I guess they are finally starting to realize how damaging this Foley scandal is, because my former allies in the right wing are penning numerous pieces ‘warning’ the Democrats not to use the Foley scandal thiselection cycle because it will hurt… the Democrats.
Seriously. Check out Dean Barnett’s ‘advice’ to Democrats:
If that was all that happened that night, it would have been plenty distasteful. But what made the Wellstone Memorial noteworthy was its raw ugliness. Republican dignitaries who attended the event to show their respect for Wellstone were booed when their images were shown on the Jumbotron. Many fevered-swamp type Democrats saw nothing wrong with this. The country recoiled from the spectacle, utterly repulsed and shocked. To many Democrats, though, the unsightliness of the Wellstone funeral apparently remains an obscure mystery.
The Democratic Party seems intent on replaying this mistake with the Foley affair. Let’s temporarily put aside the timing of the release of the Instant Messages and who-knew-what-when. Let’s just say for the moment that while the media currently hounds the Republican leadership, it’s a safe bet that it wasn’t the Republican leadership that plopped Foley’s IM’s into the lap of ABC News. If whoever was the errand boy delayed delivery to best achieve maximum political benefit, then the Democrats’ newfound status as the party of conventional morality will receive a decided blow.
But the real story here is the party’s eagerness to use victimized children as a campaign prop. The Patty Wettering campaign spot that I linked to earlier today tips the Democrats’ hand. Wettering is best known as a children’s advocate. Her own 11 year old son was kidnapped and never found. Thus, Wettering has the proverbial Cindy Sheehan cloak of putative “absolute moral authority” that the simple-minded so admire.
I thought the way certain Republicans and dignitaries werre treated at the Wellstone affair was wrong, I thought it made the Democrats look like idiots, and I still believe that.
But this ain’t the Wellstone funeral. This is the Republican Congressional leadership deciding, despite warning signs and being told repeatedly, to do nothing about one of their own, who was at best soliciting sex from pages over the internet, and at worst- well, who knows. The party that turned a blowjob into high treason knows how bad this is, and they are in damage control mode now.
So over the next few weeks we will have to hear all sorts of advice from sites like Hugh Hewitt’s in which they will be offering helpful tidbits (because they care). What you should understand is that they are scared- the more they squeal, the harder you hit. Dean Barnett may not have figured it out, but teh GOP sure has- this issue is explosive.
Why else would the GOP be trying to tie this to Democrats? Think Katherine Harris’s “What did the Democrats know” was just her thinking on her feet? Think it was a mistake that Mark Foley was labeled a Democrat several times on Fox? There is a reason Fordham, Reynolds, Shimkus, and the rest of them can’t even get their stories straight. Think it is a coincidence that despite resigning today, Fordham still dumped this on Hastert and leadership? Republcians and their spinmeisters know how bad this is- it is why they can’t get a sentence out on the topic without mentioning Barney Frank and Gerry Studds (Red State and Barnett both manage to work Ted kennedy into the equation- BOO! Scary Democrats! Kennedy! Booo!). It is why Reynolds, yesterday, in one of the most pathetic displays ever, wrapped himself in children at a day care center to have a press conference.
The Republicans are scared- and they should be. Think of every bullshit law that has been passed in the past ten years by the ‘values’ party- drug laws, terrorism bills, video game labeling, internet monitoring, porn crackdowns- virtually every right wing nutjob wishlist bill has been passed based on support from the public because it was ‘for the children.’ And with Foley, you have the Republican party, when it matters the most- protecting kids in the most basic sense, deciding to look the other way because it might get in the way of their never-ending pursuit of more and more political power. Or they were just too busy to do anything. You choose.
So yeah. They are scared. They should be. And Dean Barnett’s ‘advice’ should be read for what it is- a plea that you stop hitting Republicans over the head with the issue. Right now, only a fool would stop swinging.
Mr Furious
I never heard of Patty Wettering until I went to check out her ad. And it is good. Rahm Emmanuel should be filming versions of it for every race in the country.
Here’s my advice to Dean Barnett and any other Republicans. Fuck with Patty Wettering at your own peril. If she had a child abducted and never recovered, there are pretty good odds that it was a pedophile that did it. Yeah, I’d say that innoculates her.
Keep digging you dumb fucks.
cd6
This is getting out of hand.
I think everybody involved needs to just slip off their shorts and relax.
Pb
Not to rehash all of this, but here’s what Al Franken had to say about the Wellstone funeral. Note that he was there, and I wasn’t.
Steve
It never ceases to amaze me how the party that has played incredibly rabid partisan politics non-stop since 1992 still manages to clutch its pearls at the very thought that, oh dear, the other guys are using an issue for POLITICAL ADVANTAGE! How dare they!
There was an interesting discussion of the Wellstone funeral on Daily Kos, back in the context of the Coretta Scott King funeral. A lot of good liberals who were there or who watched it shared the opinion that yeah, it was embarassing behavior. Maybe some of it was understandable, given the emotional context – but that’s not the point.
Of course, like the Rather memos, the Wellstone funeral is another moment that the Right just keeps trying to recreate with no success. Wasn’t it something, after the King funeral, watching dozens of Republican political operatives complain about how the Democrats had “politicized a funeral”? Hello, what do you think you are doing, Republican political operatives? Trying to use the exact same funeral to score points against Democrats!
I agree with John. Yeah, it’s fine for Fox News to misidentify Foley as a Democrat, but god forbid the Democrats should actually remind people which party controls Congress and carries the blame for this one. Fuck that.
trifecta
Two years ago Hastert’s office was told. His lies about what he knew about this email, and when are made even worse.
Why did they fire this guy? They knew he could bury them. This is getting into the criminal area I think. They were basically telling him to run, taking $100,000 checks from him, and they knew all this crap. So, they didn’t know the words on his IM’s. They KNEW what he was up to, and let him molest the pages anyways. They are sicker than he is.
Geek, Esq.
Expect Hugh Hewitt to say something along these lines:
“Why would a Wookiee, an eight-foot tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of two-foot tall Ewoks? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with this case? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with this case! It does not make sense!”
On left-leaning websites, we get ‘concern trolls’ like that every once and a while.
Demdude
Well, it is of couse rich for the Republicans to tell us that we need to take the high road, since of course they would need binoculars to see what it looks like anymore. Will they try to turn it around on the Democrats? Sure they will. But I think the saying from Carville, ‘when your opponent is drowning, throw the son of bitch an anchor” is applicable.
Pb
Fixed.
Mr Furious
Beat me to it, Pb.
Paul L.
Wellstone Funeral Redux?
Richard Bottoms
These guys are drowning. Time to toss them an anvil.
Pb
Actually, it claims that he “used the internet to molest children”. Is that illegal in the legislation that he passed? Statutory Cybersex?
matt
One of the things that sucks is that this mess isn’t contained to right wing blogs. I was watching MSNBC a few hours ago, and the graphic on the screen was something like, “Could this be bad for Democrats?”
I don’t know how the rightwing gets the mainstream media to buy into their frames, but it’s pretty freaking brilliant.
Pb
Oh, and this is good too:
You see, outside the Democratic fever swamps, they don’t have dictionaries.
sglover
I hope the Dems are running lots of ads similar to Wettering’s. I hope they’re maybe beginning to understand that they cannot rely on media hacks to carry the story for them.
Hewitt’s* shilling like mad, Hastert’s ran off to Rush Limbaugh — I think this is evolving kinda sorta as I hoped. The Republicans have to do some major damage control among their own true believers. Not exactly where you want to spend your resources in the last month of the campaign, eh?
* I might be comfusing him with another right-wing tool, but if memory serves, Hewitt recently spent some quality time with Our Dear Leader, and then published what amounted to an act of printed fellatio. That’s standard for the shills, but in this piece Hewitt actually said something like, “in Bush’s presence, you feel protected — like being with a big brother”. The man needs an editor, I think!
sglover
Oops, damn…. “Hastert’s run off…”, I meant.
Steve
I see, as usual, Paul L. is swallowing whatever they feed him.
Dude, here’s a clue. When they say “this will be bad for Democrats” (and they always say it), their goal is to intimidate the Democrats, and to try and set a media narrative. But for the love of all that is holy, man, they don’t actually MEAN it!
Rudi
Mr Furious,
I seen the ad and went to her site and Google for more info. She has the resume and life experience to worry about children. The Wingnuts are attacking the ad as political and worse, yet Hannity and Hugh Hewitt fail to mention this woman lost her son to a predator. She doesn’t whine for our sympathy, while Limpbaugh and the ilk will attack this woman. This is like using Pat Tillman for a recruiting poster and lying to his family – the Party of Values LOL.
Richard Bottoms
Who cares?
Drowning. Water. Anvil.
Rudi
Paul L This woman lost her son, Hugh Hewitt has lost his soul to a Republican’s desire to maitain. Who is immoral hacl/politician? Faust meet Hasert and Hewitt.
Pb
Richard Bottoms,
I don’t–I ask for entertainment purposes only.
Much entertainment there too, watching the GOP self-destruct. :)
Steve
“Absolute moral authority” is the new “political correctness.”
You know the rules, if you want to make a racist joke, all you have to say is “this might not be politically correct, but…”
And if you want to smear someone like Cindy Sheehan or Patty Wetterling (let’s say, by accusing her of using her kidnapped child as a campaign prop), all you have to do is say that the other side is trying to claim “absolute moral authority.” Then you can be as nasty as you want!
It’s like Ann Coulter, whining about how unfair it is that no one is allowed to attack the 9/11 widows, right before attacking them. Gosh, apparently it’s allowed.
Perry Como
They need to expand that. “Could a Republican Congressman trying to diddle 16 year olds be bad for Democrats?”
When put that way it is easy to see how fucking stupid the question is.
Pb
Well it’s better than the Fox graphic that outright lied about Mark Foley’s *political party* — it don’t get more blatant than that.
Tsulagi
Yep.
You can think of some really nasty/funny political ads you could make using this on everything from family values to national security. For national security, the camera could show the back of a guy facing a monitor with IM text on it busy doing what he’s doing. The voice over could say “While our sons and daughters are over there in harm’s way, shouldn’t we expect more oversight from those that sent them there?”
Holding up a vote on an Afghan supplemental so he could IM a boy and play with himself is just unbelievable. I would so be using that while happily letting the Deans whine about the Wellstone funeral or any other slight in the past. Let the voters decide which matters today.
Geek, Esq.
The chuckleheads at Redstate have decided to include Roy Blunt in the circular firing squad:
http://www.redstate.com/stories/elections/2006/the_foley_matter_building_a_case_against_roy_blunt
Hell, they’re throwing each other anchors.
BARRASSO
Now that I know Foley was a Dem, this is starting to make more sense, that is why the Dem speaker Hastert covered this up, It’s Chappaquidick all over again.
ThymeZone
The main pressure I see right now is coming from Republicans and conservatives.
What the hell is this guy talking about?
ThymeZone
Well, since it’s the question I was asking a couple days ago, I prefer to think of it as a “due diligence” question.
By the way, crow is quite good in a smoothie.
Perry Como
Heh.
HH
“Think it was a mistake that Mark Foley was labeled a Democrat several times on Fox?”
Er, yes.
Richard 23
Well I’m more than happy to cheer them on. Jump that shark!
Davebo
Look guys, obviously the error with Fox and the AP’s labeling of Foley as a democrat was a mistake.
Sort of like that guy who accidently fell on a broken beer bottle.
32 times.
HH
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JohnMcCaslin/2001/09/05/not_hoovers_fbi
“During one recent open-phones segment, a caller from Big Sandy, Texas, asked the C-SPAN moderator: ‘I’m confused, what party does Gary Condit belong to?’ Moderator (two- to three-second pause, stammering): ‘Gary Condit is, is, what?’ Caller: ‘Is he, what party does he belong to?’ Moderator: ‘Gary Condit is a Republican, isn’t he?’ Caller: ‘You see, that’s what I thought. No ma’am, he is not. He is a Democrat.’ Moderator: ‘Ah, I’m sorry. My mistake.’ (Noise on the telephone line) Moderator: ‘You had something else to say, sir?’ Caller (faintly): ‘I nailed her.'”
Obviously an evil left-wing plot and not a mistake right?
far north
HH,
Er,yes? Why, because FOX always is “fair and balanced”. And were making progress in Iraq.
Richard 23
HH Decides!
Matt
There was a post on Americablog, linking to a NYT story where a ABC correspondent is quoted as stating that their sources were actually Republicans, which blows a pretty big hole in this crap:
Personally, I suspect the source is someone in the GOP who got fed up with their party’s refusal to actually deal with Foley.
far north
FOX made and honest mistake in descibing Foley as a dem
There are WMDs in Iraq
Iraq has reconstituted Nucs
Saddam has ties to Al Qeada
The world supports our invasion of Iraq
Clinton killed Vince Foster
Every one of those was reported by FOX.
HH, still wanna argue that “made an honest mistake”?
Otto Man
If it were an honest mistake, they would’ve replaced “Mark Foley (D-FL)” with “Mark Foley (R-FL).” Simple as that. Instead, once they realized they couldn’t call him a Democrat, they just stopped identifying him at all. And then they kept it up.
If you think that’s a series of honest mistakes, you likely have issues with logic and reason.
Which, of course, would make you an ideal Fox News watcher.
Andrew
You’d get more intelligent political discussion with a bunch of developmentally disabled deaf mute 4 year olds than you can find over at RedState.
Dear Lord in Heaven, they are a bunch of fucking idiots.
jdw
Dean Barnett can take his advise and shove it straight up his a$$. I don’t listen to what republican hacks and their group of clowns have to say. Democrats aren’t hurting republicans, republicans are doing that by themselves.
Mr. Moderate
I was listening to Michael Reagan on the topic tonight. He had a caller that said it was all the left wing’s fault and they sprung it at just the right time. Reagan basically gave that guy the smack down. He rightfully pointed it out that sitting on it for several years is nothing but the GOP leadership’s fault and they should pay dearly for it. He believes that anyone, Democrat or Republican, that knew about it and protected Foley should step down immediately. Lastly, with respect to the Democrats using this for political gains, he pointed out that if the shoe was on the other foot the GOP would be doing it in a heart beat.
jaime
Yes, but their use of the term “Blam” is endearing.
chopper
“I took over from the previous electorate when he very sadly accidentally brutally cut his head off while combing his hair”
Krista
Well, yes. Democrats should absolutely listen to the advice of Republicans. I mean, it’s a Known Fact(tm) that they only have the Dems’ best interests in mind, right?
For chrissakes, that’d like Coke letting Pepsi tell them how to do things.
Good rule of thumb: If your opponent tells you that doing a certain thing will hurt you, they mean it will hurt them, and you should proceed with great vigour.
jaime
Apparently Leaping Lanny Davis is spouting off now, too.
Proud Liberal
TZ glad you are enjoying your crow and smoothie. May I allow myself one big, “I fuckin told you so”? sorry… just had to. Damn that felt good. But TZ I am still quite impressed that you are old enough to have shaken the hand of Eleanor Roosevelt but not yet wearing Depends. I am assuming the latter of course.
Proud Liberal
oh… and Cole, you are on fire. Great post. Insomnia seems to fire up your juices.
Demdude
This is hypnotic. Kirk Fordham is fighting back:
Here.
Circular firing squad. Fire….
CaseyL
The Party of Profligacy and Pain is now also the Party of Pederasty.
It’s really kind of amazing. It’s like, when the GOP was recruiting candidates throughout the 90s, they deliberately picked the most corrupt, craziest, nastiest sick fucks they could find.
GOP = Pandemonicon.
Pb
As if you couldn’t tell from their campaigning, their policies, and their actions from then until now…
KC
Actually, I’ve been shocked that the Dems haven’t been hitting harder. I mean a whole lot of ’em, the Republican Leadership on to Focus on the Family, have been exposed for what they are, authoritarian, power hungry, phonies.
ThymeZone
Depends? I’m cheap, I get the store brand.
CaseyL
Oh, believe me, I paid attention to that, and despised them for it.
I’m still amazed at the width and breadth and depth of their corruption.
caroline
Look what’s coming down the pike according to Josh Marshall:
KC
Caroline,
That may indeed be what’s coming down the pike, but here’s what Bob Novak is reporting according to Political Wire:
caroline
David Corn talks about a list that’s circulating around DC listing the “gay cabal”. Apparently, (if the list is true) people like Santorum have gay staffers. (horror of horrors/snark)! I guess nothing these people do should shock me but this seems even beneath the Republican leadership. Anyhow, here’s the link for anybody who cares to read it:
http://www.davidcorn.com/archives/2006/10/the_list_of_gay.php
caroline
KC
It looks like they are all throwing mud at each other. Your post looks like Hastert trying to blame Reynolds for this mess, which I’m sure Reynolds is to blame along with Hastert.
ThymeZone
What a circus. They are turning on each other now, which, for a party that engineered itself power by turning on other Americans, is not that surprising.
But it is fun to watch, I must say.
KC
Caroline,
Bottom line is it’s all a stupid, ugly, disgrace. Everyday I get home from work and read more about these guys and their exploits, is a day that I’m happier that I switched parties and became a Dem. I want all these idiots out. I just hope the rest of the country feels like me.
Demdude
Oh God, can you imagine what the wingnuts will do with this?
caroline
KC,
Agreed. I’m glad I left too. I tried to stay and fight for a little while but it was like banging my head against the wall.
capelza
*snicker*
Okay, I take a solemn vow that if the Dems get any power back I won’t cut them any slack when they screw up..but….
*snicker*
Matt
I love the ridiculous indirect reference on Instapundit to that Corn article. Glenn Reynolds is such a useless dickbag these days.
Steve
It’s hard to imagine they would actually try this, but I hope they do. What better way to show the world their utter depravity.
People get this scandal. There is no room for spin, or nuance, or carefully constructed talking points. And the fact that they even try to wriggle out of it in the first place – instead of owning up, taking responsibility, and moving on – accomplishes nothing for them except showing the world their true priorities. Power at any cost.
DougJ
I’m probably the only person here cynical to believe this, but the real scandal to me is that they’re such morons that they can’t get their stories straight.
demimondian
You know what? The MSM is already saying that if Hastert had just owned up and moved on, it might well have been all OK. Instead, the bluster had made a complete hash of their story. There are already enough lies out there that nothing Hastert or Reynolds (or Hastert’s CoS) say is being believed.
This has stopped being funny. It’s just painful.
Now, if it will only continue until Nov. 7…
Zifnab
I’m probably the only person here conspiracy-theoretical enough to believe this, but the real scandal is that George Bush is about eight seconds from declaring War on Iran and the better part of the country is more interested in gay sex.
We’ll be cutting and running from Afganastan, pulling troops out of Bagdad, and driving tanks top speed into Iran just in time for Mid-Term elections and no one will lift a finger to stop it because that would distract from where Mark Foley’s wiener was in the past 5 years.
J. Michael Neal
I’m probably the only person here cynical to believe this, but the real scandal to me is that they’re such morons that they can’t get their stories straight.
That’s not the real scandal, but it is the most surprising part.
Jess
Yeah, I know what you mean…I’ve often been accused of being cynical, but ya know I’m always further amazed. Although I’m way past outrage and well into hysterical giggling fits at this point.
Steve
Well, it’s not like Bush could actually declare war on Iran, he’d have to ask Congress for permission first. Oh, wait.
Keith
John,
That is one of the most eloquent and effective posts you have ever made.
The Other Steve
I’m from Minnesota, so I apparently need to correct some facts here.
I didn’t attend or watch the memorial, as I guess I didn’t care. But let me tell you something, the Republicans I knew did… they were somehow encouraged to. So let me explain…
The Wellstone campaign of 2002 was very bitter. A bit down the road from me the Republicans put up signs calling Wellstone everything from a Communist to a Pedophile. It was pathetic. So it was not surprising to see people who supported Wellstone being angry.
You have to understand that his supporters by and large loved him. It was as if Martin Luther King, Jr. had died. Wellstone was a smart Senator. He cared about people, and he worked his butt off to do what he could for them. Whether it be farmers, miners, veterans. People he had no connection with, he could talk to and try to understand.
He stood up on the floor in 2002 and spoke against the Iraq war resolution, calling the whole thing a mistake, voted against it…. and he was going up in the polls as a result.
The Republicans hated him, because he had character and wasn’t corrupt.
I never really agreed with Wellstone on a lot of things, but I had a great deal of respect for him, as did most of the people in our state. You cannot say the same for Norm “Mayor Quimby” Coleman, who lost to Ventura in the governor race. If you want an understanding of what Coleman is like… meet his father, and ask where his wife lives.
The day Wellstone plane crashed, the Republicans were out on their internet blogs and chat sites yipping and yelling, praising the lord the Commie was dead… and they had a plan. I assume it came from the Carnahan death in 2000, but their plan was to immediately start accusing the Democrats of trying to take advantage of Wellstone’s death.
They were using terms like bloody shroud and so on, it was really quite pathetic.
The mistake the Democrats made was having that damn memorial before the election. I don’t know what they were thinking, but they played right into the hands of the Republicans.
I’ve been told by some who were there, that within the crowd were Young Republicans, and it was they who started the booing when Trent Lott entered. I can’t confirm that, but it would not surprise me given the way they were prepared to politicize the event.
Anyway, as far as the tone goes. Here’s a memorial which is for Wellstone supporters, and someone expected it to be calm? If you’ve heard Wellstone speak, he was no different. He was a fireball, which was why his supporters loved him.
You’ll note how fast the Republicans were with bringing out their talking points. Within minutes they had declared the memorial was disgraceful and were passing out talking points.
That was the theme, and they pounded it into the ground.
As I said, the Democrats made a stupid fucking mistake holding that prior to the election. They should have known that the thing would be turned into a political tool by the GOP. Fucking morons.
But what is most pathetic is that Dean Bartlett didn’t know Paul Wellstone, did not even have any respect for Paul Wellstone. Yet he thinks he has a right to judge the people who knew and loved Paul Wellstone for the way they behaved at a memorial in his name?
That I find simply incredible.
Pb
Steve,
When it comes right down to it, they don’t think they need permission for anything, they’ll just do it anyhow. And if it turns out that maybe they did need permission first, or should have asked first, they’ll just (ir)rationalize it away. Take Cheney, for example (please!):
The Other Steve
Krista pretty much nails it.
Dean’s advice to the Democrats is designed to weaken the party, not strengthen it. He’s claiming that he is disgusted by the Democrats and it’s because they are criticizing a Republican pedophile he supported.
Well that kind of makes you wonder.
Why isn’t Dean Bartlett criticizing the Republican pedophile and the leadership that knew about it and allowed him to remain in the Congress?
The Other Steve
Sorry… Bartlett, Barnett. same difference.
Kimmitt
1) Never listen to advice from a man who hates you.
2) If you think this: “Er, yes.” it is because you are stupid.
Darrell
The truly pathetic thing, is that so many on the left actually believe this kind of thing. It’s not just stupidity, it’s a type of mental illness. More here
Pb
You know, if that statement came from anybody but you, I might consider that point. But since it didn’t, I instead find it totally hilarious and not remotely believable.
scarshapedstar
Yeah. Kinda like the way that the unsightliness of Bush giving Cheney a reach-around at that one presser back in July never seems to register with your average Republican.
Wait, sorry. That’s probably because, rather like the Republican fantasy of thunderous boos directed at Trent Lott during Wellstone’s funeral, that never actually happened.
Richard 23
Tom McGuire at Just One Minute is trying to pretend that he read David Corn as having a McCarthy like list that he (or some lefty blogger) is planning to use to out gay Republicans.
Reading comprehension problems maybe?
Steve
Dunno. From the McCarthy reference, perhaps it was meant as a compliment.
Richard 23
From The Hill: Longtime Republican was source of e-mails
There’s more. Check it out.
Perry Como
Has a snack box of stupid that he is munching on.
Tortoise
Aide-turned-whistleblower: Fordham perhaps?
HH
Silly me, I forgot mistakes never happen when you’re involved in vilification.
John S.
Well, SURE they do.
Like when Sean Hannity mistakenly said Monica Lewinsky was 19 while working at the White House while he was trying to villify Clinton.
demimondian
Yeah, it really was shocking to me when they found the connection between Hillary’s removing Vince’s tin-foil hat and the black helicopters mind rays making him kill himself.
neil
The Democrats don’t even need to politicize this — they just need to sit back and watch the flames. Attempting to fan them could appear crass.
I’m not quite tapped into the zeitgeist right now but it does not appear that Dems are getting too far out in front of this one, as well they shouldn’t. The most politically effective thing is to illuminate the contrast: As Republicans try to reap _political benefit_ from the revelation that they shield gay harassers of children, Democrats merely need to give the impression that they care about the fact that there’s something deeply wrong with the system. The Republicans will do a good enough job of showing that their idea of fixing the problem is re-burying it.
Mr Furious
What the hell do you know about Paul Wellstone, shithead? You got anything to back that up. I mean, seriously, ANYTHING? At this point I’d even entertain a Powerline link, because I don’t think you have anything at all to base that on.
You’re goddamn right I believe Wellstone had character, and I never heard anything even hinting at corruption about him.
Faux News
Xenu is protecting Foley! This is what the R’s get for f*cking with Scientology!
Ryan S.
Don’t know if this has been answered, but it varies from state to state. In Florida which has very strict laws on the subject, it is illegal to describe performing a sex act with a minor( someone under 18) online, on the phone, or otherwise.
In Washington DC however the law is quite different. To begin with the legal age for males is 16.
chopper
i don’t think the kid was in DC when all this happened.
note also, there’s a federal law on the books (which foley sponsored IIRC) that mirrors the florida law saying 18.
Paul L.
mo‧lest /məˈlɛst/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[muh-lest] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object)
1. to bother, interfere with, or annoy.
2. to make indecent sexual advances to.
3. to assault sexually.
So you are saying that if a gay person makes a pass at me which I view as indecent, I can say He tried to molest me.
Pb
Paul L.,
You’re learning! It doesn’t have to be a gay person, either. Maybe we should have a ‘word of the day’ around here.
Paul L.
I think you misunderstand my point.
What if I am a major homophobe and I view any gay behavior as indecent?
i.e.
“Hello you like to come home with me.”
Is this video of a molestation. According to your definition it is.
Confronting Fred Phelps Jr
Steve
“No me molesta,” my Spanish teacher always used to say to me. I was a real pest in class.
Pb
Paul L.,
Well the question is, who gets to decide what an “indecent sexual advance” is–one man’s flattering proposition is another man’s indecent sexual advance, I suppose. On the other hand, you could probably make a better case for definition 1–“to bother, interfere with, or annoy.”
Pb
Heh.
Ann Coulter? Michelle Malkin? Could you narrow that down a bit? :)
Actually I did see that video clip, and it was pretty funny, although both the woman and the anchor looked pretty stupid at times.
The Other Steve
Another example of why Republicans can’t be trusted about anything.
The pathetic thing about the Wellstone memorial was how the Republicans tried to use it politically. It wasn’t the Democrats, it was quite clearly the Republicans.
See, that’s the thing. I never liked Wellstone. I hardly ever agreed with his opinions. I didn’t vote for him in 1990 as I was living in Iowa at the time. I can’t remember if I voted for him in 1996 when I moved to Minnesota. Chances are I did, but I don’t remember.
It was not until 2002 when he became known to me, and I decided I was definately going to vote for him based upon his opposition to the Bankruptcy bill(otherwise known as Stupid Creditors Protection Act) and the Iraq war resolution.
Regardless, it was obvious to anybody who was paying attention and didn’t have their head shoved up a partisan ass, that it was the Republicans who turned Wellstones death into a partisan opportunity. They were the ones who tried to use the grief of those who had lost friends and loved ones into something political.
As I said. I didn’t watch it. Me, a bystander who didn’t care. I didn’t watch it.
So why did Republicans? Why did highly partisan Republicans who HATED Wellstone watch it, or even attend?
Simple: Because they wanted to claim those stricken by grief were angry haters.
See that was the other theme that the Republicans were running about Wellstone. I mentioned the Communist ads and signs. But I forgot to mention the signs claiming Wellstone was a Hater. I can’t remember the specific language now, but it was basically that Wellstone doesn’t get along with the Republicans.
Again, I simply point out that this Wellstone memorial theme is why I will never vote for Republicans again. Anybody who tries to use the grief of those who lost a loved one against them, has no decency and in my book is an animal rather than a human being.
Krista
You’d think they’d use the word “unwanted” instead, as “unwanted sexual advances” sound a lot more like molestation than “indecent” sexual advances, which may actually be consensual in nature.
The Other Steve
And I’m sure bleating Darrell is going to come along and say no way, it’s a Known Fact(tm) that it was the Democrats who abused Wellstone.
But that seems to only further prove my point. If the Republicans weren’t using the Wellstone memorial politically… They wouldn’t keep talking about it.
Steve
Exact same thing with the King funeral, TOS. Within hours, dozens of Republican strategists were going on TV to try and score political points by talking about how awful the Democrats were for using a funeral to try and score political points.
John S.
That’s a rhetorical question, right?
RSA
Eventually it will become tiresome to hear moral absolutists try to identify gray areas between molestation and friendly advances, between interrogation and torture, between being conservative and being in a persistent vegetative state. . .but not quite yet.
Pb
Krista,
Well if it wasn’t an unwanted sexual advance, then it wouldn’t be offensive, which is one way to interpret ‘indecent’. But yes, they could have clarified a bit.
Incidentally, back in 1913, the first definition was the only one for molest in Webster’s:
Darrell
At Wellstone’s funeral, Republican senators were booed. No class. Can you imagine if Republicans booed and harassed Reagan’s Democrat political opponents at Reagan’s funeral? But they didn’t, did they? Then at King’s funeral, Dems took the focus off honoring her, and used it to lambast Bush who was in attendance. That those like Steve defend this type of leftist bottom feeder tendencies says it all about who they are.
Any equivalent examples from Repubs acting in such a classless way at public funerals? I haven’t seen it.
One more time:
You libs are like something out of a cartoon
Darrell
They talk about it, because it was a primetime example of classless Democrat behavior. Dems lost a Senate seat over that spectacle.. keep on with your Young Republican conspiracy theories though, it’s showing how unhinged so many of you truly are.
Darrell
I’m looking forward to hearing more about who knew what, so that we have a better idea as to how clear or fuzzy those “warning” signs were.
The Other Steve
Generally if you had class the first thing out of your mouth would not be “Thank God the commie bastard is dead” upon hearing of the plane crash. But that’s what the Republicans said.
You aren’t from Minnesota Darrell, so you don’t really know what happened, or any of the context. All you are doing is reporting spin told to you by Rush Limbaugh.
As I said, I never really even liked Wellstone, but the way you guys tried to use his death politically just shows to me how fucking pathetic you are in your desire to win elections.
The Other Steve
Sticking your head in the sand on that one, eh?
Darrell
From your link:
What’s hilarious TOSser, is that you’re too stupid to realize what a dumbass you truly are.
The Other Steve
LOL!
And Darrell claims Republicans can’t pretend to be Democrats.