Forgive the crude label but one must be careful to use the correct terms in describing the recent (and not so recent) transgressions of our elected officials.
Mark Foley, former congressman from West Palm Beach, has IM'd his way into the spotlight this week amid disclosures that he used his charms and his computer to attempt the seduction of an under-age former congressional page. Before we continue, a clarification of terms is in order.
Mr. Foley does not meet the definition of a pedophile. Pedophiles have fantasies about pre-pubescent children. The exact term for fantasies about teenagers is hebephile. Most pedophiles and hebephiles never act on their desires.
Mr. Foley does not, as of this moment, appear to be a child molester. These people have sex with children. Quite often there is violence involved. It is a pattern of criminal behavior that, like rape, is often not sexually based.
Additionally, and this is important as you listen to all of the neocon boobs that frequent the radio airways, there is no, repeat no, evidence to support the assumption that homosexuals have a greater proclivity toward child abuse than heterosexuals. The irresponsible remark regarding homosexuals being rightly excluded as scoutmasters on the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal yesterday has no place in the rational discussion of this serious issue. Paul Gigot should be ashamed.
Returning to the now-outed Mr Foley, apparently the only person in DC that didn't know about his sexual orientation was Denny Hastert, Speaker of the House. (Possibly a little more time spent around the water cooler and a little less at the "all you can eat" buffet would be productive.) Some new batteries for his hearing aid are clearly in order. We are now learning that, for months, every Republican in Congress has been whispering in Hastert's ear about the strange interest that Mr. Foley had exhibited in the Congressional teenage staff. Having chosen the ecclesiastic approach (do nothing until it's too late) Mr. Hastert may find himself behind Mr. Foley on the unemployment line.
Foley has also outed himself as an alcoholic. Apparently no one told Hastert about that either. The advantage in professing an addiction to demon rum is that you can hide away in rehab for a month. As yet undisclosed is whether Mr. Foley feels that booze made him gay or booze made him proposition young boys. We may never know. Sadly, there is no recognized sanitarium for homosexuals or crazed e-mailers.
On the way to condemning Mr. Foley, the Republicans and neocons are doing the, "Oh yeah, well what about your guy" shuffle. Way back in 1983 Congressman Gerry Studds, Democrat of Massachusetts actually had consentual sex with a male, 17 year old page. Studds (nice name) was censured by the house and went on to serve another six terms. Go figure. Foley signed his resignation from the house ( and his application to Betty Ford) so fast that we never got to find out how the Congress would have handled the issue. Possibly a lecture from Ted Kennedy on proper Congressional conduct.
Hastert has taken the case to the court of last resort; the conservative talk shows. Risky move, that! Rush, Sean and the boys are slow to condemn any Republican for any crime but they don't hold with, "boys who do boys". Most of these keepers of the public morals just closed ranks behind Mr. Hastert. He was treated like the parent of a delinquent child. "He was a good boy and his mother and I had no idea what he was capable of."
We do not need a label or Latin nomenclature to detest the actions of Mark Foley. He is merely an aging lecher who abused his power and position. He should be returned to private life and the ignominy that he so richly deserves. Unless additional facts come to light, he has committed no crime except against the people who elected him.
More importantly, there is no bigger picture here. Foley is one man with a weakness not the poster boy for the evils of homosexuality or booze or the internet. We should just leave him to the judgment of Jay, Dave, Conan and anyone else with a microphone and an audience. That's punishment enough for anyone.
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