If Foley committed a crime, you better believe he should go to prison, as should anyone (Republican or Democrat) who knew about it and kept quiet.

And why weren’t Barney Frank and Gerry Studds ever prosecuted or, at the very least, forced to resign? What they did was just as despicable, yet nothing was ever done to them.

People in glass houses…

Wouldn’t you (I’m assuming you’re including yourself in “civilized society”) also find it to be “a bit distasteful” that the Republican leadership knew about Foley and kept him in his position with access to the pages without so much as any investigation? As for Mel Reynolds, he was scum but he actually served jail time for what he did. It quite possible (and highly ironic) that Foley may well have broken laws that *he himself* helped author. Talk about hoisted with one’s own petard. I can naturally assume that as a member of “civilized society” that you would want to see Foley serve time in jail for any crimes that he (quite possibly) committed?

Democrats on the other hand, make their living telling people that their sexual proclivities are to be celebrated, legally recognized and folded into normative lifestyle alternatives. So James, help me pin-point the source of rage: It certainly isn’t the fact that it was boys and not girls — lets face it, that would go completely against the ideological grain of the Dems.

Is it age? Well, as Justin points out, the boys were over the age of legal consent & there is a whole 3 years difference between them and Monica’s age when she was giving Clinton a bj and using her twat as a humidor.

PLEASE, pin point exactly what part of this you people are so disturbed over? Until then, it looks and smells like political opportunism in the form of further victimization of Folley’s boys. At least Folley had the decency not to rape them in front of the public eye.

It never ceases to amaze me how LOW Democrats will slink to defend their own, even convicted child molesters.

You are disgusting.

Wasn’t Mark Foley and Hastert in the forefront of those non-hypocritical Republicans with high moral values who thought that Clinton was immoral for having sex with an adult woman and then trying to conceal it to protect his power? That was nothing like this situation, right?

I get it now! This is Clinton’s fault! Whew that was a close one. For a moment there, I actually thought non-hypocritical Republicans with high morals were the problem.

it’s all the same to me when somebody is a minor, which this “kids� were. Agreed?

Certainly Not. This isn’t pedophilia, this was fantasized Socratian pedarasty — gloriously Grecian. Just try to imagine Folley in toga, with a small flock of his adoring Ganymedes reading Homer in the sun before inadvertantly drifting off into more carnal subjects.

All perfectly natural. I am absolutely certain this same logic has been used to find a constitutional right to sodomy — but, for some reason, Folley is underserving of your Tolerance, you dare Judge him for his unrequited forrays into this ancient passtime. You, the one who lectures the vast right-wing Christian conspiracy for its myopic, discriminating moral pendantry! Poo-Shaw, your hypocrasy is only matched by your mean-spiritedness. Why are you not coming the AID of Folley – after all he is a Victim of this Culture of Fear & Hatred.

WHO, DEAR SIR, ARE YOU TO JUDGE THE PROCLIVITIES OF HUMAN SEXUAL NATURE SO FIRMLY ROOTED IN HISTORY OF MANKIND?!

Just out of curiosity, do you plan on milking this all the way up to the election?

No, just for the next few weeks until the new talking points come down from Dean…oh…woops.

I wish people would stop calling a 16-year-old a “child,� though.

Listen, these kids may or may not have been of consenting age. If they were in D.C., then yes. If not, then it’s the state they’re IMing from. That’s that law I believe. Also, everybody knows how young these kids are…there’s no confusion there. Child, adolescent, teenager…it’s all the same to me when somebody is a minor, which this “kids” were. Agreed?

To Todd…
Clinton commuted (not pardoned) less than half of Reynolds’ sentence for bank fraud, which he was convicted of WHILE in prison for 5 years for the other charges of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography. He spent the remainder of that sentence (36 months) for bank fraud in a halfway house. Please get your facts straight.

How quickly (and conveniently) we forget…

I’m not saying the kind of exploitation Foley foisted on that kid wasn’t unconscionable. It was. I’m saying get your language straight, or it sounds as if you think you have to make it sound even worse than it was, which means you’re afraid it’s not bad enough. It is. Stupid rhetorical moves actually detract from that.