October 14, 2006
Perspectives on the Mark Foley scandal...
From: [Name Withheld]
Reply-To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: October 6, 2006 12:36:52 AM
To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: (cyf-talk) Re: Standing Up for Congressman Foley
Although Foley might end up dodging a bullet if the "kid" is indeed 18 instead of 16, Foley does have a reputation for coming on to other male pages who might have been 16 or 17 at the time, and if that proves to be true then his legal problems have just begun.
As for the hypocrisy from the left, the Democrats weren't nearly as outraged at former Rep. Gerry Studds of Massachussetts who had sex with a 17 year old page and was re-elected FIVE times after the incident(s) happened, even given 2 or 3 standing ovations by his Democratic colleagues after being selected chairman of a House committee. So for Democrats wanting to score cheap political points off this is quite rich. Talk about chutzpah.
Having said that, that doesn't let Foley off the hook and if it turns out he did something illegal in this regard then he should have the book thrown at him by the very law he helped to write while in Congress dealing with child predators. How's that for irony? With regards to how the GOP leadership has dealt with this issue, we really don't know what happened since nobody can get their stories straight, which just contributes to all of the confusion about who knew what and when. If it turns out they were engaged in a cover-up, then they deserve the wrath of the voters.
From: [Name Withheld]
Reply-To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: October 5, 2006 10:30:54 PM
To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: (cyf-talk) Re: Standing Up for Congressman Foley
I won't be "standing up" for a guy who knew damn well himself that he did something wrong and has admitted as much in his actions and communications. If he is found guilty of any charges, they should throw the book at him.
The weird coverage of this story is what bothers me. There has been an inflation of what the Republican leadership knew and when they knew it. It has become, unfairly, a partisan political issue.
The truth is, if Americans are concerned about young people being approached inappropriately by somebody in a position like Foley's, then they have more reason than ever to vote Republican and elect as many legislators as possible who will actually vote for tough penalties for this stuff. Ironically, Foley may yet be affected by one of the bills that he himself passed. GOOD.
Before any single Canadian who has ever voted Liberal, NDP, or Bloc (or even Tory) decides to treat this as another reason to hate those bogey-man Republicans, and gets too disgusted with Foley, they should remember that Canadians elected successive governments of both stripes who allowed the age of consent in this country to sit at 14 years.
While it remains unclear if Foley was out of line in his conduct in his jurisdiction, it is much less likely that he'd be in much, if any, trouble at all if this had happened in Canada. The only exception might be if he was in a postion of trust over the pages... even then, if he ever got convicted of anything, the sentence in Canada would be a joke.
It's wrong for media to portray this, at this stage, as some sort of massive "Republican" scandal.
It's also wrong for anyone to be standing up for, or acting as an apologist for, a man whose actions were found to be wrong using his own standards. He's going to have to take responsibility for that.
Reply-To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: October 6, 2006 12:36:52 AM
To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: (cyf-talk) Re: Standing Up for Congressman Foley
Although Foley might end up dodging a bullet if the "kid" is indeed 18 instead of 16, Foley does have a reputation for coming on to other male pages who might have been 16 or 17 at the time, and if that proves to be true then his legal problems have just begun.
As for the hypocrisy from the left, the Democrats weren't nearly as outraged at former Rep. Gerry Studds of Massachussetts who had sex with a 17 year old page and was re-elected FIVE times after the incident(s) happened, even given 2 or 3 standing ovations by his Democratic colleagues after being selected chairman of a House committee. So for Democrats wanting to score cheap political points off this is quite rich. Talk about chutzpah.
Having said that, that doesn't let Foley off the hook and if it turns out he did something illegal in this regard then he should have the book thrown at him by the very law he helped to write while in Congress dealing with child predators. How's that for irony? With regards to how the GOP leadership has dealt with this issue, we really don't know what happened since nobody can get their stories straight, which just contributes to all of the confusion about who knew what and when. If it turns out they were engaged in a cover-up, then they deserve the wrath of the voters.
From: [Name Withheld]
Reply-To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: October 5, 2006 10:30:54 PM
To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: (cyf-talk) Re: Standing Up for Congressman Foley
I won't be "standing up" for a guy who knew damn well himself that he did something wrong and has admitted as much in his actions and communications. If he is found guilty of any charges, they should throw the book at him.
The weird coverage of this story is what bothers me. There has been an inflation of what the Republican leadership knew and when they knew it. It has become, unfairly, a partisan political issue.
The truth is, if Americans are concerned about young people being approached inappropriately by somebody in a position like Foley's, then they have more reason than ever to vote Republican and elect as many legislators as possible who will actually vote for tough penalties for this stuff. Ironically, Foley may yet be affected by one of the bills that he himself passed. GOOD.
Before any single Canadian who has ever voted Liberal, NDP, or Bloc (or even Tory) decides to treat this as another reason to hate those bogey-man Republicans, and gets too disgusted with Foley, they should remember that Canadians elected successive governments of both stripes who allowed the age of consent in this country to sit at 14 years.
While it remains unclear if Foley was out of line in his conduct in his jurisdiction, it is much less likely that he'd be in much, if any, trouble at all if this had happened in Canada. The only exception might be if he was in a postion of trust over the pages... even then, if he ever got convicted of anything, the sentence in Canada would be a joke.
It's wrong for media to portray this, at this stage, as some sort of massive "Republican" scandal.
It's also wrong for anyone to be standing up for, or acting as an apologist for, a man whose actions were found to be wrong using his own standards. He's going to have to take responsibility for that.
