(Rep. Foley and Rep. Fossella, Feb. 2006)
"I am shocked and disgusted by this twisted attempt to justify pedophilia."
"It crosses the line into deviancy to suggest that an 8-year old and a 45-year old could have a consensual sexual relationship. That is sexual assault, and there is no way to justify it."
"It seems these days that it is fairly easy to find a group that will attempt to justify the most heinous and ghastly acts."
"This is particularly disturbing in light of reports by the Child Advocacy Center that child sexual assault cases here are up this year. I can't begin to imagine what's next. An attempt to justify rape or domestic violence?"
No, this is not
Rep. Vito Fossella's response to the acts of his fellow Republican member of Congress, Rep. Foley. These are
excerpts from a press release of Fossella's criticizing a American Psychological Association study on sexual abuse.
Curiously enough in 2004 Rep. Fossella attacked his opponent, Frank Barbaro by fliering Staten Island with comments such as;
Democratic congressional candidate Frank Barbaro slammed Rep. Vito Fossella yesterday over a leaflet sent to voters ridiculing Barbaro for once voting to continue tax-exempt status for an organization tied to the infamous North American Man-Boy Love Association.
The bill passed the Democratic-controlled Assembly by an 118 to 19 tally. It passed the Republican-controlled Senate 56 to 0 and was signed into law by Gov. George Pataki. Yet Fossella had no problems attacking his opponent on the issue of protecting child predators.
Of course Rep. Vito Fossella has not come out to mention his disgust of the abuse of the House Pages by his co-workers. Like everything else, he has remained silent, implicitly supporting the actions of Foley, Reynolds, Hastert and Shimkus. For Fossella it is not about protecting minors, it is about protecting his friends and his seat.
Fossella took money from Foley.
Fossella took money from Shimkus.
Fossella took money from Hastert.
Fossella took money from Reynolds.
Stephen Harrison is the Democratic challenger to Vito Fossella.
NY13 is the blog challenging Vito Fossella.