Why did the Foley story break now?

[salin]

at TPM they have a good time-line - but nothing to explain how ABC came to break the story and why now?

It appears that at least one Fla newspaper had the story and sat on it. It also appears that a whole lot of GOP folks knew about the story - though not necessarily the extent of the problem and that the extent of the problem was documented.

Is it possible that someone with ties to the House GOP leaked it to ABC (or at least pointed ABC toward the page, who had already once spoken with media in Florida?) - thinking that it was a minimal story ('inappropriate - overly friendly - but not indecent... and not likely to turn out as it has) - in order to knock off the press coverage of the charges made in Woodward's latest book?

The GOP in congress are already trying to runaway from the Pres on many fronts - but are also trying to run with the president on reclaiming the "terror" edge in the elections. Suddenly between the NIE intel stories of last week, and the claims in the Woodward book - that one 'edge' the GOP has (or thinks it has) could evaporate. But what if instead a member was pushed into a Condit style spotlight (in terms of 24x7 coverage) in order to distract the press in an attempt to save more GOP seats than would be lost with the Foley story...

I think this leak was intentional - and I think it was from the GOP - and I don't think that they had done their work well, and I doubt they realized how badly this would play out, even though the goal of obfuscating the bigger public image of the GOP's poor record on National Security may still be met.

If my suspicion is correct (that this was leaked by someone on the GOP side) - I think it is still too early to speculate the net negative vs positive (in terms of trying to salvage the public image of the GOP as "strong on Terror!" so that they can play that card to the elections.)

I haven't read how the story came to ABC. Just speculating.

[Beelzebud]

1. It's October. SUPRISE!

Karl Rove isn't the only person in the country that knows how to play hardball.

[file83]

20. The Foley story is PERFECT for Rove's style because

the Left will jump all over it (taking their eyes off the ball)
the Right can spin it (because of the "gray legal area" of Foley's indiscretions)

And being that it is a containable situation, it will get "resolved" the week before the election - all the voters that were sitting on the fence will feel all warm and fuzzy about the Republicans again because the Liberals were so concerned with a Sex Scandal and NOT THE WAR ON TERROR.

Surprise.

[Imagevision]

31. Kiddin? even Rove is still out on Foley follie...

[RestoreGore]

2. It may be a deliberate diversion

It gives them leeway now to plan their next war and torture suspects, while they keep Democrats diverted on a "sex" scandal. Yes, this guy makes me want to puke, but really, can we not get so embroiled in this now that we forget what they are doing otherwise? And wow, possibly winning a seat because of this will be so rewarding huh? I long for the days when Democrats actually won something because they had issues and people voted FOR them, not because they got it by default. Oh well...

[file83]

25. Yup, it's a red herring.

[seabeyond]

3. i think other pages started leaking to abc from what i understand

they were tired of foley hittin on them

and this does not distract from other stories relieving the pressure off the gop. this is way worse for them than torture or abramoff. the repugs justify all that and excuse it. they wont be hurt by that. gay sex with a 16 year old is an affront to the republican and bothers them way worse than any other story, as sad as all that is. it is simple for people to understnad. the other stories are too complicated and they just let it go

not a rove plot

[malaise]

6. Agreed

I don't think this was expected to come out. The way the Rethugs are confused, changing their stories and spinning all over the place suggests that they were caught off-guard. I believe this knocked them in the gut big time. I'm loving it.

[seabeyond]

9. exactly n/t

[salin]

7. I don't think Rove (I doubt Rove knew)

I do think someone on the Hill. The other page stories didn't get to ABC until the orig. story broke. Again - the florida paper had the story for a year... and sat on it. Why now? I think it was pushed by someone on the Hill - and I think that it is very possible that they had no clue how bad the story really was.

[seabeyond]

12. i really am waiting to see what comes out. i recently heard about

reporter in florida, and am curious about al this. also just hear hastert admitted to knowing, after denying. never get the story first time up, gotta way for the peeling of the onion

[salin]

13. sorta like watching a train wreck.

while I think it is very possible someone on the GOP side let this slip... I think it wasn't orchestrated - and that the House Leadership was blind-sided.

[seabeyond]

15. i think so too n/t

[Syncronaut Seven]

23. I think rove knows everything, I think he's

J. Edgar Hoover, with computers.

I think their penchant for sexual predation is the only thing shocking enough any more to command loyalty and obedience.

I think we have a real problem.

[seabeyond]

28. i agree. i wouldnt be surprised if rove knew. seems all repugs knew

i would be surprised if it was a rove leak

[RestoreGore]

8. This is worse than being able to torture you?

Worse than taking away your right to habeus corpus? This is just another "scandal" some will use to win votes, and actually, consideirng that minors were involved in it, that "political" aspect of it is truly what makes me sick.

[seabeyond]

11. i am not saying this is worse than the other stories. repugs

will think this is worse than the other stories. let me tell you, tlaking to a macho fox republican the other night on the torture bill. he was all for it. then i say to him, so raping children to get information from adults is ok with you. his nonchalance and acceptance of torture pissing me off, i got as crude as possible. that shut him up. that had him suckin in breath. he was appalled. no way he said. yes i say. how fun waterboarding sounds, but what about raping children and sticking light bulb up mens ass.

repugs only get the shallowest of the story from fox so they can validate what their party is doing. they truly are UNINFORMED. we wonder how they can allow, i think it is because the really dont know

as far as this story. i dont see pedophile as others on this board. doesnt look like a law is broken. the man is sick 16 on 54. and working for the man. that alone should take him out. but what is REALLY bad politically for the party is the coverup. protecting the republican pages and leaving the democratic pages in the dark. that is a huge wrong.

that has to be addressed

[file83]

17. Yup - in America, it's always the SEX stories that resonate with

the public. That is a given.

So it begs the question, did they (Republicans in power) deliberately sacrifice one of their "pawns" Foley to distract the public away from the topics of:

State sponsored torture
Elimination of habeus corpus
Iraq
the NIE leak
etc...

Makes one wonder.

[thecrow]

40. I'm not wondering.... I'm sure of it

[kerry-is-my-prez]

35. sadly- to the average Merkin a sex scandal is more important

they don't even know what habeus corpus is.

[salin]

39. that is so tragic

:-(

[kerry-is-my-prez]

33. yep - think you got it. The pages were tired of the hypocrisy.

If I were one of them and saw this tool go around acting like he was "holier than thou" I woulda leaked it for sure.

[Raine]

64. I agree completely

the public is split on other issues but no one is going to defend this kind of thing. This is the issue that can bring down the repigs as nothing else can.

[rosesaylavee]

4. I think it was one of the page's or their family that broke it.

And it wouldn't surprise me if they were now voting DEM as a family this fall.

[hedda_foil]

5. The most logical assumption ...

The most logical assumption is that the Dems got the information and had it leaked (probably indirectly) to ABC. That's just speculation, but the House GOP is so unlikely to have leaked information that leads directly back to them that it's a fairly ludicrous premise. There was a lot in someone's back pocket that led directly to R leadership within hours. The press doesn't investigate this kind of thing (leadership involvement) and certainly not that early or that fast. It was given to them for a political purpose related to the election, which is only a few weeks away.

[salin]

10. unless they thought a) the story was generally innocuous

(e.g., they bought the "mentor" line); and b) they were growing fearful that their chances of retaining seats via the "only we are strong on national security" was evaporating unless something completely distracted the public; and c) that it would be viewed as a single person problem (eg the congressman) with no blow back to others and d) the seat was a safe GOP seat even if Foley was replaced.

I also think that if this happened - it was a desperation move, and a very stupid one.

[leeroysphitz]

34. Occam. nt

[Armstead]

14. I doubt it came from Rove -- It's the last thing they need now

It's possible that some Republican with a conscience leaked it, more out of disgust with his or her own party than some grand GOP plan.
The last thing the GOP needs is a scancdal like this, which calls the morality of their own leadership into question.

The GOP sees the key to this election as getting out their base, and pumping National Security issues.

Remember the similar scandal in the Catholic Church a few years ago? If enough of the GOP base gets disgusted by this and stays home, then the GOP loses that part of their edge.

That's why I doubt it came from anyone connected to Rove and his campaign machine.

[salin]

21. I don't think Rove

(he would have known to look to see that there was more or not before doing it). I also don't think it was orchestrated.

I doubt a repub with a conscience because a) it would have gotten out earlier (again the question is why *now*) and b) even those few with a conscience left, have pretty much compromised their conscience for so long in fealty to the Leadership of the party (aka as fear of not winning reelection) that they wouldn't act on it any more than the Rep from LA did - in terms of passing on the information to someone else who *maybe* would do something.

I think it was a desperate move by someone wanting a quick distraction in order to salvage the one potential winning 'storyline' for the elections. And that person had no clue how bad the story was in terms of other documentation from other pages which were more explicit, and in terms of blowback on the House Leadership.

I think it is possible to think that Foley might survive (if the story was only as bad as the first emails showed - it could be explained away), and that if he didn't the seat would stay GOP - but that the bigger story line would be able to keep being sold for the election.

They have been building their story line for months. Despite some squabbles they got their storyline legislation and requisite votes in order to quickly create election ads ala Clelland and the HLS vote in 2002. They got their 'game' back per a theme that they thought was starting to even some races out again... and then the NIE stories that undercut the idea that we are "safer" due to GOP leadership... and then the Woodward book that paints the Bush admin horribly on the issue of security and strengthens the millstone around the neck of effect of Bush. This could depress votes in tons of races. If whoever presumed that the Foley story wasn't so bad and would result in minimal damage... while preserving the one issue the GOP seems to think they have to win the elections... (see where I am going?)

Color me very cynical these days.

[Armstead]

37. You? Cynical? No,no,no,never do that.

Serously, your general optimism about things has always been a bright spot on DU.

But I don't necessarily disagree with your premise. That some GOP flunky thought it could be swept away quickly.

Whether it does get swept away or not depends a lot on the Democrats and the media at this point. This goes far beyond one Congressman's behavior. It cuts to the core of what the GOP claims to stand for, and has sold itself as.

What should be the real impact is that all those "family values" conservatives get alienated from the GOP leadership because they finally see through the false veneer of the leadership of their leadership.I would suspect there are other Foleys -- or variations of his hypocracy -- in power who just haven;t gotten caught yet.

If enough of them recognize that, perhaps it will break the spell they are under. And maybe they'll be stop associating the GOP and conservatism with "values." Hopefully, enough will start to recognize that such "values" are personal rather than political matters in the liberal/conservative sense on other issues that are important.

[salin]

41. I don't know that it cuts away at their image. It is a "bad apple" story.

Easy enough to toss out the bad apple. As per the problem with the leadership doing nothing about it (and leaving him in charge of the committee dealing with exploited children - and leaving him in proximity of current pages) - can be written off as ignorance by the leadership - that all they saw were some fairly innocuous emails.

The country has gotten used to buying the GOP 'pro family' rhetoric even with hypocracies. They still listen to an illegal drug user. They still vote for known philanderers. Because at least they spout the pious lines that part of the public wants to hear. They don't mind the profiteering. They don't mind the legalization of usury. They turn an intentional blind eye to "Pay to Play" politics and the use of taxpayer dollars as political slush funds via earmarks and nobid contracts. I don't claim to understand it - but to keep following the GOP has required a huge tolerance for accepting dissonance between personal behavior and political pandering rhetoric.

Newt ushered in the era of Perception Politics - and here we sit. Until the public is savvy enough not just to 'see' that the 'party of values' isn't - but that it has been played by a manipulative game of 'perception politics' where there has long been NO VALUE of many GOPers speeches - as there is no relation between truth/honesty and 'speeches meant to shape opinions' - in the sense that we can keep legislating in the exact opposite way, as long as we sell you an image and you keep buying the image, and you keep accepting the image as truth rather than the reality of our actions as truth. Until the public understands the concept of "Perception Management" or "Perception Politics" - and the cynical way it is used. I don't think we will see the type of waking up for which we are pining.

I don't think this story is big enough for that.

I do think the stories being pushed out due to this story did have that exact power. Pulling the scales off - to starting to understand how the war was sold. To understand the reality of the policies are reality and trecherous - and the message machine being used (ala perception politics) is cynical, manipulative, and a real danger to our system of government and our way of life.

[Armstead]

43. Perception Politics started with Reagan and Nixon

Bush and the current GOP are just exagerated cartoon versions of it. The logical extension of the Big Lie technique come to fruition.

The problem, IMO, is that the Democrats failed to counterattack with Perception Politics Based on the Truth.

I think that's one reason for the willingness by so many grass-roots conservatives to overlook so many things. The one-sided messages peopel have been getting from both parties for the last 30 years has beaten down the willingness of people to look honestly at the realities behind the perceptions. People lose their ability to seperate fact from fiction when messsages like "Lowering your wages and closing your factories is good for imporving your standard of living" are beaten into their heads relentlessly by the Media and the GOP and the Corporate Elite with no counter-argument.

But IMO, the GOP form of Perception Paolitics has finally become so disconnected from reality that it has created an opening for Democrats/liberals/progressives to start successfully countering it with The Truth.

Foley connects to the Big Picture in that way, and should add to the drip,drip,drip that could lead to a more honest form of politics and public debate and values again.

....Maybe. At least tbat's what we ought to be aiming for.

[salin]

44. I would think that the Reynolds part of the story (taking $ from Foley

*after knowing* about the emails) - just might be enough of a jolt to the senses to knock some out of the daze.

[Armstead]

46. Drip,drip,drip

Let's hope so.

[salin]

42. I take what I just wrote all back b/c of this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2275680&mesg_id=2275680

Reynolds takes 100K from Foley's pac after he learns of the emails in July.

That does it. That is big enough to break the cognitive dissonance. The head of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee takes money to help repubs get reelected and elected from Foley - after getting info about Foley that could potentially end Foley's career - and doing nothing about it.

BOOM!

[Imagevision]

30. Not Rove's style, he's more, "Iraq making us less safer" leak - Bingo!

[maddezmom]

16. CREW?: CREW REQUESTS AN ETHICS COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION INTO REP. FOLEY

CREW REQUESTS AN ETHICS COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION INTO REP. FOLEY
Letter Sent Today in Light of E-Mail Exchange Between Foley and 16-year-old Former House Page
Washington, DC – Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sent a letter today to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, better known as the ethics committee, asking for an investigation into Rep. Mark Foley’s (R-FL) emails to a 16-year-old former House page.

Yesterday, ABC News reported that, using a personal email account, Rep. Foley sent a number of emails to a former page. The emails asked the page his age, how school was and what he wanted for his birthday. Rep. Foley also requested the boy’s photograph.

In 1983, the House censured two members of Congress, Reps. Dan Crane (R-IL) and Gerry Studds (D-MA) for having sexual relationships with pages. In 1990, the ethics committee publicly disapproved of the conduct of Rep. Gus Savage (D-IL), who had made sexual advances to a Peace Corps volunteer. In all three cases, the ethics committee relied on the House rule prohibiting conduct that does not reflect creditably on the House.

Based on these precedents, CREW asked the ethics committee to investigate Rep. Foley’s emails to the former page.


http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=161

[maddezmom]

47. CREW gave copie of email to FBI in July

3. Taking the lead from House Republicans, Bush Administration refusing to investigate child sex predator, even though the FBI was given copies of the emails by CREW back in July.
At the Justice Department, an official said that there was no investigation under way but that the agency had “real interest” in examining the circumstances to see if any crimes were committed.
CREW gave the FBI the emails two months ago. The FBI isn't investigating, but says they're interested in seeing if any crime was committed, but don't plan to investigate. Uh, apparently not that much interest. Then again, it's only a child sex offender.

It's good to know that George Bush doesn't care about child sex predators even two days after the story becomes a national scandal. How would Bush feel if some 52 year old guy asked Jenna and Barbara, at the age of 16, if he made them feel horny, and then asked to describe how they masturbate? How is this any different than Denny Hastert, Shimkus and the rest of the House Republicans refusing to investigate Foley when they knew about this last year? It's not.
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/09/gop-congressman-says-house-leaders.html

[salin]

48. CREW has been doing amazing work.

[Garbo 2004]

54. The emails CREW had did not have sexual content. ABC got the IM's

(dated 2003) from another source and it involved a different page. They received the IM's after they ran the 2005 email story.

So far there's nothing that proves that the GOP leadership knew about the earlier sexually graphic IM's. I'm not saying they didn't know Foley had a "page problem," perhaps even to the extent shown in the IM's, but just that so far we don't have any evidence that they did. Which is why pages being warned about Foley by House staff in 2001 is significant.

It's interesting to see these guys on the defensive though. And no doubt worried about what else will come out.

[maddezmom]

59. I think I found the site?

http://stopsexpredators.blogspot.com/2006/09/emails-from-congressman-foley-to-16.html

[Garbo 2004]

61. Yes and a poster at Kos made sure it got a tad more visibility. I posted

a recap below from info at Kos and the St Petersburg Times. Looks like someone was trying to get news outlets to do a story on Foley's "interest" in underage pages for months, also sent them to CREW and when that apparently didn't work getting it public, they dropped it into the blogosphere.

[americanstranger]

18. My theory, which is mine, and which belongs to me...

...is that the CIA is getting payback for Bush using them as a 9/11-WMD punching bag.

Here's hoping they have another 5 or 6 of them, and drop one a week until Election Day.

I've been saying for years now that the intel agencies would get their revenge on the Bush Cabal.

Woodward's book is still getting plenty of play in the media.

And Foley's problems most certainly will NOT 'save more GOP seats than will be lost.' Reynolds' seat is shaky now. Hastert's leadership post is shaky. Boehner's gig is shaky. No one could state that before Foley resigned.

And now more pages are coming forward. This is not going to get any better any time soon.

- as

[Marie26]

24. jinx. :) nt

[salin]

26. I agree with you... who says operatives are smart?

these days just desperate.

The CIA angle is interesting. If more and more such stories start dropping out of the sky at regular intervals - then I will absolutely agree with you.

[Moochy]

36. Similar to my theory about brontosauruses

All brontosauruses are thin at one end, much MUCH thicker in the middle,
and then thin again at the far end. That is the theory that I have and
which is mine, and what it is too.

Miss Anne Elk, An expert.

Now, to the meat of the matter... :)
I think that we are seeing parts of the Government rebel against these thugs, like the leak of the NIE that Bush got so huffy about on Thurdsay. Though I wonder how many in the media knew about this Foley thing, and for how long?

It seems like the elites are calling in their chits.

[Bucky]

57. "not going to get any better any time soon"? I so disagree

It's getting better by the day. It's not getting prettier, but the entertainment value is thru the roof. This elation will last with me until I hear that some child was actually hurt by this perv. I suppose then it gets gloomy. Right now, it's just squeamish doofuses caught being hypocrits.

[Marie26]

19. Here's a theory

:tinfoilhat: I'm actually starting to wonder if the military/intelligence communities have turned on Bush/GOP. We know that the CIA has been sick of Bush for a long time, the generals have been pushing for Rumsfeld's resignation, and are probably scared of what he might do next. Maybe the torture/wiretap laws were the last straw, and a decision was made to take down the GOP before they give Bush any more power. In one week, we've got: anonymous leaking of the April National Intelligence Estimate by some high-placed source (only Congress & Intl. have copies), Foley page scandal made public w/newly discovered emails, Woodward book released w/new damaging allegations, story leaked that Bush fired Powell. It's all coming together in a perfect storm of scandal. It's positively Rovian - but it's not from Rove. It's from someone w/power & knowledge who's trying to stop the Bush Administration - and I'd say the military/intel. agencies are the most capable of doing it. If this is true, we can expect even more explosive revelations leading up to the election. I don't think Rove will like this "October Surprise" much.

[salin]

27. This has more credence depending

on how real or not (and it is almost impossible to distinguish these days) the plans are for the admin to push some kind of action against Iran in the very near short term. Ala - have to stop it quick.

From wherever... the wheels seem to be falling off the wagon all over the place.

[americanstranger]

29. GMTA, Marie!!

:)

- as

[bklyncowgirl]

45. Military Industrial complex pulling the reins in on the Chimp?

Bush was good for business for a while but he's mismanaged the war to the extent that the big boys are getting nervous--really nervous. Some of them too may have been losing out in the favored corporations sweepstakes.

I've been wondering whether GE is particularly pissed hence the increased hostility to Bushco amongst NBC anchormen and reporters. There has to be a reason--besides ratings--that Keith Olbermann hasn't been sent back to the sports desk.

The easiest way to take the Decider down a peg would be to throw a little wrench into the Rube Goldberg contraption that is the Bush White House. Bush will not get the same total lack of accountability from Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid that he has gotten from his own party. He can then limp along until 2008 when a new adminstration takes over.

[TwentyFive]

56. I love when you wrote: "It's positively Rovian - but it's not from Rove."

Those words play in my head like music. Thanks!

[Catshrink]

22. Is ABC trying to redeem itself with dems

after that hatchet job with Road to 9/11? I doubt it. It's all about ratings ratings ratings -- I seriously doubt ABC did it for the children.

[jimshoes]

32. There always is the possibility this is

a kind of limited hangout to hide some other nefarious crimes, but it seems pretty damaging to the repukniks to be offered up willingly.

[salin]

38. agreed.

but the level of political arrogance exhibited by the GOP since the Newt years (which has only exponentially grown) - breeds a bit of inability to anticipate the full consequences - as of course the route they would chose would work out well for them. ;-) If my speculation were correct - it would have been done out of a combination of desparation (to block current news cycle that damages the 'storyline' for the reelection) and arrogance.

[savemefromdumbya]

49. I think this Foley thing is damaging just before the elections?

If the GOP did leak it through then something's really afoot?

[salin]

50. Stinky desperation.

Fear of losing their only hope for the elections... smearing dems as weak on terrorism/national security via a carefully staged storyline complete with legislation/votes to push vile ads like the ones used against Clelland in 2002 (which used his vote against HLS to insinuate he was soft on OBL). Current news cycles on intelligence (consensus = terrorism worse because of GOP policies) and Woodward's book could strip the last vestige of hope for the GOP to keep congress...

While I still think it is possible as a how this story got pushed right now... the most recent revelation per Rep. Reynolds accepting 100k from Foley for the RCCC - makes me reevaluate.

[savemefromdumbya]

51. 100k from Foley for the RCCC?

wow!

[salin]

52. sorta answers the "why didn't they do anything..." question.

[savemefromdumbya]

53. gets worse doesn't it?

[Desperadoe]

55. For the same reason that Woodward's book...

is coming out. Bush and his Pnac'er friends are now toast. The real deciders have decided that they have seen quite enough of this little theater and now we will see some real interesting things happen.

This is the way it's done. Woodward is the lead hit man and everything else will just follow. Foley is the first but there will be more to come and it will be real ugly. I well expect that a few choice Senators and more than a few Reps will suddenly be exposed, as will some of the worst of their loyal supporters.

I always figured that Bush had some type of immunity shield around his sorry ass but He may have strayed too far from his original mission like Nixon did and lost that. Of course, he still may come out fairly unscathed but the some others are going to the butcher shop to be carved into pork chops.

It's a GOP inside job just like Watergate was. The Democrats will be wondering WTF is going on and will have to be nudged along, probably suffering a few hits themselves.

[havocmom]

58. Made most of us overlook the evacuation of a courthouse

just prior to Libby's arrival.

Fitz and his team out on the street with everyone else. Did they take all their papers with them or were they forced to leave them inside and hurry out.

Remember the Capitol and several Senate/congressional office buildings evacuated in recent years?

What information do you suppose was gleaned during the evacuations then?

And how about this week, in that D.C. courthouse?

Haven't heard much about Iraq this past week either.

The neocons know sex sells, and diverts attention.

Too bad for Foley. Tsk tsk. But the newly empowered dictatorship doesn't need Congressmen so small loss.

More to come, be sure.

There is a war on and the good guys have Cheney very nervous. Desperate times - desperate measures. Dangerous days.

Strength to the good guys. We need to play our part.

Educate. Remind. Speak truth.

[Garbo 2004]

60. The emails had been previously sent to other media outlets, according to

the St Petersburg Times but no one went public with the story until a blogger received them and posted them on the 24th. http://stopsexpredators.blogspot.com/ Then someone ("WHInternNow") that same day posted a diary at Kos and linked to that site. This same poster had earlier on Sept 5 posted at Kos that it was well known that Foley hit on underage lads on The Hill. http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2006/9/4/232813/9458/60#c60 (This all is recapped on Kos here: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/9/30/205342/728 )

ABC apparently went public with the story after the emails hit the internet. ABC didn't receive the explicitly sexual IM's to another former page until after they ran the strange (but not overtly sexual) email story.

But it appears someone's been trying to get media attention to this story and perhaps do some digging on the subject since at least last November when the St Petersburg Times got the emails. And the SPT said other news outlets received the emails after they did. CREW got the emails a few months ago reportedly. Who was sending them? When "tracked down" by the SPT, the Louisiana teenager who'd received emails from Foley that creeped him out said he didn't want publicity or his name used. And the emails themselves weren't sexual in nature.

So this isn't a sudden thing, if someone was trying to get the emails and subject of Foley's "interest" in pages in the public eye since last year. Who and why is the question. And it doesn't benefit the Republicans. Foley was expected to win his district again. Now it's not such a sure thing with Foley still on the ballot although someone else will be standing in as the GOP contender. Not to mention the bloody awful hypocrisy and revelation of what's behind the mask of GOP "family values" and "moral righteousness" (cough).

[MrScorpio]

62. This is no goddamned Rovian plot

It a complete Repug cock-up

Heads must roll and we should do everything we can to grab as many seats as possible

The repugs shot themselves in their collective feet over this, and I for one am not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

[Raine]

63. Just good luck on the timing...

the Foley story is the kind that can bring the repigs down, everyone can get the drift of how disgusting a child sexual predator is. Chimp can withstand Woodward it's a matter of interpretation which is easily spun.

[opihimoimoi]

65. Bad luck comes in waves....PUBs turn.. shooting themselves in the foot

has become an art form in the PUB Party....

Nary a good run in all their years at the helm....all losses.

If this was NFL....6 Losing Seasons oughta be a BIG HINT a change is needed.