Sex Beat
John Nichols makes a good point in this column:
When the news of Foley’s emails broke in the media, Hastert declared, “I was surprised.”
Really? That’s strange.
Congressman Tom Reynolds, who chairs the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, revealed on Saturday that he had informed Hastert months ago about concerns regarding Foley’s habit of sending sexually suggestive – “strip down and get naked” — e-mails and instant messages to male congressional pages.
Congressman Rodney Alexander, the Louisiana Republican who brought those concerns to the attention of party leaders after learning about Foley’s e-mails from the family of a former page in 2005, has confirmed that his office contacted Hastert’s office regarding the matter. Additionally, Alexander personally discussed the issue with Reynolds and Boehner.
Another Republican with close ties to the House leadership, Illinois Representative John Shimkus, admits that he investigated the e-mail issue in 2005 – apparently after it was reviewed by Hastert’s office and the office of the Clerk of the House – and says he warned Foley to break off contact with a particular teenager and, in a more general sense, to stop stalking male pages. Then, Shimkus dropped the matter – to the apparent satisfaction of Hastert, Boehner, Blunt, Reynolds and other House Republican leaders.
Some readers may be surprised that these top Republicans, who go on and on about the need to fend off supposed “threats” posed by loving and responsible gay and lesbian couples, would be so accepting of Foley. The truth is that the hands-off approach to this whole scandal is entirely in character for the current crop of Republican leaders, who could care less about the sexuality of members of their caucus.
They only employ “moral values” appeals to scare up votes at election time; it’s never been something they believed in.
What they really believe in is power. They’ll grab for it however they can.
I hope all you “values” voters out there feel sufficiently used.
They’re stupid like I told ya, very stupid like ya saw
very stupid as the simple thought of ever thinking at all
and all their mind, all their souls all their bodies all we know
all we know all the things that should a made us whole
all the colourless security was all that someone could go and move, move
Sex beat, drop- The Gun Club
