October 4, 2006
Dear Rep. McMorris:
I have been disturbed and outraged by the news coming from Congress this past week. I believe I must take action to express the growing concerns of voters in the Fifth Congressional District.
With this letter, I am officially asking you to take a public stand in calling for the resignation of House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Hastert has apparently not only failed to protect House pages from further abuse by a member of the House, he also failed to hold that member accountable for his actions. His apparent willingness to suppress potentially criminal activity among House members makes him unfit for leadership.
I believe it is your duty to speak out on this matter at once to help cleanse Congress of a cloud of deep distrust.
Sincerely,
Peter Goldmark
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Isn’t this Jim West area? Cathy could be supporting what the people want.
No, Eastern WA isn’t filled with Foley-ites. I give them more credit than that. They have to prove me wrong before I’d give them that label.
So far what we know Hastert knew was that Foley was sending emails to a page, who happened to be 18 yrs old. Hastert told him to knock it off, and it appears he did. Hastert didn’t know of the salacious IMs that were going on. But nothing illegal was indicated – just inappropriate.
The LA Times reports that both parties had staffers that were in full knowledge of Foley’s penchant for young men. But again, nothing illegal if the young men were over 18. So far no one has shown any evidence of any contact with someone younger.
So why should Hastert resign? Great political ploy. Should Pelosi resign because she knew all about William Jefferson but didn’t say anything? Oh, she claims she didn’t know? Well, she should have. Toss her out!
Dear Ms. S,
You are very clever. That part about Pelosi was good, even though you provide no evidence that Pelosi “knew” anything about Jefferson, and Pelosi certainly was never the House Speaker. And the use of the word “appear”, yes, worthy of our finest judicial prosecutors during my time.
I could have used somebody like you. Too bad. Instead I had to put up with that clown Yezhov and that traitor Beria.
If the Republicans in Congress can’t defend underage pages from sexual predators, how can we expect them to defend America?
Just sayin.
Follow the money. Mark Foley was a very good fund raiser for the Republicians. Including the RNCC (National Republican Congressional Committee), headed by Rep. Tom Reynolds, on of the people that knew about the IM, e-mails and etc for months if not years. It would be interesting to see how much money Foley had raised and who got the money and if they where the same people that protected him.
Again, there is no proof of any contact with underage pages, in this current round of scandal. (You need to go back a few years for that, and it was reps from both parties.)
Don’t get me wrong – Foley was out of line with his IMs, and should have resigned just because it was creepy. I’m just trying to see what precedent has been set over the years for what responsibility the Speaker has in such cases, and why prior Speakers were not called to resign when scandal happened on their watch.
Amazing how the wing nuts attack war heroes, and defend deserters. Only in right wing world.
Your bizarre world is almost over, and the rule of law, and the rights of the people are about to return to our great land. So righties go molest someone’s kids, leave running the country to us……
Comment by Facts Support My Positions— 10/5/06@ 6:26 am
You miss one fact John Kerry did not release all his military records and refuse to sign the paper work so the press could study them. The question you have to answer is what Kerry agrees to with the North Vietnam in Paris in the 70’s. Next when Jimmy Carter pardon his actions and return to him his Horn able discharge papers, and gave him new medals that was discarded in the past. I’m still having a hard time trying to understanding you lack of support for one of your gay friends even if he was a Republican. You have in the past embrace Republicans who cross over to your Liberal Party and join your gay community. You claim to be the party of compassion and love, but this looks like the lions eating all the defenseless sheep. Maybe the National Guard is doing too good of a job defending this Nation borders and you are on withdraws on your Mexican drugs. Remember folks the Socialist Democrats believe in Love, Pease, and don’t Bogart that joint. By the way who is Cindy Sheehan?
Janet S.:
I guess that it does not matter that every news organization and members of your leadership are not distputing the age of the pages. You are going to back your party no matter what.
Personally, I would like to thank the Republican party fot providing this October surprise. We will treat you fairly when we take over both houses of the Congress next month.
Funny how that works.
Dear Ms. S,
Careful. You are putting yourself in an exposed position. Google “Speaker of the House Jim Wright”, for just one example. There most certainly have been many calls for resignations of scandal plagued House Speakers over the years. You forget about Newtie-boy? How convenient.
You “appear” (gawd, I love that word) to be a neophyte when it comes to mortal political combat, but you show promise. At least in my day, we played for keeps.
And no, I was not molested in the seminary during my student days. Don’t go there (just some friendly advise).
@11: I may need some. Does the product work on dead people? Do you accept Roubles?
Morning Klake. I don’t do drugs, and I think people like Foley should be tortured, not innocent taxi drivers. Kerry did release his military records, but he should have released them earlier. There was nothing bad in them anyway. At least he didn’t have to shred them. As far as meeting with people from N. Korea is that worse than the Republicans meeting with, and paying cash money to the Iranians while our hostages are being held? As far as the guard is concerned, I thank each, and every one serving today. In the Vienam days, everyone knew the Texas Air National Guard’s pilots did not go to Vietnam. The other pilots in Bush’s unit were volunteering to go to Vietnam, and were upsed with Chimpy when he wouldn’t. I heard Bush also volunteered to go to Vietnam, but it was from a wingnut, so it probably isnt’t true.
So name the person who died in Bush’s, or Cheney’s place in Vietnam. They were way to busy to go….
As far as Kerry tossing his medals, I don’t blame him. How many innocent victims in Iraq need die before bloodthirsty freaks wake up and toss theirs? Every single death in Iraq is 100% Bush, and “our” fault. We invaded, and did not provdide (or even plan for) their security.
Reality. Always sucks if you are a wingnut.
I meant N. Vietnam. Freudian slip, I was just thinking of how many nukes Kim Jung Ill has now that he didn’t have when Bush took office…..
And now our credibility in the world has been reduced to practically zero, along with the destruction of our military capability, there is not much we can do about him, or Iran.
Maybe Kerry was trying to find a solution to the Vietnam War, and find a way fewer DRAFTED )AND FORCED BY GUNPOINT) soldiers could be slaughtered for Nixon’s political gain….
“why prior Speakers were not called to resign when scandal happened on their watch.
Commentby Janet S— 10/5/06@ 8:58 am”
Because there wasn’t a cover up where the speaker of the house was the “Guardian Of Pedophiles” as it certainly is with the immoral majority Repedophiles.
“As far as Kerry tossing his medals, I don’t blame him. ”
I don’t blame him either. He do whatever he fucking pleases with them! Kerry EARNED his medals in combat!
Bush disobeyed a direct order to get his flight physical from his superior officer to maintain his active pilot status.
We couldn’t count on George W. Bush to protect us then, and he certainly failed to protect us after Jan. 26, 2001 when it was confirmed by the CIA that al Qeada was behind the USS Cole bombing.
Had Al Gore been Presient, he would have executed the war plan developed by President Clinton against al Qeada. Being at war and getting a PDB on August 26, 2001 stating that bin Laden determined to attack inside the United States using airplanes he would have taken further action to protect our air lines and 9/11 would’t have happend. Just like the New Years Eve boming’s planned for 2000.
Democrats are on the right side of history in dealing with terrorism, Republicans, at the same time were focused on Monica Lewinsky giving blow jobs to the President and secretly covering up Mark Foley’s pedophilia.
Janet S. @ 3: “…..Foley was sending emails to a page, who happened to be 18 yrs old.”
THIS IS A FUCKING LIE. THE PAGE WAS 16 AT THE TIME OF FOLEY’S TENDER CONTACTS. YOU ARE A FUCKING LIAR JANET S.
3 Janet S
Caution: men fisking
“So far what we know Hastert knew was that Foley was sending emails to a page, who happened to be 18 yrs old.”
No, we know lots more than that. We know that Hastert, Reynolds, Shimkus, and Alexander knew about this since November 2005, and no one bothered to inform the full House Page Board, and no one initiated ANY kind of investigation— you know, even the the kind of half-assed investigation that would have turned up the porn IMs within a few hours. Or the kind that would have, you know, talked to a page who would have told them that Foley was after as many of them as he could find time for during House votes.
“Hastert told him to knock it off, and it appears he did.”
So you mean he took the perp’s word for it. Smart man. He should go far.
“Hastert didn’t know of the salacious IMs that were going on.
Again, a few hours of investigation and a conversation with a page or two would have turned that around PDQ. But he just sat on his two-chair-taking-up butt.
“ But nothing illegal was indicated – just inappropriate.”
“Inappropriate behavior” with House pages is cause for action. They’re not the police. They had a chance to get this investigated and get it behind them AT LEAST back in November if not in 2003, and they chose to conceal it instead.
“The LA Times reports that both parties had staffers that were in full knowledge of Foley’s penchant for young men.”
Did you read the news reports that Foley’s chief of staff says he has evidence that he told the House leadership back in 2003 about Foley’s dangerous and reckless approaches to House pages? News has lots of good stuff these days.
“ But again, nothing illegal if the young men were over 18. So far no one has shown any evidence of any contact with someone younger.”
CNN this morning had a former House page on TV who said Foley started sexual advances when he was 17. He’s probably not the first and he’s damn sure not the last.
“So why should Hastert resign?”
Let’s see, dereliction of duty, failing in his responibility to report to they House page Board, covering up since 2003 to avoid political embarassment, saying he didn’t tell Foley to resign before saying he did (one has to be a lie)…pick one. We’ll probably have more choices soon.
“Should Pelosi resign because she knew all about William Jefferson but didn’t say anything? Oh, she claims she didn’t know? Well, she should have. Toss her out!”
Gee, if only YOU had a half-dozen people swearing they told her three years ago. Oh, so no one told her? Hmmm, funny thing then that she didn’t know that a House member was secretly taking bribes then. No one is accusing Hastert of not knowing that Duke Cunningham and Bob Ney were taking bribes. You see, it’s just about the stuff he was told about long ago.
Janet S ♥ Pedophile Protectors
I didn’t even mention the culpability of the FBI and AG GOnzales in failing to investigate this after CREW sent them their materials.
Why did George W. Bush fail to act on the confirmation on the USS Cole bombing on Jan 26, 2001?
Why did George W. Bush downgrade the Terrorism Czar from a cabinet level position to a lower priority?
Why did George W. Bush in February of 2001 say the NUMBER one threat facing America was nuclear missiles and instead of focusing on al Qaeda he focused on ABM systems?
Why did George W. Bush in March of 2001 address NATO and listed the top 5 threats against the west, non of which included terrorism.
Why did George W. Bush focus on Tax Cuts for the wealthiest 1% instead of protecting America from terrorists?
Why did Condi Rice ignore Tenet’s warnings about imminent terrorist attacks inside the United States in July of 2001.
Why did George W. Bush ignore the PDB regarding bin Laden wanting to use commercial air planes to attack America in August of 2001?
Why did George W. Bush have to be told twice America was under attack in September 11, 2001?
Why did George W. Bush outsource the capture of bin Laden at Tora Bora?
Why did George W. Bush say there would be no safe harbor for terrorists and allow bin Laden to live freely in Pakistan all these years?
Why did George W. Bush rush the weapons inspectors our of Iraq when they couldn’t find the WMD’s that weren’t there?
Why did George W. Bush state that whatever troop levels the generals in were requesting in Iraq that his adminstration was meeting those request, then have Maj. Gen. John Batiste Commander of the 1st Infantry Division on the battle fields of Iraq say he requested more troop and was denied?
Why is it under the leadership of George W. Bush we can’t win the war in Iraq in roughly the same length of time that under Franklin D. Roosevelt, Democrat, we won two major wars at the same time?
Republicans tough on rhetoric, soft on defense, that’s why!
Newsflash
“Faminly values” Republican Congressman says he never choked the woman with whom he was cheating on his wife.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15132240/
Well, I’m, glad he cleared THAT up.
Mark Foley is quoted from his rehab facility as saying:
“I did not have sexual relations with that boy!”
Apparently, the FBI is looking into a stained blue T-shirt the underaged boy at home.
21 GBS
I’ll take a whack at the last one. It’s because we can’t “win the war in Iraq.” It’s not even a war. The war against the state of Iraq ended in early 2003. We are an occupying army under attack from a homegrown insurgency and in the crossfire of a homegrown low-intensity civil war.
Our local wingers talk a lot obout Gerry Studds (or they did until th talkingpoints changed to “They were 18” and “inapprpriate, not illegal”). But what happened when there was a page sex scandal in lo, those bygone days?
In 1982, allegations surfaced that House members “had offered preferential treatment to teen-aged legislative pages in return for sexual favors,” as the New York Times reported then.
Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, who was House speaker at the time, vowed full cooperation with the Justice Department (who had already begun to investigate the matter) and vowed a complete inquiry by the House itself.
Within a week [my note: not ten months or three years later] the House had authorized its ethics committee to conduct a full investigation of allegations of “sexual misconduct, illicit drug distribution and use, and offers of preferential treatment in exchange for sexual favors or drugs by Members, officers or employees of the House.” The “special counsel to the ethics committee,” in independent investigator, Joe Califano, says that “there was a time when partisanship took second place to trust and the House leadership had the strength to wash its own dirty laundry.”
In 1983, then-Rep. Louis Stokes (D-OH) announced the findings of the inquiry to the full House. As recorded in the Congressional Record:
If only Denny hadn’t covered up!
Hey, did I mention that the 1982-3 investigation also nailed Barry Goldwater Junior for buying drugs? Those were the days, huh?
I think it’s funny that Denny blames Democrats who he says want him to resign. I sure don’t. Hang in there Denny, we love ya as Speaker!
Daddy Love @ 24:
But, but, but, Dick Cheney’s analysis is that the insurgency is in it’s last throes.
So, we should be spending that $20,000,000 victory party money pretty soon, riiiiiight?
27
I’m saving mine for a pony!
@ 25:
Are you sure about your facts?? Tip O’Neil was an outspoken LIBERAL DEMOCRAT!!
According to the kool-aid guzzeling, tin-foil hat wearing, George W. Bush worshiping, right-wing, religous zealots, that never happened.
In fact, the GOP Leaderhsip (Guardians Of Pedophiles) are busy rewriting the history books as we speak. When the new history books come off the presses tomorrow you’ll be wrong.
Denyy’s ordering an independent investigation headed up by reliable anti-liberal Louis Freeh. He’s also introducing legislation to officially declare that he started the investigation in November of 2005.
October 5, 2006
Former Florida Congressman Mark Foley
Sixty-one percent (61%) of American adults believe that Republican leaders have been “protecting [Mark] Foley for several years.†A Rasmussen Reports national opinion survey conducted Tuesday and Wednesday nights shows that only 21% believe that the leadership “just learn[ed] about Foley’s problems last week.â€
Funny how that works.
The above is from Rasmussen today.
But I thought this Foley thing was all Clinton’s fault. Clinton had several chances to take Foley out, but Sandy Berger said no.
Daddy Love @ 33:
Where did you hear that? “Path to Pedophile Foley/JCH?”
re 3: Janet S. Once again you are comparing spherical fruits of different varieties to each other.
re 7: Do you think that the religious right will be relieved to learn that Foley only approached 18 year old pages? To know their ages he would have had to do research on them. That must be a crime of some sort?
Foley’s motoo has always been: “Don’t mind me , I’m just doin’ a little pokin’ around!”
Janet_S@3 :
“So far what we know Hastert knew was that Foley was sending emails to a page, who happened to be 18 yrs old”
Exactly how do we know that? All I have been able to pick up is that a religious-right something claims there was a non-redacted name shown on TV for a few seconds that everyone but them missed and it was redacted in later broadcasts, so there is no way to check whether they are telling the truth .
Then, the religious-right something investigated the address/imname/name no one else can check (or even know if it was ever shown) and decided this was proof that Foley contacted only 1 kid and he was 18 or over.
Then, of course, a group of people who don’t think and don’t question decide that they must be being told the truth by this one religious-right something. After all, they’ve never been lied to or manipulated before.
Every Republican in here belongs to a party that enables child sex predators. If you don’t like what your leadership is doing in your name, throw them out.
The GOP don’t care about keeping our children safe!
This is an issue every mortgage mom, soccer mom, security mom and voting mom (or dad) understands completely.
For the GOP it’s: Bye, bye majority.
You know, it’s true that the Republican Party has more or less forever been papering over the existence of gays in their midst. It’s not surprising that when confronted with a recklessly gay politician, covering up was the leadership’s first instinct. After all, it’s not easy to keep talented, electable gay people Republican in the first place, given the overt hostility of the Christian Right bloc toward their very existence, let alone their civil rights.
Foley, Mehlman, Fordham, Armstrong Williams, David Dreier, and the irrepressible James Guckert (“Jeff Gannon”), and who knows who else are running around and they must be protected. ALthough Foley is wolf carrion by now, the rest are still on the Endagered Gays list for the GOP leaders.
Before Hastert accepted blame today, he blamed EVERYBODY else: Clinton, Soros, Demo operatives:
“All I know is what I hear and what I see,” Hastert told the Tribune. “I saw Bill Clinton’s adviser Richard Morris, was saying these guys knew about this all along. If somebody had this info, when they had it, we could have dealt with it then.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/deta
il?blogid=14&entry_id=9525
Obviously, the new “take responsibility” GOP is the result of damage control consultants. We all know their primary reaction is “pass the buck” – and blame Bill Clinton!
I’ll try again with the link:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/.....ry_id=9525
So there’s a Democratic plot to “get” House leaders by leaking accurate information about them to the press. How insanely devious!
Janet S needs to read her WorldNetDaily.
Her fellow Talibangelists are all calling for Hastert’s head!
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/.....E_ID=52288
Actually, Daddy Love, it was revealed yesterday that a GOP staffer has now been identified as the source. So much for the big bad conspiracy theory.
New pages coming forward (who doubted that this would happen?):
God damn, a sex scandal that the media won’t let go of just droppped in our laps.
Freakin’ Democrats better be READY TO TAKE POWER when this is over. I mean they should be ready to strengthen ethics rules, ready to take on the White House, ready to drum out their OWN corruption, ready to do the work FOR the American people instea of TO them. Vote for the Constitution instead of the rich! Do the RIGHT thing instead of teh political thing.
Or else we’ll hold THEM just as accountable.
@ 46:
I didn’t doubt it and I’m sure we’ll find out that Foley did indeed have sex with underage boys.
I also have no doubt that the Republican leadership knew and covered up for Foley the keep this news out of the media during the presidential election.
To vote Republican means your morality approves of pedophilia.
If you’re a conservative and don’t support or approve of what the Republican leadership has allowed in this country but can’t bring yourself to vote Democrat, that’s fine. Don’t vote Democrat, stick to your priciples, it they are true, and don’t cast a vote for Republicans either.
Every vote cast for Republicans is not a “moral values” voter, you are a sinner in the eyes of Jesus for supporting the protection of pedophiles.
GBS was busted to E-3 at a Captain’s Mast. His LPO [leading petty officer], Chief, Division officer, Department Head, and XO all turned their backs on GBS. WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT TELL YOU!!!!!!!!!! Rarely does this happen in the NAVY unless the shitbird-in-question is a real loser. GBS, I would not be surprised if you also failed in civilian life.
Janet S. @ 3: “…..Foley was sending emails to a page, who happened to be 18 yrs old.” THIS IS A FUCKING LIE. THE PAGE WAS 16 AT THE TIME OF FOLEY’S TENDER CONTACTS. YOU ARE A FUCKING LIAR JANET S. Commentby janetsisafuckingliar— 10/5/06@ 9:40 am
I remember seeing a post from http://www.passionateamerican.com where the guy is indeed 18 at the time of the posts.
To tell you the truth, if I could care less about JCH, I would!
Commentby GBS— [Right…………..Eight posts by GBS today on JCH. Looks to me like you are one sad mess.]
Cheap, sick publicity stunt trying a Congressman without evidence.
If Dennis Hastert is guilty, then hang him by his genitals. But let’s have a fair trial.
Cheap, sick publicity stunt trying a Congressman without evidence.
[sarcasm]Therefore I call on Peter Goldmark to drop his bid from Congress because he didn’t know that one of his staffers was banging a married Republican intern.[/sarcasm]
If Dennis Hastert is guilty, then hang him by his genitals. But let’s have a fair trial.
54 SVC Alumnus Blogger
“Cheap, sick publicity stunt trying a Congressman without evidence…If Dennis Hastert is guilty, then hang him by his genitals. But let’s have a fair trial.”
Oh, come on. Haster has been accused of only what he has already admitted publicly: that he was (along with other GOP leaders) informed of Foley’s pursuit of teenaged pages, and instead of informing the Ethics Committee, informing the House Page Board, or initiating an investigation himself that would certainly have come up with a truckload of much more damning information almost immediately, he sat on the issue until press exposure, not conscience, forced him to action. That’s the freakin’ bottom line, and he’s going to hang for it, or so it seems.
As for other issues: the claims by a House staffer that he has e-mails and phone calls from three years ago informaing them of the same issues, Foley’s creepy 2002 speech where he bragged about driving teenaged pages around town in his BMW convertible, the possibility raised in here today that there is evidence of the matter coming to the GOP’s attnetion in 1998, those can certainly all await a full investigation, a full airing, and appropriate action and/or punishment from the appropriate institutions.
But we already know the real bottom line malfeasance, because Hastert admits it. So “cheap, sick publicity stunt?” No, real and justified outrage at lies and irresponsibility at the highest levels.