If ever there was a case study for a violation of the workplace laws against sexual harassment that Congress themselves helped to enact, this is it. Those in Congress who knew about it and did nothing ought to be facing the same stiff penalties as Foley, should criminal charges result.
Terror, Schmerror. I must say, all of that throat-cutting and suicide car-bomb mayhem was getting a bit boring. Now we have an honest-to-goodness scandal involving a Republican to talk about, just ahead of a mid-term election.
Once again, the evils of the two-party system are brought to the forefront;
The Democrats are already circling like buzzards over the carcass of Rep. Mark Foley's reelection effort.
The Republicans have started the spin cycle in their basement laundromat in an attempt to air out their dirty laundry – after hiding it at the bottom of the hamper. They managed to cover up the foul stench of Foley's fondness for young boys for 3 years.
Unfortunately for Republicans, there's no cleansing the soiled fabric of Foley's office. The stain has already set. It's time for voters to toss every bum who knew about this and covered it up for three years out of office on their sorry behinds.
Rush Limbaugh is behaving true-to-form as the Republican waterboy. He actually had the nerve to portray the backlash from Foley's self-destructive shenanigans as a democratic effort to win back Congress.
Republicans don't need Democrats to do that; they're doing a fine job managing the war, protecting the border, and generally failing the American people. I think the Oxycontin has gone to Limbaugh's head. Ohh, what a "RUSH!"
My message to Washington: If you've got skeletons in your closet, stop throwing me bones, because I will turn around and club you over the head with them when you least expect it. Stop putting your own career aspirations ahead of doing the right thing, and start doing what we sent you to Washington for.
In the Sorriest Excuse of The Year category, House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
When Foley's misdeeds became public, Hastert let loose a whopper. He said that he was aware of "overly-friendly", or perhaps "inappropriate" emails, but not the more "sexually suggestive" instant messages.
OK, I have to ask: Do you mean overly-friendly as in "Hey, Billy, you want to come fishing with me and my family for the weekend", or overly friendly as in "Hey tiger, don't forget to measure it".
As Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert is obliged to deal with "inappropriate" behavior by Congressmen or their staff; not look the other way with a wink and a nod until it becomes public, and you have to say something 3 years later. It reeks of dishonesty.
Foley – through his attorney- is now trumpeting the abuse excuse. Alcohol abuse, sexual abuse at the hands of an anonymous priest, and various other excuses. Funny, I've known dozens of people in Alcoholics Anonymous that weren't pedophiles, I didn't know there was a causal connection. Oh that's right, according to his attorney, Foley isn't a pedophile, and he's never had sex with a minor.
He may not be a convicted pedophile, but by all accounts, he was certainly a pedophile in training, trying to groom his impressionable young victims. Are we to believe that if he wasn't caught, that it wouldn't have come to sex with young Pages?
Don't buy the "I was drinking" excuse. The problem with that one, is that alcohol lowers inhibitions; Meaning that it doesn't make you engage in any more risky behavior than you already would, minus the alcohol; It's just more likely you'll do what you're already predisposed to do.
As for the "abuse excuse", there are also thousands of victims of sexual abuse who never molest people.
If ever there was a case study for a violation of the workplace laws against sexual harassment that Congress themselves helped to enact, this is it. Those in Congress who knew about it and did nothing ought to be facing the same stiff penalties as Foley, should criminal charges result.
The Foley case is no different than if I asked a female coworker what her "measurements" are, commented on her "rack", or sent her the same emails Foley sent. It wouldn't be tolerated in the workplace, we ought not tolerate it in Congress.
Jayme Evans is a veteran of the United States Navy, a military analyst, conservative opinion columnist, and an advocate for disabled and other veterans. He has served for many years as a Subject Matter Expert specializing in the testing of systems software for numerous major US organizations. He has extensively studied amateur astronomy and metallurgy, as well as military and US history. His brutally honest, in-your-face political commentary has been published in many west coast newspapers, and he is a regular contributing columnist to a multitude of internet sites, including WebCommentary.com, The Conservative Voice, and Conservative Crusader. Mr. Evans has also written guest editorials for Military Magazine, and he has been a frequent guest columnist on WorldNetDaily, writing about legislative and veteran's issues.
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