independent prosecutor would be nice... if such a beast existed.

[Lindsey]

A truly independent prosecutor would be nice... if such a beast existed.
Good thing for Rep. Foley that the law permits him to use his considerable campaign war chest for personal legal expenses, huh?

Talk about fast-breaking news! I'm sure the folks at TalkingPointsMemo.com (http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/) and their sister site TPMMuckraker.com (http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/) are all courting repetitive motion syndrome just trying to keep the blogs updated. Josh Marshall has in interesting meditation on the political fallout for Republicans here (http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/010107.php).

Oh, also check this (http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/010069.php) out. Doncha love the irony?

(By the way, I can think of one Republican who is probably feeling relieved about the firestorm over Mark Foley: George Allen (http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/09/29/allen_sabornie/))

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

I'm sorry... but I'm loving every minute of this GOP debacle. Here they are, too squeaky clean for words, so self-righteous in their own goodness, and ka-BOOM! All of a sudden the entire GOP House leadership self-destructs.

[Lindsey]

For the last 12 years I have been telling myself, "Eventually they will go too far, and it will all come down on their heads." I was beginning to think I might never live to see it.

Just 5 weeks before the election, too. Maybe there is a God after all.

--Lindsey

[Pats]

I LOVVVVVVVE the Talking Points Memo! Thanks, Lindsey.

I also rather like the way he's checked himself into a rehab center for alcoholism. Just like Mel Gibson.. "The demon rum made me do it!"

Pats

[Lindsey]

I LOVVVVVVVE the Talking Points Memo!
I am really fond of TPM, too. I first latched onto that site after reading about it in one of Molly Ivins's columns. I was hooked from the start. Lately Josh has had a guest poster on the weekends who is apparently one of his readers; he just goes by his initials (DK) and he's really good, too.

I also rather like the way he's checked himself into a rehab center for alcoholism. Just like Mel Gibson.. "The demon rum made me do it!"
Seems to have become SOP for celebrities and politicians who get themselves into trouble -- check into a rehab center, and blame your bad behavior on alcohol or pain killers too much sugar or something. :rolleyes:

--Lindsey