Gary Bauer on Foley

I like Gary Bauer. What follows is Gary Bauer's musings on the Foley resignation and values voter issues and convictions related to such:

"By now I’m sure you have heard about the latest Washington scandal.
Republican Congressman Mark Foley of Florida, long rumored to be a homosexual, suddenly resigned his seat in Congress late Friday afternoon after news outlets reported that he had been sending sexually explicit messages to teenage male pages. This morning, Foley’s attorney announced that he has entered an alcoholic rehabilitation center.

The instant messages Foley sent were obscene and disgusting. Resignation was the only appropriate response for someone who had so abused the public trust. It is unconscionable that any person would attempt to sexually seduce a child, but given Foley’s position as co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus, this scandal is even more outrageous. Ironically, the FBI has been called in to investigate Foley for possible criminal charges against Internet sexual predators based on a law he helped to write!

The Democrat leadership in Congress, leftwing blogs, and their media allies, not surprisingly, are taking the Foley scandal and attempting to use it to attack Republicans generally. Democrat campaign committees are suggesting that the Republican leadership, including Speaker Hastert, knew about this mess and didn’t do anything about it. Speaker Hastert denies that.

All we know for sure is that some earlier e-mails judged to be “overly friendly” were known to some in Congress. But the worst material, which was obscene and sexually explicit, was not discovered until last week. It was that material which resulted in Foley’s immediate resignation.

Speaker Hastert sent a letter yesterday to the Department of Justice demanding a formal investigation of “any and all individuals who may have been aware of this matter—be they Members of Congress, employees of the House of Representatives, or anyone outside the Congress.” We join him in that demand. That investigation should examine anyone of any party since there are rumors today that some Democrat leaders also knew and chose to wait five weeks before an election for their own advantage.

Hypocrisy? As I have written before, neither party has a monopoly on virtue or vice. As an evangelical Christian, I believe one of the central tenets of my faith is that all men are sinners, which is why we require the saving grace of the Son of God. For those charging hypocrisy in the Republican Party, I would only remind them that Mark Foley has been forced out of the House, as he should have been. In contrast, former Democrat Congressman Gerry Studds of Massachusetts remained in the House after admitting to homosexual conduct with a teenage page, and won reelection numerous times. Rep. Barney Frank was implicated in a homosexual prostitution scandal run out of his house and continues to be a leader in the Democrat Party today.

One other point. The national Democrat Party is strongly supported by the radical homosexual rights movement and organizations like the ACLU, both of which have consistently argued that age of consent laws should be dramatically liberalized so that what Rep. Foley was apparently trying to do would no longer be against the law or even considered shameful. So, who is really engaged in hypocrisy in this controversy?

Bigger Picture. Let’s put politics aside for a second and look at what is happening to our country. Our popular culture has for years been making children the objects of sexual desire. Britney Spears dresses provocatively and within months countless ten year-old girls are running around dressed the same way. Hollywood routinely exploits young children sexually, as does Madison Avenue.

Groups like NAMBLA, the North American Man-Boy Love Association, continue to be given positions in “gay rights” parades and, without shame, continue to promote their governing slogan, “Sex by eight or it’s too late.” In addition, the entire culture, as well as many of our schools and universities, teaches the notion that there are no things such as right or wrong – that all these things are merely choices in the “lifestyle cafeteria.” At the end of the day, our virtue deficit is going to lay us low long before our budget deficit does.

Bottom Line. This latest scandal in Washington is just further evidence that the pro- family agenda is desperately needed for the country. We are the ones who have argued that human sexuality should be channeled through marriage. We are the ones who have argued that marriage is between one man and one woman. We are the ones who have argued that schools should teach kids how to read and write and stop handing out condoms and birth control pills. We are the ones who say that all our children should be welcomed into the world under law. We are the ones who say there are reliable standards of right and wrong. And we are the ones who have led the charge against the sexualization of our children.

If the Foley scandal wakes up both parties to a need to rediscover the values of family and faith, then maybe something good can come out of this mess."