[UPDATE by Lowell: According to AmericaBlog.com:
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, appearing on CNN this morning, downplayed the Foley scandal. Soledad later noted that Snow "tried really hard to minimize the impact and any kind of political fallout."Soledad asks as "a parent" why any communication between a 16-year old page and a Member of Congress doesn't "raise red flags, major, massive red flags." Snow responds, "[I]t's not always pretty up there on Capitol Hill. And there have been other scandals, as you know, that have been more than simply naughty e-mails."
If that's what Snow really said, it's seriously disturbed. "Simply naughty e-mails?" That coudl be one of those classic quotes from the Bush Adminisration like "Mission Accomplished," "Dead or Alive," "Bring It On," and "Heckuva job." My God, get these people OUT of here!]
[UPDATE #2 by Lowell] The DSCC weighs in with a piece entitled, "Foley Sex Scandal Hits George Allen."]
[UPDATE #3 by Lowell: There's video available of Tony Snow. Yes, he actually DID say "simply naughty e-mails."]
[UPDATE: (by Josh) Watch this strategist for "The Party of Criminals and Pedophiles" get taken to the woodshed. This isn't even pretty. (h/t vaprogressive.com)
"How about a Fresca?"
"Whatcha puckering up for Mark? I don't see any 16 year old girls at this fundraiser!"
"George, this is how we greet those hot little teenage interns over in the House."
Allen:
"Ha Ha! At least the white ones right? I don't shake hands with those dirty **insert racial epithet here**."
Go and add your thoughts to those two postings, including on ways to publicize this photo and its significance in the Webb-Allen race.
I'm still thinking up a caption.
The consensus of Washington insiders is that the Foley scandal is merely the "tip of the iceberg" and when all the facts become known there will be a political tsunami that could wash away as many as 60 to 70 incumbent Republicans in the House. There is also evidence that the scandal may soon spill over into the ranks of the Republicans in the Senate (particularly the Senate office of embattled Virginia Senator George Allen) [note: the Senate Page program is overseen by the political patronage Senate Sergeant-at- Arms office, not a member oversight board such as that which exists in the House], the White House, and the Republican National Committee.
Try not to barf...
Tom
Survey of 500 Likely Voters
Sep 28 & Oct 1, 2006
Election 2006: Virginia Senate
George Allen (R) 49%
James Webb (D) 43%
Election 2006: Virginia Senate
Three-Poll Rolling Average
Surveys Allen Webb
Aug-Sep-Oct 49% 43%
Jul-Aug-Sep 49% 41%
Jun-Jul-Aug 49% 41%
Apr-Jun-Jul 50% 37%
Mar-Apr-Jun 52% 34%
Feb-Mar-Apr 51% 32%
Election 2006: Virginia Senate
Date Allen Webb
Oct 1 49% 43%
Sep 12 50% 43%
Aug 16 47% 42%
Jul 18 50% 39%
Jun 14 51% 41%
Mark Foley liked boys’ tight young buns
But the leadership knew he raised funds
So they all shut their eyes
And with ”pro-family” guise
Won many political runs.
Wonkette is highlighting this pic, and making fun of Allen for this morning's story in the Post about political humor.
Gaffes put presidential hopeful Allen in trouble
Mon Oct 2, 2006 11:39 AM ETBy David Wiessler
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sen. George Allen, once cruising to re-election with an eye on a White House run in 2008, bought extra television time on Monday in a sign he is fighting for his political life after a series of gaffes.
The Virginia Republican decided to go on a local television station for two minutes the week after polls showed his once-formidable lead shrinking to almost nothing.
But you did know Gannon when he worked for Talon, no?
This list shows who paid for the trips taken by Foley.
RNC CALLS SCANDAL A 'TRAGIC SITUATION'George Archibald and Paul M. Rodriguez The Washington Times; Final Section: A Page: A1 Friday, June 30, 1989
Republican and conservative political leaders reacted cautiously yesterday to a report in The Washington Times that key Reagan and Bush administration officials are ensnared in a federal probe of homosexual prostitution.
"There's no reason for cleaning anybody out (of office because they used homosexual prostitutes)," said Leslie Goodman, a spokeswoman for Republican National Committee Chairman Lee Atwater.
"It's a personal situation. It's a tragic situation if people have to resort to prostitutes," the GOP spokeswoman said. "But there's no standard for people in the federal government that's different than for the average Joe on the street."
However, a top Labor Department adviser to Secretary Elizabeth Dole resigned yesterday after acknowledging to The Times that he had procured male prostitutes and was subjected to blackmail threats by one of the call boys.
In a letter announcing his resignation as Mrs. Dole's political personnel liaison to the White House, Paul R. Balach wrote: "I hereby resign my position this date due to the public disclosure of activities concerning my personal life."
Mr. Balach said in an interview late yesterday he was told by the department's solicitor, Robert Davis, he must either resign or be fired. He said he was not allowed to talk to Mrs. Dole about the matter.
"They said they reached this decision with a great deal of pain because I was a valued employee. But they thought that the cloud surrounding me would not allow me to continue to hold a political job in the administration," he said.
"I think they are protecting Elizabeth, and frankly I would do the same thing," Mr. Balach said. "I live paycheck to paycheck. They promised me that they would try and find me another position somewhere in the government, but I just don't know. . . . Somebody else is going to clean out my office. They didn't want me to come back into the office."
According to documents obtained by The Times, the homosexual prostitution ring includes not only Reagan and Bush administration officials but military officers, congressional aides and U.S. and foreign businessmen with close social ties to Washington's political elite.
U.S. Attorney Jay B. Stephens confirmed in a statement yesterday that his office "has been investigating allegations involving credit card fraud" following a Feb. 28 raid on the call boy ring's Northwest Washington headquarters. But Mr. Stephens refused to discuss the matter further.
A Justice Department spokesman said the investigation was being led by the Secret Service.
But the spokesman denied that the government was investigating the possibility that homosexuals who held senior posts during the Reagan administration were compromised by blackmail or by Soviet agents who may have used young male prostitutes for espionage purposes.
The White House distanced itself yesterday from reports that top-level Republican officeholders and Pentagon brass were involved in the homosexual prostitution ring.
Among Republicans disposing of Foley money were Virginia Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record), who plans to give the $2,000 his campaign received to a charitable cause, and Rep. Heather Wilson (news, bio, voting record) of New Mexico, who plans to give away $8,000 she received between 1998 and 2002. Rep. Clay Shaw, R-Fla., already donated $2,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Rep. Nancy Johnson (news, bio, voting record), R-Conn., returned $1,000 she had received from Foley's political action committee.
He should give a proportional share of money he received through the republican committee that got money from Foley. In other words, if Foley gave 2% of the committee's assets, then Allen should send that to charity also.
Foley: Well, in my case, with a crowbar!
In 2002, Foley was the Republican speaker — freshman New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the Democratic one — delivering humorous remarks to the annual dinner sponsored by the Washington Press Club Foundation.
He delivered a David Letterman-style "Top 10" list of "suspicious activities in Washington."
No. 4 was "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld addressing reporters as adults." No. 3 was "former vice president Al Gore saying: 'Pie? No thanks. I'm on a diet.' "
"And the No. 1 most suspicious activity in Washington," Foley concluded to laughter, "is Mark Foley telling a reporter 'no comment.' "