NYT editorial: GOP could turn Foley scandal into anti-gay witch hunt

[DeepModem Mom]

Editorial
Real Scandals, and Fake Ones
Published: October 5, 2006

....there’s reason to worry that the (Foley) scandal could tempt Republican politicians and their defenders to try to turn it into an anti-gay witch hunt in the Capitol....

***

Pat Buchanan helped point everyone in exactly the wrong direction when he announced on MSNBC that “there’s a proclivity” toward child abuse among homosexuals. “Is it a coincidence that 90 percent of the victims of the priests and the other folks who abuse those altar boys and others, 90 percent of the victims were boys, 90 percent of the perpetrators were men?” he asked.

What Mr. Foley did was not about his sexual orientation. Anyone who imagines that gay men pose a particular threat to American children need only contemplate the grisly crimes recently perpetrated on young girls in schoolhouse assaults by psychotic heterosexuals. The last time Congress went through a page sex scandal, two House members were censured — one gay and one straight.

If there is a Democratic member of Congress guilty of sins similar to Mr. Foley’s, it is likely we will hear about it soon. But convincing the public that Mr. Foley’s disgusting behavior is widespread in Washington, or trying to create the impression that the presence of gays in the highest levels of government is something to worry about, is not likely to get any Republican elected this fall. What it will do is further degrade an already depressing election year, and create cynicism among a public that really is cynical enough already.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/05/opinion/05thu1.html

[WindRavenX]

1. unfortunately, they're right and we need to be VERY careful...

...in the coming days to prevent the "he was gay, therefore, he tried to seduce a minor male page. Therefore, gays are bad".

Watch out for it people :scared:

[AtomicKitten]

2. no worries

P-E-D-O-P-H-I-L-E

Think of the children.

Rinse and repeat.

[Kagemusha]

3. Somehow, I think 100% of abusive Catholic priests are men.

Why would I think such a thing? It's a mystery...

[me b zola]

4. I've been worried about the same thing

I couldn't view the rest of the article, did the author happen to insert statisical numbers that show the overwhelming number of pedophiles/sexual predators of underage youth are straight?

I just really hate this. Those fucking rw gas bags don't even begin to think of the repercussions of their hate speech. Repukes don't care how many GLBTs are abused/murdered as long as they are able to keep ultimate power.

[aquart]

7. Yup. They ONLY care about power.

So take their power away from them.

[DeepModem Mom]

13. No. NYT editorials are pretty brief -- even shorter than their op-eds.

I think they were focusing primarily on a political context, and the need to avoid being led down Buchanan's path toward blaming this whole thing on gays in government -- which is tempting to the GOP as it would appeal to their base. That would be, as you say, hate speech.

[DeepModem Mom]

14. sorry -- double post

[Beetwasher]

5. VERY IMPORTANT: READ JOSH MARSHALL-NYT IS RIGHT ON!!

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/010187.php

[DeepModem Mom]

15. Thanks for this link! nt

[TahitiNut]

18. Yep. Laurence O'Donnell was very adamant that we'll be seeing ...

... a wholesale expose of/by a large number of (closeted?) gay/bi GOP staffers in Congress in the coming week or so. I smell a witch-hunt to go along with the ambushes and inquisitions. It's gonna get very, very messy ... and dirty.

[calimary]

21. So now I'm intrigued by the stuff in this link.

Marshall links to David Corn, whose item discusses what he calls "The List" - a compilation of names of House staffers who are or might be gay. Corn says he has a copy of the list and refuses to run it - for several solid reasons including that this is of people SUSPECTED of being gay - no proof positive. But he does say that it includes the names of staffers (some of them high level) to such prominent republi-CONS as mitch mcconnell, rick santorum, frist, henry hyde, katharine harris, and our dear friend mr. macaca. It opens up a concern about trying to hang this whole Foley mess on gays. Which in some quarters is already happening.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Infinite Hope]

10. MUST READ

Additions to my post about Bush performing gay acts...

***1) Be sure to share this with friends. Send it in email chains. TAKE ACTION!

***2) Someone who has the ability to create a new thread, please immediately create one about this story. Just copy and paste my previous post if necessary or write it your own way. But please create a thread specially for this. TAKE ACTION!

***3) Please email this to all political blogs you know of. If we get enough people to do that, it'll be a story. Start the chain of information and maybe we can finally get this story rolling in the blogs. TAKE ACTION!

[cynatnite]

22. What are you talking about?

Got me confused on this one.

[cynatnite]

23. dupe n/t

[Stargazer99]

8. Hetrosexuals are just as likely to sexually abuse children

and they are mostly girls abused...and we know how the Republican administration values females. Ever since King George appointed a vet (animal doctor) the head of womens' health a year or so ago, I figured that was telling as to how women are valued by conservative. As any good conservative knows abusing males is far more grevious than abusing females.

[shance]

19. Male heterosexuals are the most likely to abuse. Sexual abuse

is an act of aggression and an assault, which is perpetuated by those with overactive testosterone.

[Tansy_Gold]

24. Testosterone has little, if anything, to do with it

Other than that, your statement is correct.

Most of the people who sexually abuse children are straight men. most of their victims are girls.

[Mendocino]

9. A guy from the Family Research Council...

...named Tony Perkins already started this spin (10-3 on CNN). He stated the the Foley affair is the result of a society tolerant of homosexuality. At the time that the problems of catholic pedophilia were all over the news, I don't recall this reasoning being used for priests. I guess hypocrites like Buchanan just trot this stuff out when it is convienent.

[Stargazer99]

11. When girls are sexually abused is it because

heterosexuality is being tolerated? Of all the crap connies try to serve, but I suppose some are stupid enough to take it at face value.

[Mendocino]

17. And the Foley thing is the result of homosexuality..,

..not being tolerated. If it were people could live their sexual lives freely, instead of in the closet.

[TorchTheWitch]

26. Wrong, and you are totally missing the point

And being just as harmful by associating Foley's behavior with homosexuality. Gender preference has NOTHING to do with this kind of behavior. Foley did it because he COULD. His desire for wanting to do it is something that scientists have yet to figure out... why are primarily men (by the huge majority) sexual predators of children. Sexual predators are so prevalent because our society doesn't shame or penalize the behavior enough to encourage those perverts to not ACT on their perverted desires (we do know that no amount of therapy or medication cures them). They ACT on their desires because they are ABLE to... and able to rather easily. Until we find out the REAL cause for the behavior (which probably has to do with some medical wiring in their brains), we aren't going to be able to do much about stopping or finding any kind of anicdote for the affliction. Until then, we have to change society enough to deter them from ACTING on their desires. I'm speaking more here about pedophiles... those who desire pre-pubescent children sexually.

However, with people like Foley who seem to target their desires to those in their mid-teens, perhaps it is a societal problem of equating youth with beauty, stength and health. I don't see that it is known scientifically what it is that makes these pervs desire youths in their teens specifically, but we need to find out.

Until then, all we can really do to protect our children is to teach them about what is unacceptable behavior from adults, how to recognize it, and encourage them to speak out about it. It should not be legal in any state for a 52 year old man to have sexual relations with a minor... period. I can't believe we still have laws on the books that make it acceptable for teens as young as 14 to have sexual relations with an adult that much older than they are. Nothing wrong with a 14 year old having sex with someone from pretty much their own age group, but the PARENTAL type of difference in age is just disgusting with a person so young. The only reason I could possibly imagine for someone in their late 20's, 30's or even older to be marrying someone THAT young is to feed their sexual perversion and do it legally. Why in the world do we still have laws that allow this? What does that say about our society?

[Mendocino]

31. I don't believe I was missing the point...

...but perhaps I did not express it well. I was replying to another post and used the statement about homosexuality to make the point that intolerance is what forces some to use their position and power to covertly pursue others (the young). In a truly tolerant society, this wouldn't (or shouldn't occur). I full well understand that this type of behavior is not the result of sexual desire but one of domination, and that the most inexperienced should never have to be subject to it.

[gumby]

12. Did KKKarl write that?

Massive misdirection. It's not an 'impression' but a FACT that there are gays "in the highest levels of government."

Why is so important for the NYT to wring its hands and pretend otherwise?

Oh, eek, eek, gays in the government! Duck and cover!!

Oh, yeah, almost forgot that there is NO "disgusting behavior" in Washington. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Jack Rabbit]

16. Here's a good observation

The Republicans' fear of the political consequences of the scandal has already caused them to turn on each other with stunning speed. The finger-pointing at Speaker Dennis Hastert became a chorus. The Republicans, who have shown a remarkable degree of patience when it comes to investigating the Bush administration, are fairly racing to investigate their leadership.

[w4rma]

20. I'm not finding much depressing about this election year.

Freudian slip by the NYT?

[nealmhughes]

25. Actually, smart money is that the Republcians try to lay this one off

on Foley and Denny alone...and keep the gay stream at a minimum. If they get too rowdy, some of those closeted staffers may get a little loose lipped at happy hour on their favorite watering holes on du Pont Circle... or catching the last rays of early fall at Rehobeth...

To me it appears that Denny is being set up by the whatevers to take the main fall. He's just a fat figurehead, doesn't even photograph well enough to be a decent face man for the GOP.

I see Gingrey taking an aim at the Speaker's gavel myself...

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

27. Gay witch hunt is their clear strategy now for making lemonade out of

this lemon.

[zbdent]

28. Got a question ... how many "altar girls" had you heard of

in the 70s?

So, there are no recognized female Catholic priests, I don't recall hearing about "altar girls" ever, and I don't want to set up a situation which would recreate the situation to see if the priests would molest little girls ...

and don't forget, back then it was much more socially taboo to talk about boys getting molested (well, before that day-care scandal of the early 80s), so any boy who was molested was more likely to be called a liar not just by the priest but also by his own family ...

[Toots]

29. Straight from the head Freeper himself

They must read freeperville threads because this is exactly what they are proposing..

[theHandpuppet]

30. Hell, I've already seen some of that here on DU!!

Don't get sucked into that argument, people. This is NOT a gay issue!