Remember Mark Foley?  If you followed Brad Blog you would. Foley was the Florida Congressman who was so close to the Florida voting machine scandal it is surprising he was still a congressman after 2001. Naw, just kidding.  That would never happen in this political environment where despite enormous character flaws and crooked dealings, Republicans are getting away with about anything they want.  But for Foley,  the irony is almost too much to take. 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Six-term Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida resigned from the U.S. Congress on Friday following reports he sent sexually inappropriate e-mails to underage male congressional interns.

Foley, chairman of the House caucus on missing and exploited children, said he would resign after ABC News reported he sent messages to current and former congressional pages with references to sexual organs and acts.

“Today I have delivered a letter to the Speaker of the House informing him of my decision to resign from the U.S. House of Representatives, effective today,” said Foley, who is single, in a statement.

Wow.  I mean fucking WOW!  But if that doesn’t just blow your mind - I mean, this guy was the chairman on missing and exploited children! - wait until you hear the rest… of the story [from America Blog].

Seems so. Republican House Speaker Denny Hastert has some serious explaining to do, after today’s revelations that they knew about ex-Congressman Mark Foley’s sexscapades a good year ago, and did nothing.

Whether or not the kid’s parents were fine with letting it go, which the story says is the case, why did Republican House Speaker Denny Hastert permit Foley to remain in the House GOP leadership for almost a year after they knew he was having sex talk with minors online, minors he met on the job?

Why did Republican House Speaker Denny Hastert leave Foley as the co-chair of the House body in charge of child sex offenses for a good year after they knew?

Why did Republican House Speaker Denny Hastert permit Foley to stay in the House at all, where he would be around other pages every day all day long?

And just as importantly, why did Republican House Speaker Denny Hastert let Foley lie publicly yesterday about the emails, claiming they were innocent, and simply a dirty attack from the Democrats, when the House leadership knew the real story?

And finally, we find out that the FBI was contacted two months about this story. Was there any follow-up from the Bush FBI? Or did they just let this potential case of child sex offense go by the wayside because it involved a friend of Bush?

It looks like Congressional Republicans special code of secrecy now includes hiding the stark realities that some of their members are sex offenders.  And that my friends, is bad.  The San Francisco Chronicle goes is equally enlightening [America Blog provides a PDF copy of the following exchange between Foley and a young male page].

ABC News reported Friday that Foley also engaged in a series of sexually explicit instant messages with current and former teenage male pages. In one message, ABC said, Foley wrote to one page: “Do I make you a little horny?”

In another message, Foley wrote, “You in your boxers, too? … Well, strip down and get naked.”

This is sick stuff folks.  And the fact that house leadership knew about these issues and did not act is another glaring example that the republican leadership we have today is just another good ol’ boys club (and young boys apparently). 

Since the revelation of Foley’s activities did not come to Speaker Hassert first hand, one has to ask, ‘who else knew?’  Not only is soliciting a minor against the law, a law with even more consequences thanks to the perp in this story, Mark Foley, but there are serious ethics issues as well. 

So I just have one question to ask.  And I think you should too since he is the “Ethics Chair”.  Hey Doc, did you know too?

We will find out soon enough.