Was Mark Foley Blackmailed to Secure His Vote on CAFTA?

[jhain]

Have not seen this here yet.
( Actually, have not seen much from counterpunch here lately... Why is that?)

This seems worth following:

October 16, 2006
Was Mark Foley Blackmailed to Secure His Vote on CAFTA?
Sugar Daddy Politics

http://www.counterpunch.org/

By SANHO TREE

What does Mark Foley's vote on CAFTA have to do with his no longer secret sex life? In late July of 2005, Congressman Foley suddenly reversed his position and cast the key swing vote which led to the passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

On the night of the vote, President Bush had called Foley to pressure him to change his anti-CAFTA position. The South Florida Congressman was not only under pressure from the White House, but also from the House Republican Leadership to support the bill. But Foley received huge campaign contributions from the Florida sugar lobby, which bitterly opposed CAFTA and Foley had loyally followed his benefactor's wishes in previous votes. That he would flip his position under pressure raises some serious questions.

The sugar lobby abhorred CAFTA because it would expose them to competition from Central American sugar imports. Foley, the single largest House recipient of sugar industry contributions during the 2004 election cycle, represented the third largest sugar producing district in the US. Just a month before the vote, he told the House Ways and Means Committee, "I have heard some of my colleagues say we can't turn our backs on people in Guatemala. Well, I can't turn my back on people in South Bay and Canal Point, Lewiston, and LaBelle, whose lives are closely linked to this industry. Not the big growers, not the thousand-acre plantations, but the mom and pop who have 50 acres, 100 acres in production. That is all they have."

*********snip**********

If Foley's sexcapades were even whispered in this political context that day, then this scandal could lead right in to the White House and possibly even to the Oval Office.

****snip****************

more:

http://www.counterpunch.org/


Sanho Tree is a research fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC. He can be reached at: [e-mail]

[Demeter]

1. I Wouldn't Be Surprised

Grand jury, anyone? Or maybe piss Foley off enough so he spills the beans?

[Greeby]

2. All Congressional Repukes are blackmail targets

Because they all have skeletons in the closet. The kind of skeletons that will get them indicted, voted out or primaried out

[Drifter]

3. I speculated the other day ...

that the Publican leadership blackmailed him to run for re-election (since that was also a 180 degree turn). They could not afford putting a single seat up for grabs, and used knowedge of his Child Predition against him.

If this is the case, and it comes out there will be a large number of Publicans going to jail.

Cheers
Drifter

[Cooley Hurd]

4. This lends confirmation to what I've been saying all along...

...that the House leadership (and certainly the WH knew, since DeLay was securely up Rove's bum) KNEW ALL ABOUT Foley's penchant for young boys and used it to keep him under their thumb.

ReNAMBLAcan family values at work, don't you know...

[tanyev]

5. K & R

[jhain]

6. The 'I Don't Recall' Defense

has worked well for these people.
aka- 'I only recall when it works to my advantage' defense.