Rep. Mark Foley’s Troubles: Congressional Double Standards Are The Only True Bipartisan Effort

2006-10-02
By

“Politician” and “ethical” go together about as well as “pitbull” and “vegetarian,” so I don’t know why we’re surprised when the two terms don’t fit well hand-in-hand, but still, it really is about time to flush the inside-the-beltway toilet and start all over.

There are way too many floaters in there, and on both sides of the aisle. It won’t happen though, because the handle is heavily guarded.

The troubled politician du jour is Florida Republican Rep. Mark Foley, who recently resigned after it had been discovered he had been sending suggestive emails to male pages, all under the age of 18. The just dessert, so to speak, could be that the Congressman, who was the co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus, could be prosecuted under the very laws he helped enact, but I doubt it.

So many laws passed by Congress are like computer software programs – the designer is usually careful to craft his or her handiwork with more person loopholes than the wall between the high school wood shop and the girls locker room.

I made an earlier prediction and said that Foley will pull a Pete Townsend here and say that he was simply conducting “research” for his job. He takes it that seriously. Here are some of Foley’s “alleged” email chats in PDF. If it was research, he was being really comprehensive and not just jerking around.

Foley is halfway toward making that claim, since he’s now entered alcohol rehab and is, of course, blaming his problems on his “disease.” This is an interesting angle. “One drink I’m fine, but five vodka martinis and I’m a gay pedophile.” Hey, who can’t relate to that? 

So the question remains, how could a Congressman, co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus, think he could get away with all this? Because when you’re elected to Congress you’re offered, and most accept, a free compunction bypass operation. Sex scandals with congressional pages have happened before, to the point where they had to completely overhaul the Congressional Page Program to include iron britches with padlocks and anti-shark cages for the kids, among other safeguards.

The fact is that too many members of Congress think they’re untouchable kings and queens. They write laws they don’t have to live by, but the rest of us do. They get loaded and get into accidents, and instead of receiving a sobriety test and spending the night in the slammer, they’re driven home by police. They lie to us on a daily basis but if you lie to them you’ll go to jail. They take bribes and stuff them in a freezer and not only stay out of jail, but remain free to fight for their political career. Hell, they even kill their constituents with no jail time, when you or I would still be rotting in prison

Segments of Congress also seem to have a “moth to bug zapper” attraction to congressional pages, and what happens when they get caught? They revamp the Page Program instead of revamping the quality of individual that can enter Congress.

Almost every day you hear some member of Congress speak of the elusive “bipartisanship.” This rarely, if ever, occurs. The only time you can count on it is when it comes to ensuring that there is one set of laws for Congress, and a different set for the rest of us. It seems that corruption is the only true bipartisan effort.

Sure, there are some sacrificial lambs from both parties every now and again, which Foley may end up being, but I have a feeling they’re taken down not because their fellow politicians are disgusted by their crime, but because they were way too overt in giving up the secret location of the bat cave.

Oh, as a side note, there’s a grown man out there hitting on young boys and both sides of the aisle are concerned with what? How this will cost or benefit them politically. Your honor, I rest my case.

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Note: If you’re seeing only this post, the entire blog can be accessed at DougPowers.com

2 views

  • kiakjones

    We can hardly forget the Barney Frank (D-MA)and Stephen Gobie incident. Here’s an excerpt from a Boston Globe article from October 2, 2005.

    Back in 1985, Frank had engaged the services of a male escort named Stephen Gobie, who had advertised his “hot bottom” in a personal ad. Over the next two years, while Frank was trying to decide whether to come out, he and Gobie carried on a clandestine affair, during which time Frank hired Gobie as a driver despite knowing Gobie was on probation for drug possession and for possession of child pornography. Frank used his House privileges to fix Gobie’s parking tickets. He wrote a memo trying to clear Gobie from probation that was disingenuous at best and an outright deception at worst. Gobie repaid Frank by running a prostitution service out of Frank’s Capitol Hill apartment. When Frank discovered this, he fired Gobie and ended their relationship. Then, in 1989, just two years after Frank’s announcement that he was gay, Gobie told his story to the conservative Washington Times.

    There was an immediate public outcry. Frank confirmed the basic details of his relationship with Gobie and the financial and other favors he’d done, but he angrily denied he’d been aware that Gobie had gone into business for himself in Frank’s apartment. Even so, it was an astonishing act of indiscreet self-indulgence, especially for the stiff-necked ethics scold who’d shown no pity for the various Abscam defendants. Even Frank’s closest Massachusetts friends were shaken. And The Boston Globe called for Frank to resign, so as to spare the voters the pain of having to confront his sex life in the voting booth.

    Instead, Frank admitted what he’d done, denied what he hadn’t, and took his case to the House ethics committee, which recommended a reprimand by the full House, a lesser penalty than the censure that had been requested in a motion by a notorious back-bench bomb thrower named Newt Gingrich. The punishment was handed down in 1990.

    Frank set out to rehabilitate himself. He declined the Globe’s invitation and ran ferociously for reelection in 1990, winning with 66 percent of the vote. He worked doggedly at legislation. Moreover, he found a kind of power in his unique position. When Republican aides began circulating rumors that then Speaker Thomas Foley was gay, Frank called in the press and said that, if the whispers didn’t stop, he would publicly out any Republican member whom he knew to be gay. The whispers stopped.

    _______________________________________

    In my opinion and others, Foley did wrong and he should be punished. Just google Dateline and Perverted Justice and you will find these types of individuals everywhere across the country.

    Yet, we have people like Barney Frank still in office and glorified amongst his peers.

  • kiakjones

    We can hardly forget the Barney Frank (D-MA)and Stephen Gobie incident. Here’s an excerpt from a Boston Globe article from October 2, 2005.

    Back in 1985, Frank had engaged the services of a male escort named Stephen Gobie, who had advertised his “hot bottom” in a personal ad. Over the next two years, while Frank was trying to decide whether to come out, he and Gobie carried on a clandestine affair, during which time Frank hired Gobie as a driver despite knowing Gobie was on probation for drug possession and for possession of child pornography. Frank used his House privileges to fix Gobie’s parking tickets. He wrote a memo trying to clear Gobie from probation that was disingenuous at best and an outright deception at worst. Gobie repaid Frank by running a prostitution service out of Frank’s Capitol Hill apartment. When Frank discovered this, he fired Gobie and ended their relationship. Then, in 1989, just two years after Frank’s announcement that he was gay, Gobie told his story to the conservative Washington Times.

    There was an immediate public outcry. Frank confirmed the basic details of his relationship with Gobie and the financial and other favors he’d done, but he angrily denied he’d been aware that Gobie had gone into business for himself in Frank’s apartment. Even so, it was an astonishing act of indiscreet self-indulgence, especially for the stiff-necked ethics scold who’d shown no pity for the various Abscam defendants. Even Frank’s closest Massachusetts friends were shaken. And The Boston Globe called for Frank to resign, so as to spare the voters the pain of having to confront his sex life in the voting booth.

    Instead, Frank admitted what he’d done, denied what he hadn’t, and took his case to the House ethics committee, which recommended a reprimand by the full House, a lesser penalty than the censure that had been requested in a motion by a notorious back-bench bomb thrower named Newt Gingrich. The punishment was handed down in 1990.

    Frank set out to rehabilitate himself. He declined the Globe’s invitation and ran ferociously for reelection in 1990, winning with 66 percent of the vote. He worked doggedly at legislation. Moreover, he found a kind of power in his unique position. When Republican aides began circulating rumors that then Speaker Thomas Foley was gay, Frank called in the press and said that, if the whispers didn’t stop, he would publicly out any Republican member whom he knew to be gay. The whispers stopped.

    _______________________________________

    In my opinion and others, Foley did wrong and he should be punished. Just google Dateline and Perverted Justice and you will find these types of individuals everywhere across the country.

    Yet, we have people like Barney Frank still in office and glorified amongst his peers.

  • kiakjones

    We can hardly forget the Barney Frank (D-MA)and Stephen Gobie incident. Here’s an excerpt from a Boston Globe article from October 2, 2005.

    Back in 1985, Frank had engaged the services of a male escort named Stephen Gobie, who had advertised his “hot bottom” in a personal ad. Over the next two years, while Frank was trying to decide whether to come out, he and Gobie carried on a clandestine affair, during which time Frank hired Gobie as a driver despite knowing Gobie was on probation for drug possession and for possession of child pornography. Frank used his House privileges to fix Gobie’s parking tickets. He wrote a memo trying to clear Gobie from probation that was disingenuous at best and an outright deception at worst. Gobie repaid Frank by running a prostitution service out of Frank’s Capitol Hill apartment. When Frank discovered this, he fired Gobie and ended their relationship. Then, in 1989, just two years after Frank’s announcement that he was gay, Gobie told his story to the conservative Washington Times.

    There was an immediate public outcry. Frank confirmed the basic details of his relationship with Gobie and the financial and other favors he’d done, but he angrily denied he’d been aware that Gobie had gone into business for himself in Frank’s apartment. Even so, it was an astonishing act of indiscreet self-indulgence, especially for the stiff-necked ethics scold who’d shown no pity for the various Abscam defendants. Even Frank’s closest Massachusetts friends were shaken. And The Boston Globe called for Frank to resign, so as to spare the voters the pain of having to confront his sex life in the voting booth.

    Instead, Frank admitted what he’d done, denied what he hadn’t, and took his case to the House ethics committee, which recommended a reprimand by the full House, a lesser penalty than the censure that had been requested in a motion by a notorious back-bench bomb thrower named Newt Gingrich. The punishment was handed down in 1990.

    Frank set out to rehabilitate himself. He declined the Globe’s invitation and ran ferociously for reelection in 1990, winning with 66 percent of the vote. He worked doggedly at legislation. Moreover, he found a kind of power in his unique position. When Republican aides began circulating rumors that then Speaker Thomas Foley was gay, Frank called in the press and said that, if the whispers didn’t stop, he would publicly out any Republican member whom he knew to be gay. The whispers stopped.

    _______________________________________

    In my opinion and others, Foley did wrong and he should be punished. Just google Dateline and Perverted Justice and you will find these types of individuals everywhere across the country.

    Yet, we have people like Barney Frank still in office and glorified amongst his peers.

  • Doug Powers

    You’re right… I can’t believe how much “yeah, but THEY have crooked lying perverted people on THEIR side too! Why won’t they talk about them?” kind of stuff we’re hearing today.

    This is the kind of thing that keeps the Republican party from ascending beyond where they are.

    Yes, the Dems have more than their share of crooked members who are allowed to slide, but at least it’s obvious… even more obvious if the Republicans don’t allow themselves to operate in the same manner.

  • Doug Powers

    You’re right… I can’t believe how much “yeah, but THEY have crooked lying perverted people on THEIR side too! Why won’t they talk about them?” kind of stuff we’re hearing today.

    This is the kind of thing that keeps the Republican party from ascending beyond where they are.

    Yes, the Dems have more than their share of crooked members who are allowed to slide, but at least it’s obvious… even more obvious if the Republicans don’t allow themselves to operate in the same manner.

  • Doug Powers

    You’re right… I can’t believe how much “yeah, but THEY have crooked lying perverted people on THEIR side too! Why won’t they talk about them?” kind of stuff we’re hearing today.

    This is the kind of thing that keeps the Republican party from ascending beyond where they are.

    Yes, the Dems have more than their share of crooked members who are allowed to slide, but at least it’s obvious… even more obvious if the Republicans don’t allow themselves to operate in the same manner.






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