If we are to believe that Foley is telling the truth when he says “alcohol made me do it”:
Admitting addiction and taking the steps to overcome it are commendable, Bernstein said.
But the connection here – sexually explicit messages from an authority figure to a teen, messages now under investigation by the FBI – may be tenuous, Bernstein said. And the public is savvy about that.
“It’s not a credible message. It almost seems he’s hurt himself” by drawing that link, Bernstein said. “I haven’t heard anybody express sympathy for him as a result of the announcement.
“I don’t know who’s been advising [Foley] … but he’s ignoring the fundamental principles of crisis management,” Bernstein said. “He should either shut up completely or simply say, `I’m terribly sorry and I will do what’s necessary to make amends.’ End of subject. There’s really nothing else you can say when you’ve done something like this.”
And if you do, it only gives critics and the bloggers more room for skepticism.
Here comes the “Bloggers skepticism”…
If what Foley is saying is even remotely possible, then it follows that he must have been drunk when he did this:
See below…
This message was dated April 2003, at approximately 7 p.m., according to the message time stamp.
Maf54: I miss you
Teen: ya me too
Maf54: we are still voting
Maf54: you miss me tooThe exchange continues in which Foley and the teen both appear to describe having sexual orgasms.
Maf54: ok..i better go vote..did you know you would have this effect on me
Teen: lol I guessed
Teen: ya go voteÂ…I don’t want to keep you from doing our job
Maf54: can I have a good kiss goodnight
Teen: :-*
Teen: <kiss>The House voted that evening on HR 1559, Emergency War Time supplemental appropriations.
read more at ABC’s The Blotter
If alcohol was THE FACTOR that “made him have internet sex” with young boys… (Or, possibly, any other kind of sex with young boys?)
THEN HE IS SAYING THAT HE MUST HAVE BEEN DRUNK WHILE ON THE HOUSE FLOOR VOTING ON ISSUES OF NATIONAL SECURITY! (Nevermind the fact that he was having internet sex with anyone while voting on issues of national security? WTF is wrong with the GOP???)
I call bullspit on this one, and so do others that know him better than I do:
A former colleague, U.S. Rep. Peter King said on Fox News Channel: “I don’t buy this at all. I think this is a phony defense. The fact is, I think he’s responsible for what he did here and I think it’s a gimmick.”
read more at The Hartford Courant
Foley is just one more GOP politician that refuses to accept PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for his actions…
The GOP is the party of MORAL VALUES?
The self-anointed GREAT PROTECTORS of our nation?
heh
We’re stupid sheep who don’t know anything at all about alcohol or sex.
I’m getting so tired of shaking my head and muttering “unbelievable!”
It is a sad day when the GOP tries to lay the blame for their criminal behaviour on a few beers…
But… but.. but..
The boys, those evil boys… were “egging” him on. What was he to do?
I now see why the religious zealots take to the GOP as much as they do… They’re all victims, they’re all at the mercy of evil and fate. They aren’t to be held accountable for anything and if they pray and have enough faith… they can fuck up all they want and blame it other thhings and G-d will fix it all up like duct tape does a lawn rake…
LOVE YOUR WRITING and DIARIES CTMan XOXO!
LOVE YOUR WRITING and DIARIES CTMan XOXO!
I would blush if I actually thought I was worthy of such high praise. But thank you anyways!
As for being the victims, That has been the republican frame for years.
And don’t worry about fucking up and breaking the law and being immoral, etc.
God forgives republicans. But not those evil Liberals.
lol
That was my first thought when I heard him claim to have been drinking everytime he sent those message…Drunk and having cybersex with minors while voting on issues of national security?
Tres Republican.
Drunk and having cybersex with minors while voting on issues of national security?
Not exactly your typical “Republican Frame” to win a political argument…
A sign that the GOP is running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off right now…
I’d laugh about that if it weren’t for the kids involved.
That’s what pisses me off the most…I think this is typical of the hypocrisy of the GOP, and now they want to blame the CHILD victims instead of the ADULT perpetrator. If I had sent my kid to DC for the educational experience of being a page, I’d be furious to find out that I was merely providing access to fresh meat for the depraved. And I’d be ready to smash that guy’s balls with a sledgehammer for doing it.
what would that say about Republican House leaders that did nothing to stop him from voting drunk? Either it’s bullshit and he gets nailed with it, or it’s not and Republican House leaders are even more irresponsible than they already appear.
Please, please, please, somebody ask him about that vote, and then if he claims drunkeness follow up with a question on what that says about Republican leadership and House standards.
Therin lies the beuty of this…
He tried to walk out of the trap he was already in (lose/lose situation) and walked into a worse trap.
Any bets on whether or not the media will ever ask him “if alcohol drove him to internet sex?” then follow up, if he says yes, with “were you drunk when you were voting on National Security issues?”
Not a chance that they will IMHO. The corporate media doesn’t have the balls for those questions.
I’m an alcoholic, now 25 years sober. I did some seriously horrendous things while drinking, some of them illegal as hell. Did the alcohol make me do it?
Oh, right. For 20 years, those bottles of booze, leaped right off the liquor store shelves, opened themselves up, and the booze forced it’s way right down my throat.
Gimme a break.
heh, I still do crazy shit… 😀
But unlike the GOP I hold myself accountable. The Good, the bad and the … damnit stuff 🙂
Of course, it’s b.s. to blame the alcohol for preying on teenagers — as if he couldn’t chase after men his own age.
However, I’m not focused on any particular vote. A congressman who has already been lined up has little to do on the actual vote.
Alcohol is an excuse used for making an inappropriate pass at the office. Alcoholism is different. While some alcoholics don’t get stinking drunk (so much tolerance) and some can work fine, the disease does affect the thought process.
The larger questions are