Boy oh boy, have you heard about the latest scandal to hit Congressional Republicans? There have been rumors that West Palm Beach, FL, Representative Mark Foley had been engaging in explicit and thoroughly inappropriate contact with a young man. Actually it’s been more than rumors — outright reports go back at least a year although his Republican allies have been keeping it to themselves.

It’s pretty disgusting, actually. I mean, check one IM transcript (out of what may be 35 pages!

Maf54: You in your boxers, too?
Teen: Nope, just got home. I had a college interview that went late.
Maf54: Well, strip down and get relaxed.

Another message:

Maf54: What ya wearing?
Teen: tshirt and shorts
Maf54: Love to slip them off of you.

...

Maf54: Do I make you a little horny?
Teen: A little.
Maf54: Cool.

I know we’re all supposed to be groovy and tolerant. Diff’rent strokes, right? And really, is it any of our business whether even a Republican chairman of the Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus is gay?

Hmm. Actually it doesn’t make a fucking bit of difference that he’s gay! Being a gay conservative Republican might make him a hypocrite but he’d be a hypocrite who’s sexuality was none of mine or anyone else’s business.

What’s disgusting, though, is that the young man, a Congressional page from Louisiana, was only sixteen — both legally and developmentally a child. His particular gender, or Rep. Foley’s gender orientation is utterly irrelevant.

I’ve made it more than abundantly clear that I think it’s a very, very bad idea for adults to have sex with children. Yes, I have vague memories of a an experience of my own but at the time I perceived it more as bullying (the really scary part was her wanting to hit me with a ruler) so I didn’t come to my conclusion because of that.

Instead it’s more about sex in the “gray area” we were discussing earlier in the week — the connived, pressured, or otherwise only grudgingly agreed to sex that can fuck up the victim’s experience of sex forever after.

Whoever the grown up was, what ever his orientation, whatever the orientation of his victim, however willingly or grudgingly his victim participated, he’s only a kid for a few year but he’ll be a grownup for half a century! If Congressman Foley thought he was so fucking hot he could have waited two more years. He would have still been hot and he’d have had roughly another 25% of his post-puberty adolescence to figure out what he wanted to consent to, and how, when he grew up. Like Mary K. Laterneau, or Lisa Zuniga Duran, Foley thought his urges trumped all that. I say the child, every child, deserves that time to grow up so he or she can have a long, happy, healthy, varied sexual life.

I say lock the bastard up, and while you’re at it lock up all the other smug, self-righteous, and evidently thoroughly corrupt bastards in his party who heard about it, covered it up, and otherwise did nothing.

Update: In comments Cheryl of Claiming my iner bitch makes a crucial point that completely slipped past me.

What I have seen of the excerpts doesn’t make Foley “gay.” It makes him a pederast. I hope you realize the majority of pedophiles identify as heterosexual. Gay men, contrary to the opinion of much of the country, are not the largest group poking little kids out there.

The first rumors I’d heard (from non-sex/political sources) was that a south Florida congressman was probably gay. The story about Foley and the page didn’t come out till yesterday and I never adjusted my first impression. And he still might be gay, and I still don’t think it’s particularly relevant, but yeah, Cheryl’s right that the majority of pederasts identify as heterosexual. Final note: while my post poked fun at homophobia and closeted hypocrites I strongly believe people’s orientation is their business and that nobody deserves to be involuntarily outed as long as they’re having sex with consenting adults! Foley crossed that line.