Former Congressman Mark Foley resigned last week after it was revealed that he was carrying on over the Internet and in person with teenaged Congressional pages. This week he let the public know, through his lawyer, that he is a gay man and an alcoholic, and that he was molested by an unnamed clergyman as a teenager.

These revelations raise some immediate questions: Why now? Who's he talking to? There's been speculation that Foley was gay for over a decade but he's always denied it. The clergy-abuse allegations were never reported, and even now Foley is declining to name the perpetrator, so he can't be seeking belated justice for himself. That leaves only the unthinkable: He's hoping these little pieces of information amount to an Excuse.

It's pretty clever, given the anti-gay hysteria rife among his colleagues and his Florida Republican voter base. Since he's gay, and since many of his colleagues and supporters believe all gay people are pedophiles, it will be clear to everybody that he can't help himself. Throw in some alcoholism and a cleric with wandering hands, and he's got himself an excuse big enough to back his supporters into a Stand-by-Your-Man corner.

But not all of his partisans are buying it. For one, that corner butts up, M.C. Escher-like, into the "But, wait, we're against gays" corner in the Republican edifice. And two, so many people in Congress knew about the page situation and didn't say anything that there's plenty of blame to go around.

Why didn't anyone say anything? The honest response should be, "We asked him to stop, but we didn't want to push it because we needed his vote." But some apologists have obviously had more time on their hands because they came up instead with this doozy: All the good, God-fearing Republicans in Congress who knew about this months or years ago never made it public because -- you guessed it! -- jack-booted liberals had created such a hostile environment of political correctness that no one wanted to say that their colleague was having phone sex with teenagers he'd lured with alcohol because … they were deathly afraid of being accused of being gay-bashers!

They're afraid to turn in people who prey on children because someone will call them names? And these people are supposed to be setting policy that defends the free world? Give me a break.

But still, we're asked to believe that when a self-righteous, hypocritical, conservative Republican exploits children, it's really all the liberals' fault. That's a twinkie defense if I ever heard one.

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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 12, 2006 at 9:08 a.m. (report)

Jennifer Morales said: Thanks, Milo. I know that, and you know that, so obviously my sly reference to the Milk case worked!

Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 10, 2006 at 10:09 p.m. (report)

Milo said: Jennifer, While I agree with you, I think it's really relevant to explain the "Twinkie Defense" from it's historical context, and set the record queer for a change. In 1978 SF City Supervisor Dan White assassinated Harvey Milk and George Moscone (another Supervisor and the SF Mayor)in city hall. Milk was one of (if no the) first out gay politician in the US. When White stood trial, he blamed his actions on his internal chemical reactions because he'd been eating a lot of junk food - hence the "Twinkie Defense."

Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 8, 2006 at 8:22 p.m. (report)

Cozen Beguile said: Is it true that all twinkies are 4.5 inches? Can someone get a ruler and measure it? PEACE!

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