Good article regarding our pervert Congressmen...
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By Patrick Martin
4 October 2006
The sudden resignation of Florida Congressman Mark Foley, a six-term incumbent and Republican deputy whip in the House of Representatives, is a serious political blow to the Bush administration and its efforts to retain control of the House and Senate in the November 7 midterm election.
Foley quit within hours of media reports of his sexually explicit emails and instant messages to teenage male pages and former pages at the House of Representatives. The scandal cuts across Republican efforts to use anti-gay bigotry and concerns over Internet pornography as key components of their drive to mobilize Christian fundamentalist elements. Republican campaign aides have admitted the demoralizing effect on their “base.”
As an exposure of the hypocrisy and cynicism of the Republican Party appeal to “family values,” the Foley affair has few equals. Foley was the Republican co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus, a group whose announced purpose included fighting against “online child sexual exploitation.” President Bush hailed Foley and his colleagues as a “SWAT team for kids” only two months ago—at a time when Foley’s conduct was widely known within the top leadership of the House Republicans.
At the same time, the enthusiasm with which congressional Democrats have seized upon the scandal stands in sharp contrast to their unwillingness to oppose the Bush administration and the Republicans on far more significant issues. The same Democrats who issue moralizing pronouncements against the verbal abuse of 17-year-old boys have no problem voting military appropriations so that the Bush administration can send 19-year-olds to their deaths in imperialist wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Foley affair underscores the descent of both big business parties to the point where all issues of political substance are suppressed in favor of scandal-mongering and mudslinging. This process has debased political discourse in the United States and stultified public consciousness. At the same time, ever-larger sections of working people are becoming alienated from the entire political establishment.
After resigning from Congress on Friday, Foley checked himself into a rehab center and issued a statement that he had an alcohol problem. Late Tuesday afternoon, Foley’s attorney issued a statement on behalf of the ex-congressman, confirming that Foley was gay and revealing that he had been molested by a clergyman as a teenager. Foley had never had sex with an underage boy, his attorney said.
This account, which seems plausible, only underscores the element of political savagery in the response by congressmen of both parties to Foley’s evident psychological and emotional problems. Both parties react by calculating the advantages and disadvantages in their struggle over positions and political power, while seeking to outdo one another in denouncing their erstwhile “esteemed colleague.”
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By Patrick Martin
4 October 2006
The sudden resignation of Florida Congressman Mark Foley, a six-term incumbent and Republican deputy whip in the House of Representatives, is a serious political blow to the Bush administration and its efforts to retain control of the House and Senate in the November 7 midterm election.
Foley quit within hours of media reports of his sexually explicit emails and instant messages to teenage male pages and former pages at the House of Representatives. The scandal cuts across Republican efforts to use anti-gay bigotry and concerns over Internet pornography as key components of their drive to mobilize Christian fundamentalist elements. Republican campaign aides have admitted the demoralizing effect on their “base.”
As an exposure of the hypocrisy and cynicism of the Republican Party appeal to “family values,” the Foley affair has few equals. Foley was the Republican co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus, a group whose announced purpose included fighting against “online child sexual exploitation.” President Bush hailed Foley and his colleagues as a “SWAT team for kids” only two months ago—at a time when Foley’s conduct was widely known within the top leadership of the House Republicans.
At the same time, the enthusiasm with which congressional Democrats have seized upon the scandal stands in sharp contrast to their unwillingness to oppose the Bush administration and the Republicans on far more significant issues. The same Democrats who issue moralizing pronouncements against the verbal abuse of 17-year-old boys have no problem voting military appropriations so that the Bush administration can send 19-year-olds to their deaths in imperialist wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Foley affair underscores the descent of both big business parties to the point where all issues of political substance are suppressed in favor of scandal-mongering and mudslinging. This process has debased political discourse in the United States and stultified public consciousness. At the same time, ever-larger sections of working people are becoming alienated from the entire political establishment.
After resigning from Congress on Friday, Foley checked himself into a rehab center and issued a statement that he had an alcohol problem. Late Tuesday afternoon, Foley’s attorney issued a statement on behalf of the ex-congressman, confirming that Foley was gay and revealing that he had been molested by a clergyman as a teenager. Foley had never had sex with an underage boy, his attorney said.
This account, which seems plausible, only underscores the element of political savagery in the response by congressmen of both parties to Foley’s evident psychological and emotional problems. Both parties react by calculating the advantages and disadvantages in their struggle over positions and political power, while seeking to outdo one another in denouncing their erstwhile “esteemed colleague.”