Posted on 09/30/2006 6:50:54 AM PDT by madprof98
Sept. 29, 2006 — Mark Foley now finally knows what former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards meant when he said, "The only thing that will cost me the governorship is if I am caught with in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
ABC News found the live boy in the form of an e-mail and exchange between the Florida Republican congressman and an underage male page. And now, finally, Foley can no longer cajole the media into keeping his private life a secret.
Ten years ago, I outed Foley as a gay man for The Advocate, the national gay and lesbian newsmagazine. But aside from one story in the St. Petersburg Times, no other Florida or national publications would touch the tale, either because Foley and his camp did a great job of shooting the messenger or because of the inherent fear the media have to delve honestly and without judgment into a person's sexual background.
Foley got tagged as gay in 1996 because he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, the first federal law that sought specifically to define marriage as a male-female thing. He wasn't the only one. I also reported that Rep. Jim Kolbe, an Arizona Republican who also voted for DOMA, was a closeted gay man. I based these assertions on extensive interviews with gay men who knew the congressmen, who could speak to their personal associations and who had seen them in private settings where there was no doubt as to their sexuality.
I wrote the story not as an activist seeking to punish someone for not being who I thought they should be. I wrote it as a journalist seeking to dig deeper into a topic that was at the top of every newspaper in the country. If Congress was getting involved in deciding who could and could not be married, then it was relevant to ask lawmakers about their personal lives. I remember that former GOP Rep. Bob Barr, the congressman who was the chief sponsor of DOMA, got asked once which of his three previous marriages he was defending, and no one raised a stink.
But asking a lawmaker if he was gay and how his sexuality affected his vote was just not acceptable. It wasn't in 1996, and I doubt many reporters would do it today. It's not homophobia per se. It's really more like homo-aversion.
Foley was a master of aversion. For The Advocate story, as I recall, Foley didn't grant a face-to-face interview but instead answered written questions. "Frankly, I don't think what kind of personal relationships I have in my private life is of any relevance to anyone else," he said.
In contrast, Kolbe sat down with me to talk. Like Kolbe, I was from Tucson. I had followed Kolbe's career since my days as a college journalist. Kolbe was sincere, and he was scared. He worried what would happen to his career and he feared what his family would say. And he didn't want a magazine to do what he realized in that moment that he needed to do himself.
Kolbe went public with his sexual orientation before the magazine hit the stands. He was praised for his honesty and he went on to win re-election handily in every election since. I ran into Kolbe at a University of Arizona homecoming game a few years ago. He told me that though he didn't like having someone pry into his personal life, he understood why I went after the story. And he said that in the long run, he was happier because he didn't have to hide anymore.
This year is Kolbe's last in Congress. He's retiring after a distinguished 22-year career in the House. It's a little odd for me to think that it's also Foley's last, but for very different reasons.
By staying so deep in the closet and browbeating others to keep his secret for him, Foley probably thought he was invincible. But secrets have a way of bringing down the powerful.
Just ask Edwin Edwards. He was never caught with a dead girl or a live boy. But he was caught shaking down riverboat casino owners and sent to prison after he'd left office.
J. Jennings Moss is a freelance journalist based in New York City and Tucson, Ariz. A former senior editor for ABCNews.com, Moss spent 18 months as Washington correspondent for The Advocate, the national lesbian and gay newsmagazine.
This is exactly why this case could actually end up biting the 'Rats in the rear end, instead of the Republicans. They keep promoting the gay agenda, but here is one result of that agenda that a lot of parents are NOT going to like. I think a lot of parents are going to look beyond the political aspect (whether R or D) and think about the seduction of their own kids.
Well of course, because as we all know (from being told time & time again), pedophiles aren't GAY, ever.
". . . inherent fear the media have to delve honestly and without judgment into a person's sexual background."
Maybe inherent sense has something to do with it.
Yes, the author seems to completely equate "gay" with "Child predator". I'm sure he'd be quite upset if someone else equated the two.
>>"The only thing that will cost me the governorship is if I am caught with in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
In Mass. he could get re-elected in either case. (Gerry
Studds--re-elected 5 times after the page scandal; had a D
after his name on the ballot). And here, the dead girl
was found in the back seat of Rose Kennedy's Olds Delmont.
There is no excuse for what Foley did....
..OR what Bill Clinton did with his intern and a few cigars....
You know when I first read about this I thought there was no way it was going to bite Demonrats in the rear. But, I see it now. It is actually sad to me...they apparently covered for Foley and now are screaming and pointing fingers that we have a pervert in our ranks.
I don't care what Party Foley belongs to, I am glad the perv quit.
And I hope Foley will join the Democratic Party. They deserve each other.
Did you ever notice that outed Democrat Gays get re elected and Republicans get fired??? (Barney and Gary from Mass)
This reporter is a sleeze ball
The author is a screaming jackass. Why doesn't he just say he got a lot of pleasure out of humiliating another human being?
I think I would feel safer sending a kid to sweep floors at the mustang ranch than to DC to work for a congressman.
That may be true for most people, but as a public servant, the voter has the right to know if you prefer the company of teenage boys. Good riddance to this sick bastard.
I don't understand his premise: if you are gay you MUST be against DOMA ... or we will out you.
Isn't it possible for a gay person, closeted or out, to believe marrige is between a man and a woman? or is it like the 'pro-choice' crowd that ostracizes anyone who doesn't go along with their agenda 100%, including support of partial birth abortion or opposition to parental notification? Are they that rigid? Sure seems so.
The only reason the dimwits are screaming and pointing fingers is because there is an election in 38 days and this is about the only way the democrat can win against Foley.
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