Alleged Gay Pedophile Republican Resigns

I heard in the car at lunch time that Congressman Mark Foley of Florida is resigning over inappropriate behavior toward under-age male pages. Sean Hannity was saying that the emails asked how old a boy was, what he wanted for his birthday, and if the boy could send the congressman a photo. It seems innocuous. The photo request is a little weird but maybe they kept it on file for future recommendations. Hannity said Foley was way ahead in his run for re-election prior to these allegations. Hannity also said, there’s got to be more to this story for him to resign over it. I said to myself, “Oh well, at least the Republicans will pick up a seat in the House”.

Then I get back to the office and read this article. It turns out this guy (allegedly) is a gay pedophile (meaning child lover) and A REPUBLICAN! I just assumed this was one of Barney Frank’s friends. According to the House website, Congressman Foley was born September 8, 1954, in Newton, Massachusetts. So perhaps he is friends with Barney Frank after all. It was much worse than a few emails also. He has reportedly sent sexually explicit Internet instant messages to former male pages.

You’re not gonna believe what Wikipedia says about him. Pay particular attention to the text highlighted in red:

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In 2003, Foley was widely considered the Republican frontrunner for Bob Graham’s Senate seat, especially after Graham had announced his retirement. However, longstanding rumors surfaced that Foley was either gay or bisexual and was in a longterm relationship with another man. The story was initially published only in the gay press;[1] [2] then the New Times broke the story in the mainstream press. Other papers, including the New York Press,[3] then addressed the topic. Foley held a press conference to denounce the “revolting” rumors and stated that his sexual orientation was unimportant. A few weeks later, he withdrew his candidacy, saying his father’s battle with cancer had caused him to reassess his perspective on life (the seat was later won by Republican Mel Martinez). Foley had raised $3 million in campaign contributions before withdrawing.[4]

In 2006, as Republican division over the candidacy of Katherine Harris grew, Foley’s name was mentioned as a contender for the race against Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, but he did not file by the May deadline.

Foley resigned from the House of Representatives on September 29, 2006 after the publication of e-mail messages that he had sent to a 16-year-old male page in 2005 and the disclosure by ABC News of sexually explicit Internet instant messages from Foley to former male pages. Rep. Foley said in a statement, “I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent.” [5]
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Foley has been one of the foremost critics in the House of child pornography. Foley is chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. He introduced a bill in 2002 to outlaw websites featuring sexually suggestive images of preteen children, saying that “these websites are nothing more than a fix for pedophiles.”[6] In June 2003 he wrote letters to the governor and attorney general of Florida, asking them to review the legality of a program for teenagers of a Lake Como nudist resort in Land O’Lakes, Florida.[7]

Foley’s legislation to change federal sex offender laws was supported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh, and a number of victims’ rights groups. President George W. Bush signed it into law as part of the Adam Walsh Child Safety and Protection Act of 2006.

Foley also succeeded in getting a law passed that allows volunteer youth-serving organizations like the Boy Scouts of America and Boys and Girls Clubs to have access to FBI fingerprint background checks to help protect children.
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On September 28, 2006, ABC News reported that Foley had sent email messages, from his personal AOL account, to a then-16-year-old former Congressional page, asking the page to send a photo of himself to Foley, among other things. Foley’s office confirmed Foley sent the messages but responds that it has a practice of asking for photos of individuals who may ask for recommendations and that the page had requested a recommendation.

Foley’s emails stated, in part: “did you have fun at your conference…what do you want for your birthday coming up….what stuff do you like to do”[2] and “how are you weathering the hurricane….are you safe…send me an email pic of you as well….”[3] (ellipses in originals).

The page forwarded the messages to other Congressional staffers with the commentaries: “Maybe it is just me being paranoid, but seriously. This freaked me out,” and “sick sick sick sick sick.”[8]

On September 29, 2006, ABC News reported that it had seen excerpts of sexually explicit instant messages Foley had sent to Congressional pages.[9] The instant messages made repeated references to sexual organs and acts.

Foley submitted a letter of resignation from Congress on September 29, 2006 in the wake of news reports about the communications. [10] Foley issued a statement, saying “I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent.”