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Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment

What is it with members of Congress that they think entering alcohol rehab is an appropriate response to whatever misdeeds they are accused of? Mark Foley is the latest:

Foley has said nothing since announcing his resignation. Yesterday, a statement purportedly sent by Foley to news organizations, including The Washington Post, said he has entered an alcohol-treatment facility in Florida.

Republicans continue to justify their inaction:

Republican leaders continued to insist yesterday that it was understandable that the "over-friendly" Internet e-mails they had seen did not set off alarm bells. But one House GOP leadership aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job, conceded that Republicans had erred in not notifying the three-member, bipartisan panel that oversees the page system. Instead, they left it to the panel chairman, Rep. John M. Shimkus (R-Ill.), to confront Foley.

Also yesterday, a former House page said that at a 2003 page reunion, he saw sexually suggestive e-mails Foley had sent to another former page. Patrick McDonald, 21, now a senior at Ohio State University, said he eventually learned of "three or four" pages from his 2001-2002 class who were sent such messages.

He said he remembered saying at the reunion, "If this gets out, it will destroy him."

Can anyone think of a pot-smoker who blamed pot for inappropriate sexual contact with juveniles? I can't.

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    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#1)
    by killer on Sun Oct 01, 2006 at 09:46:42 PM EST
    Jeralyn, What are the chances that the House Leadership engaged in conspiracy after the fact? Accesory after? before?I suppose that question is separate from whether or not they might be convicted.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#2)
    by killer on Sun Oct 01, 2006 at 09:48:11 PM EST
    OK conspiracy after makes no sense. Sorry.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Oct 01, 2006 at 11:12:24 PM EST
    It's getting so treatment is not for those who are truly seeking help but, for naughty public figures to hide when caught with misdeeds.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 07:45:26 AM EST
    TL: I was waiting for a post like this when Rep. Kennedy fled to rehab after his mishap.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 08:29:25 AM EST
    one of the reasons why foley resigned is that no matter what happens to him by resigning he KEEPS ALL OF HIS CONGRESSIONAL BENEFITS for the rest of his life!

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#5)
    by scarshapedstar on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 08:29:25 AM EST
    Funny, I coulda sworn these guys were all up in arms when Clinton was over-friendly with Monica. I guess the difference is that he didn't actually break any laws.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#6)
    by kdog on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 08:29:25 AM EST
    You didn't expect him to go to "dirty old perv" rehab, did you? Personal responsibility=blame it on the booze.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#7)
    by Richard Aubrey on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 08:29:25 AM EST
    If the pages in question were not minors under the law at the time, is there a crime? Probably not. Can you have a conspiracy to do something--conceal, for example--an act which is not a crime and have that conspiracy itself be a crime?

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#8)
    by cpinva on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 08:29:25 AM EST
    they're just taking the sport's and hollywood crowd's example: when you f up really, really big time, in public, claim you now understand you have a socially acceptable problem, and you're getting "treatment" for it. all will be forgiven.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#9)
    by clayton on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 08:29:25 AM EST
    Why wasn't Foley arrested last week before he left town??

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 09:02:16 AM EST
    Conspiracy? The president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent out a message to all staff the message below long after it was known about the circumstances surrounding the resignation. Makes you wonder about NCMEC and how close they are to the GOP. From: John Rabun Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 6:06 PM To: _All-NCMEC Subject: Replacement STATEMENT as posted on our website Importance: High [All calls are being referred to our media line 703.837.6111. We will not be taking interviews.] Statement National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) On the Resignation of Congressman Mark Foley September 29, 2006 "Congressman Mark Foley's resignation is a great loss to Florida and the nation. He has been a hard-working, dedicated and effective Congressman. He will be missed."

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#14)
    by demohypocrates on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 09:27:55 AM EST
    Foley is a louse and I make no defense of him. Dems have devised a fitting punishment for inappropriate conduct with a page, give 'em a committee chairmanship. Oh well, that was different. He was having sex with the page.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#12)
    by cowboyx on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 09:36:55 AM EST
    Wile... It does seem that alcohol rehab is more appropriate for DUI than it is for hitting on boys online.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 09:36:55 AM EST
    As someone else already noted: Foley has moved into a closed-off rehab clinic to be away from the press. Apparently the GOP - in all its astonishment and stupidity - seems to think "out of sight, out of mind". Unfortunately, this is NOT going to go away from the public radar anytime soon and guess what? The GOP's only remaining campaign "strong-suit" - terrorism - is suddenly far, far away from the public eye. I can already imagine Rove pulling the few hairs he has left in pure outrage :)

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#15)
    by Sailor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 11:24:26 AM EST
    one more rethuglican hypocrite confuses 'inappropriate conduct' with a 52 year old man acting as a sexual predator with 16 year old children. trust rethugs to defend any illegal action by another rethug, including torture and pedophilia.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#17)
    by Sailor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 11:55:28 AM EST
    demo, my apologies, I didn't look close enough at your link, I just thought it was the same crap about Barney Frank. 2 diffs tho between your example and foley: Studds was re-eelcted several more times by his constituents and his scandal was the one that caused
    The Congressional Page Program -- which has been around for more than 150 years -- was overhauled and a board was created to monitor it. A dormitory for pages was created near the Capitol.
    So supposedly it was investigated a year ago, b ut only by repubs, they didn't bother to tell the dem member of the board, and let him continue in his behavior after he donated $100k to the rethugs.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#18)
    by Che's Lounge on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 11:58:05 AM EST
    Demo, It wasn't "inappropriate conduct", as you incorrectly point out. Call it what it really is: PEDOPHILIA. Spell it, dude. Frank committed NO CRIMES. Nice try.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 12:48:08 PM EST
    It's telling that right wing defenders of the disgraced pedophile Republican Senator have to go back to 1973 to dredge up a suppossed riposte. While they're back there why don't they take a look at the Presidentially authorized burglary at the Democratic Party Headquarters and the President who resigned in disgrace? Might be sobering for them. I have some advice for Republicans. Why not leave the pedophile-defending to NAMBLA and concentrate on your strengths. Like looting the treasury or stripping away what remains of our constitutional rights?

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#19)
    by kdog on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 12:48:08 PM EST
    Maybe NAMBLA has a place for Foley on their executive board. Sit back and enjoy the train wreck...I know I will. It's great when the true colors come shining through.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 12:48:08 PM EST
    If Foley has a booze problem, entering rehab because of a jackpot, rather than a bottom, is more likely to result in a 'spin dry' than in long-term recover.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#21)
    by demohypocrates on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 02:21:17 PM EST
    Reading isn't your strong suit there, is it swallower.
    It's telling that right wing defenders of the disgraced pedophile
    What part of this didnt you understand: Foley is a louse and I make no defense of him. And it was 1983 not 1973, and, the admitted pedophile was given a committee chairmanship by many of the the same Dems grandstanding now. The only pedophile defenders are the Dems who allowed an admitted pedophile to maintain an important leadership role in the party.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#23)
    by Sailor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 02:49:03 PM EST
    And it was 1983 not 1973
    Wrong, from your link:
    in Studds's case, a 1973 relationship with a 17-year-old male congressional page.
    the admitted pedophile
    wrong again, a consensual, but as you put it the first time, inappropriate, relationship between a 36 yr old and a 17 yr old is not the same as unwanted overtures between a 52 yr old and a 16 yr old. (even the kid said 'it creeped me out' & 'sick,sick,sick.') He also reported the unwanted contact to his (repub) superiors and they covered it up. Trying to equate consensual with non-consensual is going to be a losing battle for you rethugs ... keep it up.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#24)
    by Sailor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 03:18:35 PM EST
    And it was 1983 not 1973
    Wrong, from your link:
    in Studds's case, a 1973 relationship with a 17-year-old male congressional page.
    the admitted pedophile
    wrong again, a consensual, but as you put it the first time, inappropriate, relationship between a 36 yr old and a 17 yr old is not the same as unwanted overtures between a 52 yr old and a 16 yr old. (even the kid said 'it creeped me out' & 'sick,sick,sick.') He also reported the unwanted contact to his (repub) superiors and they covered it up ... after he donated $100k to the party. Trying to equate consensual with non-consensual is disgusting. This is about a hypocritical sexual predator who ran campaigns on protecting innocents while he was trying to lay them. Hastert knew, and lied about knowing, and then had to admit he knew after foellow rethugs refused to be thrown under ther bus. The rncc head knew, and did nothing but take $100k in hush money. The head of the Page Board (established after the scandal investigation of 1983) knew, but he didn't bother to tell the other board members.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#25)
    by demohypocrates on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 03:20:42 PM EST
    I was pointing out the Dems hypocrisy which began in 1983 when they merely censured a fellow member for pedophilia. I think the age disparity is of marginal importance. It is the power that each Congressman exerted over their victims. And maybe it is a little more important that Stubbs admitted to having sex with a page, while the other did not.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#26)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 03:33:08 PM EST
    I was pointing out the Dems hypocrisy which began in 1983 when they merely censured a fellow member for pedophilia. I think the age disparity is of marginal importance. It is the power that each Congressman exerted over their victims. And maybe it is a little more important that Stubbs admitted to having sex with a page, while the other did not.
    Gee Demo... How convenient that you failed to mention the Republican Congressmen, Daniel B. Crane, censured for the very same conduct in the same year. By the way, just to nitpick, none of this activity constitutes pedophilia, which by the way, is defined as a sexual preference towards pre-pubescent children, not 16 or 17-year-old teenagers. Link
    In 1983, two congressmen, Reps. Gerry E. Studds and Daniel B. Crane, were caught having sexual relationships with pages -- Studds with a male page and Crane with a female page. Studds, a Democrat, would go on to be re-elected in his Massachusetts district and served until his 1996 retirement, while Crane, a Republican, would lose his Illinois seat to the scandal.


    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#27)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 04:29:50 PM EST
    More on the connection of alcohol to depraved behavior, versus cannabis: Judge the tree by its fruit.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#22)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 04:51:07 PM EST
    probably because just about every criminal in the federal system manages to get someone, if their lawyer is competent, to testify or offer a report that they are alcohol dependent in their efforts at leniency. who do they get it from? they get it from defense lawyers-look in a mirror.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#28)
    by Richard Aubrey on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 07:04:11 PM EST
    Ref Studds & Crane. The republican voters seem to have higher standards, or weaker stomachs. Mel Reynolds was a piece of work, wasn't he? And Clinton pardoned him. All those poor chumps on death row--none of them guilty, of course--and Clinton wasted his time on Reynolds. Who was later hired by that icon of liberalism and fidelity in marriage, Jesse Jackson. Yeah, the repubs have a lock on nastiness, not.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#29)
    by Che's Lounge on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 07:56:47 PM EST
    Macro, By the way, just to nitpick, none of this activity constitutes pedophilia, which by the way, is defined as a sexual preference towards pre-pubescent children, not 16 or 17-year-old teenagers. I'll give you that. Yet a minor is still a minor.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#30)
    by Sailor on Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 08:05:49 PM EST
    FLORIDA The age of sexual consent is 16 for adults who are under 24 years of age, or if the adult that is 24 years of age or older is married to the minor.
    VIRGINIA A person 18 and older having sex with a 13- or 14-year-old faces a felony charge, which carries a punishment of two to 10 years in prison and up to a $100,000 fine. A person 18 and older having sex with someone age 15, 16 or 17 faces a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
    In contrast to the generally accepted medical definition, the term pedophile is also used colloquially to denote significantly older adults who are sexually attracted to adolescents below the local age of consent[1], as well as those who have sexually abused a child.
    A Florida law makes it a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, to transmit "material harmful to minors by electronic device." The law defines the material broadly to include descriptions of "nudity, sexual conduct, or sexual excitement." There is an exception for materials with serious literary, artistic, scientific and political value. The e-mail messages disclosed to date appear to fail that test, though they may have serious political value in a different sense.


    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#31)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 08:12:57 AM EST
    I'll give you that. Yet a minor is still a minor.
    Che, I agree and am not condoning this activity; however, the term pedophilia should be saved for the individuals who have a sexual preference towards pre-pubescent children.
    In contrast to the generally accepted medical definition, the term pedophile is also used colloquially to denote significantly older adults who are sexually attracted to adolescents below the local age of consent[1], as well as those who have sexually abused a child.
    Sailor, The clinical definition of pedophilia is a sexual preference towards pre-pubescent children, period. The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems define it this way, as does the ADA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Don't bastardize the definition of a word to make this ex-congressman's activity seem worse than it is. If you look at the laws you quoted a little closer, you will notice the punishment is tiered according to the age of the victim; the exception being the transmission of harmful material to a minor. This is odd since it's a misdemeanor for someone who is over 18 to have sex with another person between the ages of 15 - 17, but a felony to send harmful material to the same age group. Then again, this is Florida. That said I don't condone Mark Foley's activity. I don't condone the suspected activity (cover-up) of the Republican leadership in the house. And for all you die hard Republicans reading this, if the shoe was on the other foot, your Republican leaders would be using this situation for political gain as well.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#32)
    by Richard Aubrey on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 08:12:57 AM EST
    IMO, Foley ought to suffer serious criminal penalties. I have heard that the legal age of consent changed to higher after he had actually done his thing, in certain jurisdictions. So it's possible he would skate legally. But he ought to suffer serious penalties in some fashion. Ditto, to a proportional extent, for the leadership who can be shown to have known, or to be responsible for knowing. Among other things, the repubs could demonstrate in this way that they are morally suprerior to dems who would never think of such a thing. And it's the way things should be, anyway. IMO, further, those who voluntarily take positions of responsibility ought to be punished at the severe end of the scale for any given offense.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#33)
    by Sailor on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 09:09:19 AM EST
    macro, I was just pointing out that we aren't clinicians and we were using it colloquially ... if inflammatorily. Your point is taken. BTRW, he IMed across state lines to get a teenager to meet him ... I think that's a fed crime. And:
    On Friday afternoon, a strategist for Rep. Mark Foley tried to cut a deal with ABC's Brian Ross.
    The correspondent, who had dozens of instant messages that Foley sent to teenage House pages, had asked to interview the Florida Republican. [Congressman Reynolds' own chief of staff (and former Foley chief of staff), Kirk Fordham] said the congressman was quitting and that Ross could have that information exclusively if he agreed not to publish the raw, sexually explicit messages.

    "I said we're not making any deals," Ross recalls.
    This is after the IMs were discovered ... to sum up; Reynolds chief of staff tried to bribe ABC not to publish after he knew there were crimes involved. Sounds like a conspiracy to me.

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#34)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 01:32:41 PM EST
    I'm going to post the same thing to y'all as I did on Townhall: Bad behavior by some Dems ... Doesn't excuse bad behavior by some Republicans. And it doesn't make someone a democrat if they disagree with you occasionally. You can't blame a whole party - whether it's dems or GOP, for one person's despicable behavior, but the leadership should've launched an investigation when it 1st came out. If those emails had come to the attention of the FBI, let alone congress, and came from any of us "common people" there probably would've been a "sting" set up like on Dateline. At the very least our computers, homes, and offices, would've been searched to find out if anything was acted upon and what else was going on in cyberspace. Our elected officials should be held to a higher standard, not a lower one. If the GOP leadership had handled this correctly it would be a year-old scandal now, long forgotten by most. The GOP would be praised for doing the right thing, not accused of involvement in a cover-up (and what could be worse than covering for a pedophile?) days before the election. They brought this on themselves and they would feel the same about the dems if the situation were reversed. Remember Hastert defending William Jefferson with his $90,000 cash in the freezer, from the FBI search? They can no-knock search your home in the middle of the night in swat gear if someone gets mad at you and makes a call with a false claim to law enforcement, but Congress is above the law. To those blaming dems, the media, or anyone but those involved...Do your values not apply when the perps are on your team? [link deleted, not in html format]

    Re: Mark Foley Enters Alcohol Treatment (none / 0) (#35)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:56:36 PM EST
    the word from palm beach is that he doesn't have a drinking problem