TIME:
Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., resigned from Congress on Friday, effective immediately, in the wake of questions about e-mails he wrote a former male page.
"I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent," he said in a statement issued by his office. The two-sentence statement did not refer to the e-mails and gave no reason for Foley's decision to abruptly abandon a flourishing career in Congress.
Foley, 52, had been a shoo-in for a new term until the e-mail correspondence surfaced in recent days. His resignation comes less than six weeks before the elections. It was not clear how Republicans would fill his spot on the November ballot.
Foley had sent inapropriate emails to a sixteen year old kid. In other words, Foley's a chickenhawk in the older sense of the word -- a sexual predator of young men.
Which puts this 2003 letter to Florida Governor Jeb Bush into an interesting light:
June 18, 2003
The Honorable Jeb Bush
Governor, State of Florida
PL05 Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
The Honorable Charlie Crist
Attorney General, State of Florida
PL01 The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050
Dear Governor Bush and Attorney General Crist:
The New York Times today carried an article I found truly disturbing. Headlined "Old Enough to Make a Lanyard, and to Do It Nude," it is a story about a nudist camp for children - ages 11-18 - at the Lake Como Resort in Land O'Lakes, Florida.
Pasco County, according to the story, has long been a haven for nudists and nudist resorts. The reason is that, again according to the story, Florida''s laws permit underage nudity as long as there is no "lewdness."
Obviously, I have no way of knowing whether illegal behavior is taking place in this camp, but the situation clearly raises legitimate issues that should be addressed given that it involves minor children. I am also deeply troubled that these "camps" are businesses specifically exploiting nudity among minor children to make money.
The New York Times article also clearly raises safety issues concerning these children. For example, the article told of instances where men have made their way to the camp pool to get a "glimpse" of these naked children. I am sure this was not the first time someone tried to gain access illegally to this camp, and I am sure it will not be the last. The next time, these children may not be so fortunate: the trespasser may have more on his mind than just peeping.
As co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, I'm asking that current Florida law be reviewed to determine if this camp is indeed legal or if it has simply slipped under the radar screen of law enforcement for the past 10 years.
If Florida law is not sufficient to address these camps, you certainly can count on my support to pursue changes in the statutes.
Over the years, while working with John Walsh and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, I have come across many stories of children endangered in even less troubling situations than these camps represent. I have been fighting for years to eliminate both child pornography and so-called "exploitive child modeling" websites, and frankly, I would put these camps in the same mold: I believe they may be endangering these children.
I look forward to hearing from you to see what we can do to ensure the safety of our state's children.
Sincerely,
Mark Foley
Member of Congress
I've said it before, but there's a real tendency toward a 'save me from myself' mentality on the right. The reason they see problems with issues other people don't really worry about is that they believe that they're 'average'. The gay basher bashes gays because he knows how he'd behave if homosexuality weren't stigmatized, the pornagraphy crusader has a stack underneath the bed, the firm supporter of the 'war on drugs' is an alcoholic. They use themselves as a model and see what the world would be like if everyone acted the way they themselves want to. For them, desire can't be controlled, so it must be wiped out. Temptation isn't resisted, it's destroyed.
In this case, the pedophile needs to remove a camp full of teenage nudists, because the temptation it represents is overwhelming.
I'm pretty sure there's no way that the Republicans can get someone on the ballot this late in the game and it's a little late for a successful write in campaign. Let's hope that the loss of the psycho represents a gain of one sane person.
Tags: news politics Florida conservative republican religious right gay scandal crime Mark Foley
