The Foley Affair: Words and deeds of a predator

By Michael J.W. Stickings

On CNN yesterday, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow called them "simply naughty e-mails" -- E&P has the transcript here. In other words, playful. Maybe unethical, but more or less innocent.

But this was far more serious than the GOP (and White House) spin would have you believe:

In addition to explicit sexual language, former Congressman Mark Foley's Internet messages also include repeated efforts to get the underage recipient to rendezvous with him at night.

"I would drive a few miles for a hot stud like you," Foley said in one message obtained by ABC News.

The FBI says it has opened a "preliminary investigation" of Foley's e-mails. Federal law enforcement officials say attempts by Foley to meet in person could constitute the necessary evidence for a federal charge of "soliciting for sex" with a minor on the Internet.

The post at The Blotter also includes a transcript of an IM exchange between Foley and one of his targets.

For more on this, see Pam's House Blend, The Blue State, and Obsidian Wings.

As for me, I'll just say this: Go fuck yourself, Mark Foley. And the same for all you dangerous fucking idiots who enabled his abuse (Hastert et al.) and who are defending him now (Drudge, Snow, et al.). Your partisanship is indefensible. Your refusal to confront, and to do everything in your power to stop, a sexual predator is despicable. You knew about this back in 2005, didn't you? But you kept it quiet.

You thought it best to protect a sexual predator. That says all we need to know about what kind of people you are.