Republicans would have us believe the outing of Mark Foley is the October surprise concocted by the Democrats.
Republican finger pointers wail that Foley's eye for the young page was well known throughout Washington and only now, on the cusp of the midterm elections, has the blow below the belt been delivered.
All in the name of politics.
Well, my view is different.
Oh, I believe Republican House members knew about Foley and his email slime trail. My guess is the Tony Soprano of the House, James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) knew as much, if not more, as Speaker of the House, Denny Hastert.
Back in September, Sensenbrenner brought to the floor, HR 3132, the Children's Safety Act. Mark Foley, as Co-Chair of the Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus was a major player and advocate of this proposed legislation.
These two were so certain the legislation would blaze through Congress, Sensenbrenner predicted mark-up of the bill and passage by the end of September 2005.
Didn't happen.
John Conyers (D-MI) attached a hate crimes amendment to the bill, which surprisingly passes the House.
The sister bill, S. 1086, hits the Senate floor where Bill Frist promptly throws it back to the committee due to the attachment a hate crimes amendment attached by Ted Kennedy, D-MA.
Something to the effect of, "Get that g--d--- trash off the floor and don't bring it back until that piece of crap amendment is gone."
Gay America is super po'd as one of their own, Mark Foley does nothing as the hate crime amendment is killed but twiddle his thumbs.
Who me? Gay?
Nah. Just "over-friendly".
Then Katrina hit.
Or what I like to call the hand of God slapping back the Moral Right.
All proposed legislation stalls.
Sensenbrenner is ready to split his prominent gut.
So back up twenty and punt.
Draft the heavy hitters
John Walsh. Ed Smart. Mark Lunsford. The Predator Bandwagon.
The media jumped aboard bandwagon and away they went, pounding the Fear Factor into the hearts and souls of every parent in America.
Meanwhile, Foley's out there with his freak on for pages, IMing like there's no tomorrow.
At the same time, due to the horrific murder of Florida girl, Jessica Lunsford, Ameicans who have been convicted of a sex-related offense-many with an offense that involved no physical contact-are impacted on a constant frenzied basis by restrictive ex post facto lawmaking from the collective govenment...city, county and state.
Nonoffending family members are also impacted. In Georgia, Kentucky, and Iowa, families not only are divided but many are forced to move due to the wildfire passage of legislation throughout the country which restricts where a registered sex offender can live. Collateral damage of fear gone postal.
Foley plays on. Yet, as we now know, the dam is bursting a few leaks.
Rumor about Foley is out there.
Sensenbrenner, the Foley 18, and the Big Three Parents continue to pound the media circuit.
"Protect the Children" is the battlecry.
The Children's Safety Act has morphed into the Adam Walsh Act and John Walsh will not let anyone forget that fact.
The AWA is brought before the Senate again, May 2006.
Elected officials in the Senate are hesitant. Ted Kennedy proclaims dismay but votes for the passage anyway...
It is clear that the Republican leadership will do anything to stop our hate crimes bill. I don't think it is right to delay consideration of the Senate bill on sex offenders, so the battle on hate crimes must continue. Given today's objections, let's move ahead on S. 1086.
As long as the dismay is recorded, I guess it's okay to cave and give up those citizens who dart through daily hate like raindrops fallin' on their heads.
Meanwhile, CREW provides the FBI with copies of Foley's emails.
The FBI takes no action.
The Predator Bandwagon has lobbied successfully.
The Senate passes the AWA and sends the bill back to the House.
The Foley 18 ask for Hastert to suspend the rules to allow quick passage of the AWA....in time for the 25th anniversary of Adam's death.
What the press never reported is numerous fax messages jam Hastert's office, demanding the Speaker not suspend the rules.
Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House
Candice Miller, Speaker of the House pro tempore
July 25, 2006
This request is to ask the Speaker of the House not allow the motion for suspension on HR 4472.
HR 4472 IS a "controversial public matter" that deserves thoughtful debate and the opinions of experts in the field of sex offender treatment, management, supervision and containment.
I request hearings be opened on this proposed legislation previous to being brought to the floor for vote.
This request for hearings is asked for sister bill S. 1086.
My feeling is these proposals are being rushed through Congress without proper procedures due to the high profile support of John Walsh as well as Elizabeth Smart and her family.
Countless American families demand to be heard regarding the impact such legislation will have on their everyday lives.
Thank you.
If your name ain't Walsh, Lunsford, or Smart, no one is listening.
The AWA passed and was signed into law on July 27th.
How fast can one say "photo opportunity" for the conservative evangelical base?
Mark Foley was there, standing right behind the Prez, with his BlackBerry on vibrate.
My thesis is such. The Foley emails were held for one big reason.
To get the AWA passed.
If Foley's indiscretions had become common knowledge, the AWA certainly would have been DOA.
Instead, the Walsh Act is now federal law.
Ironically, Foley may be judged by the very laws he helped to create.
Which goes to show...the Adam Walsh Act does precious little to protect any child from predatorial intent and repeal should be considered by the 110th Congress.
In the meantime, Foley's predicament is sweet justice peppered by the fact Speaker Hastert is under fire.
Sensenbrenner's role in the Foley coverup should well be investigated. As Dyskeptic Radio reported 10/1/06:
Wisconsin Rep. "F-Jim" Sensenbrenner talked in this AP story dated 15 September 2005 about how a law he worked on would protect minors from adults seeking minors for sexual pleasures. Former Rep. Foley, the one at the center of the scandal (the one Republicans stayed quiet about even when they knew damn well what he was up to) is quoted in the article as saying, "We track library books better than we do sexual predators." Mmmmhm. So you're saying perhap the PATRIOT Act should be expanded?
Curiously, Sensenbrenner is quoted in the story much more than Foley. Sensenbrenner is named thrice, while Foley named and quoted only once. Makes you wonder how much they worked together on this sort of thing.
The House is burning.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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