Sunday, October 22, 2006

Hey Kid, You Want A Ride In My Bimmer

Posted by olvlzl

F
or anyone who doubts that teenagers are vulnerable to even the slightly more sophisticated calulations of a really sleazy adult, a detailed article about how Foley operated.

This was going on too long for it to not have been known. I can't believe that these star struck boys didn't tell other people about this. Some maybe, not all of them. And even if they didn't I can't believe that his behavior with the pages wouldn't have sounded alarms, he was acting like a predatory small town car dealer using his BMW as a boy magnet.

"I remember him riding by in his Bimmer and talking about all the cars he got and going down to Florida to take out his yacht," said Kristopher Hart, a page in 1999-2000 who went on to George Washington University and now runs a day spa near the campus. "He was like a little bit of a showman, but he was a great guy."

You ever seen one of these creeps in action? This was obvious.

And contrast that with this:

One female page remembers that she was chastised several years ago -- and a Republican House leadership aide was threatened with firing -- after she met with the aide after work one day in his office, with the door open, to talk about the Bible.

It struck her as unfair. She was one of many girls who watched enviously as Foley surrounded himself with male pages on the House floor.

This might serve as a cautionary message about the dangers of bringing up young girls in ignorance of some of the seamier aspects of life but that's no excuse for the adults who must have been witness to it. This was a clear cover up of a predator with lots of bling and power. As he was stalking and cultivating sixteen-year-olds to harvest later, the Republicans made him deputy whip, one suspects as a reward for his helping steal the election in 2000.

Apparently the rewards of that kind of service include this kind of perk in the Republican controled Congress. Foley wasn't some back bencher who the Republican leadership didn't know.

You might also want to read this account of a gay page.

Update: Molly Ivors has an important post this morning on the same subject. Thanks for pointing out the problem with the link too, Molly. Hope it works this time.