In his online column this morning , Howard Kurtz asks a number of questions regarding the Foley scandal. Since the answers to his questions are obvious, I’d like to offer Mr. Kurtz a helping hand.
Now I don’t want to come down on 16-year-old kids (though some are now as old as 21) who must have been intimidated by the whole thing. Indeed, the power imbalance between a big-shot member of Congress and a lowly page is part of what makes this infuriating.
But did they really think that if they told the outside world that the co-chair of the Exploited Children’s Caucus was sending them, or their friends, graphic sexual messages, that their future careers would be ruined? That they would be washed up in politics? Isn’t it more likely that they would be hailed as brave for doing the right thing?
The answers are yes, yes and a great big no. For Mr. Kurtz’s benefit, I’ll let Matt Drudge, unofficial mouthpiece of the Republican party, demonstrate why.
And if anything, these kids are less innocent — these 16 and 17 year-old beasts…and I’ve seen what they’re doing on YouTube and I’ve seen what they’re doing all over the internet — oh yeah — you just have to tune into any part of their pop culture. You’re not going to tell me these are innocent babies. Have you read the transcripts that ABC posted going into the weekend of these instant messages, back and forth? The kids are egging the Congressman on! The kids are trying to get this out of him. We haven’t got the whole story on this[…]
You could say “well Drudge, it’s abuse of power, a congressman abusing these impressionable, young 17 year-old beasts, talking about their sex lives with a grown man, on the internet.” Because you have to remember, those of us who have seen some of the transcripts of these nasty instant messages. This was two ways, ladies and gentlemen. These kids were playing Foley for everything he was worth. Oh yeah. Oh, I haven’t…they were talking about how many times they’d masturbated, how many times they’d done it with their girlfriends this weekend…all these things and these “innocent children.” And this “poor” congressman sitting there typing, “oh am I going to get any,” you know?
I hope that helps. Oh, and I have some general advise for Mr. Kurtz. When you write something like “now I don’t want to come down on 16-year-old kids,” it would make more sense if you didn’t follow it with a series of questions that make it seem as though you want to come down on the 16-year-old kids.
Yea!! A Chris post.
Boo! Howie Kurtz about anything.
One thing I’ve learned from this Regime is that they attack that which they have in themselves. Haven’t we all learned that by now?
Got a republican ranting about condoms and dildos??? You can probably bet the mortgage that he’s either got an entire trunk filled with various butt plugs and thigh high leather boots in size 12
OR
he’s out fucking donkeys or raping little boys or having his wife do S&M acts in public bars.
It’s one or the other. But invariably they are screaming about the sins of others when they have issues themselves.
Great diary as always Chris.
LMAO…
The Eggman (Drudge) himself using this line:
“The kids are egging the Congressman on!”
Sorry… I can’t help myself sometimes. lol
He sounds like every religious head denier (take your pick: Baptist, Catholic, etc.) and R. Smelley defender out there: oh my God, but that little girl or little boy TEMPTED me, and I was powerless to resist such temptation.
Bullshit.
I don’t care if the kid in question was 17 yrs, 11 mon, and 27 days old–this is not about the kid, but about the behavior of the friggin’ so-called adult. Trolling the kiddie suggests someone with deep problems, and someone who can’t handle an adult relationship. Someone who likes power. A sick ass puppy.
Two teenagers fumbling around, or even teen bravado among teenagers is NOT the same as some grown-ass woman or man. Period.
There’s a reason I usually don’t bother reading Kurtz’ drivel. It’s laughable crap that wastes my time.
But I need to wash after reading that questionable chestnut.
That would be “trolling the kiddie set.”
Ew. Just ew.
This is Dick Cheney’s America and we’re living in it. We’ve changed the words of the National Anthem to “It’s everybody’s fault but mine.” Write sexually explicit emails and instant messages to kids and get caught? Blame the kids, blame the booze or blame the culture. Republican House leadership gets caught protecting a sexual predator in their ranks who is into teens? Blame the gays.
I’m sayin! I’m about damned tired of that. A gay man is attracted to gay MEN. Period.
A grown man trolling the kiddie set is a fucking chester. Period. What–so it would have been OK, had these been teenage girls instead?
Oh, my bad…we’d be hearing all about the temptress sluts in that case.
And we wonder why most kids keep their mouths shut. I understand this better than I’d ever want to understand it, unfortunately.
I really hate these bastards. Every last goddamn one of ’em.
If Republican-appointed pages are 16-year-old beasts, then there is something wrong about the Republicans’ appointment system. These pages are not self-selected volunteers; there is significant screening.
One asks what Drudge knows about the Republican process for selecting these “16-year-old beasts”? Did Foley do the final interviews?
and especially Drudge (what an appropriate name!) one question:
What if it was your kid?
Now we know why a lot of young people are tuning out of politics — folks like Kurtz and Drudge selling them short…
Mr. Kurtz misses the point entirely: it doesn’t matter what the kids did or said or had in mind. This is a power relationship here. The kids didn’t have power and don’t have it, the adult does. It was and is the adult’s responsibility to act in a mature and responsible fashion toward young persons, taking care that young people are not exploited, even if the kids gave out engraved invitations for sexual frolics! Adults know this was and is wrong, and the adults are the people in control of the situation, not the young persons here.
It is so convenient to blame the young person, and the older the young person, the greater the blame assigned.
Our laws specifying majority and minority aren’t just for the benefit of telling young persons what they can and can’t do; they are also to tell adults how young persons must be treated. The young persons weren’t treated right here, and no amount of fingerpointing in another direction can cover up that fact.
OMG, I just finally decided to go to the ABC News website and look at some of the messages myself. I was a bit confused with the talk of “naughty emails,” “overly friendly emails,” and hearing the Sludge call these young men beasts.
Now I’m really sick. This Foley guy was not just involved in “text-message sex.” After reading a bit of this stuff, there is no doubt in my mind that he was sexually molesting these boys. What a sick bastard. And I hope the boys who were his victims find the help and support they need!