2008 Woodie Awards
Don't Ask (I'm Telling): So much for the 'Party of American Values'
Matt Hill Comer
Issue date: 10/17/06 Section: Opinions
Mark Foley. Mark Foley. Mark Foley. Turn on the news recently and that is pretty much all you see, along with North Korea and the every-so-often update on Iraq and the other failures of the Bush Administration.
If you haven't followed the news on Mr. Foley, a now former Republican Congressman from Florida, here is a quick (and nowhere near complete) run-down:
At the end of September, news reports surfaced detailing Mr. Foley's possible involvement in online sexual solicitation of 16- and 17-year-old, male pages in the House of Representatives. The communications ranged anywhere from what the House Speaker Dennis Hastert called "over-friendly" emails to out-right and purely sexually explicit AOL Instant Messenger conversations. While Mr. Foley was at first silent on the accusations (many of which came through ABC News), he eventually resigned from his position.
Since then, Mr. Foley has dropped several bombshells on the American public: He's an alcoholic. He was molested by a Catholic priest as a child. He's gay.
Uh oh… Let the Irreligious Wrong and media roll with it now! Ever since Mr. Foley's bombshell announcements (which happened during one single press conference by his attorney) the media, the Republican leadership and the American public in general has been quick (and more than willing) to use the words "gay" and "pedophilia" side-by-side.
Just for the record, in case you didn't know: Gay does not equal pedophile. On top of that, Mr. Foley isn't even a pedophile. He didn't commit pedophilia. He wasn't attracted to pre-pubescent children; instead he was attracted to sexually, albeit not mentally, mature, older-aged teens. There is a huge - magnificently huge - difference between being attracted to sexually and mentally immature kids and teens who are sexually, although not mentally mature (and, in reality, teens who aren't much younger than a lot of teens here at UNCG).
Mr. Foley is guilty of sickness, for sure, but pedophilia is definitely not a part of it. Mr. Foley is guilty of a lack of control, self-discipline and adult maturity. He is guilty of being unable to control his own impulses. He is guilty of breaching the public trust. He is guilty of abusing his position of power and influence in order to sexually entice people who may be, for all practical purposes sexually mature, but who are not yet mentally mature enough to make the decisions he so desperately seeks for them to make.
Even if a person was to have a passing attraction to a 16- or 17-year-old teen (because the attraction - at least sexually - would be completely natural), a normal, mature and fully-developed adult would immediately recognize that such an attraction was one on which they couldn't act, precisely because of the mental maturity level of the teen. Normal adults know how to control their impulses. Normal, fully-developed adults, know how to act with self-discipline and, above all (I would hope), honor and integrity in matters of sexual behavior.
Of course, I'm livid that a person in Congress would stoop to such levels and commit such a breach of public trust by preying on less mature, more vulnerable people. I'm even more livid when I think about the fact that there may be members of the Congress who knew what was happening long before the public did but they did absolutely nothing to stop the situation or help those teens who became victims.
Every day we hear of another report of a Congressional member who knew about the situation years ago. It is very hard for me to believe that Mr. Hastert knew nothing of the situation. He's the Speaker of the House, for goodness' sake; he's supposed to be the one in charge. Numerous people have stepped up saying they told the Office of the Speaker about the situation, but Mr. Hastert and his staff deny the reports. I'm sorry, but I don't believe the Speaker, his staff or any other person (like former Fox News star turned Presidential Press Secretary Tony Snow) who stands up to defend Mr. Hastert.
There was clearly a cover-up. The basis for the cover-up is quite simple: The Republicans couldn't afford to lose any seats in Congress. At all costs, the Republicans have covered up the crimes and sickness of a sexual predator in order to gain more power. So much for the "Party of American Values."
The situation with Mr. Foley was bad. It was made worse by a corrupt, self-serving, hypocritical House Republican leadership. Because of this, the Republicans are doing everything in their power to cover their own behinds. With the election less than a month away, I'm hoping they don't have the time to cover with more lies and deceit. Hey, Democrats... here's your chance.
Read more from Matt at his blog, www.matthillnc.com.
If you haven't followed the news on Mr. Foley, a now former Republican Congressman from Florida, here is a quick (and nowhere near complete) run-down:
At the end of September, news reports surfaced detailing Mr. Foley's possible involvement in online sexual solicitation of 16- and 17-year-old, male pages in the House of Representatives. The communications ranged anywhere from what the House Speaker Dennis Hastert called "over-friendly" emails to out-right and purely sexually explicit AOL Instant Messenger conversations. While Mr. Foley was at first silent on the accusations (many of which came through ABC News), he eventually resigned from his position.
Since then, Mr. Foley has dropped several bombshells on the American public: He's an alcoholic. He was molested by a Catholic priest as a child. He's gay.
Uh oh… Let the Irreligious Wrong and media roll with it now! Ever since Mr. Foley's bombshell announcements (which happened during one single press conference by his attorney) the media, the Republican leadership and the American public in general has been quick (and more than willing) to use the words "gay" and "pedophilia" side-by-side.
Just for the record, in case you didn't know: Gay does not equal pedophile. On top of that, Mr. Foley isn't even a pedophile. He didn't commit pedophilia. He wasn't attracted to pre-pubescent children; instead he was attracted to sexually, albeit not mentally, mature, older-aged teens. There is a huge - magnificently huge - difference between being attracted to sexually and mentally immature kids and teens who are sexually, although not mentally mature (and, in reality, teens who aren't much younger than a lot of teens here at UNCG).
Mr. Foley is guilty of sickness, for sure, but pedophilia is definitely not a part of it. Mr. Foley is guilty of a lack of control, self-discipline and adult maturity. He is guilty of being unable to control his own impulses. He is guilty of breaching the public trust. He is guilty of abusing his position of power and influence in order to sexually entice people who may be, for all practical purposes sexually mature, but who are not yet mentally mature enough to make the decisions he so desperately seeks for them to make.
Even if a person was to have a passing attraction to a 16- or 17-year-old teen (because the attraction - at least sexually - would be completely natural), a normal, mature and fully-developed adult would immediately recognize that such an attraction was one on which they couldn't act, precisely because of the mental maturity level of the teen. Normal adults know how to control their impulses. Normal, fully-developed adults, know how to act with self-discipline and, above all (I would hope), honor and integrity in matters of sexual behavior.
Of course, I'm livid that a person in Congress would stoop to such levels and commit such a breach of public trust by preying on less mature, more vulnerable people. I'm even more livid when I think about the fact that there may be members of the Congress who knew what was happening long before the public did but they did absolutely nothing to stop the situation or help those teens who became victims.
Every day we hear of another report of a Congressional member who knew about the situation years ago. It is very hard for me to believe that Mr. Hastert knew nothing of the situation. He's the Speaker of the House, for goodness' sake; he's supposed to be the one in charge. Numerous people have stepped up saying they told the Office of the Speaker about the situation, but Mr. Hastert and his staff deny the reports. I'm sorry, but I don't believe the Speaker, his staff or any other person (like former Fox News star turned Presidential Press Secretary Tony Snow) who stands up to defend Mr. Hastert.
There was clearly a cover-up. The basis for the cover-up is quite simple: The Republicans couldn't afford to lose any seats in Congress. At all costs, the Republicans have covered up the crimes and sickness of a sexual predator in order to gain more power. So much for the "Party of American Values."
The situation with Mr. Foley was bad. It was made worse by a corrupt, self-serving, hypocritical House Republican leadership. Because of this, the Republicans are doing everything in their power to cover their own behinds. With the election less than a month away, I'm hoping they don't have the time to cover with more lies and deceit. Hey, Democrats... here's your chance.
Read more from Matt at his blog, www.matthillnc.com.
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