Here's why the new Drudge "info" that the Foley IM's were a prank is WRONG

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

It's completely implausible for the following reason.

By definition the people who do these page jobs are padding resumes for possible careers in Washington or politics. Many or most are in the suckup mode.

How would ANY page DARE pull a sexually explicit prank on a member of congress, gay or not?

Think about that for ONE SECOND.

You would only do it if you were an anonymous online person to the congressman and felt you wouldn't get caught.

My understanding is that the congressman knew who he was IM'ing with. So the page is going to have cybersex with him and then be like, "PSYCHE! YOU'VE JUST BEEN PUNK'D, Congressman!! I'm not really gay OR interested in you!" :eyes:

Even if you felt you had the smooth cyber moves and wouldn't get caught, how sure would you be? And if the congressman found out your identity, your career would be finished before it even started.

I'm not saying it's impossible that kids would do something dumb like this, but if you think about the implications, the story falls apart immediately.

[Hav]

1. .

Absolutely correct. It's total bullshit and doesn't make any sense.
They were republican pages with at least one of them working for a republican campaign now. They have a political career in mind and would never do such stupid stunts against a Congressman.

[Kagemusha]

2. Very good point, not that I had the slightest doubt this was BS

In cases like this, one really does have to ask plain and simple, up front, "Who benefits?"

[dogday]

3. It might of worked, had not ABC released 3 more pages

of email from other young boys where they say, all he wanted to talk about is their Penis..

[DRoseDARs]

4. What, were you expecting him to apply simple logic to his theory? n/t

;)

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

5. No, the point is, RWers will grasp at any straw at this point. You and I

should make this argument to anyone pimping the "prank" theory. It holds up about as well as a souffle poked with a stick.

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. Sounds like that guy is now courting favor with the gop.

Like being the fall guy would make him a hero with them or something.

[TorchTheWitch]

7. It's a red herring

Doesn't make a damn bit of difference even if it WAS a prank. It is clear that Foley talked dirty to these kids, promised them political advancement if they let him "grope their ___ once in awhile," offered them alcohol and everything else foul and disgusting revealed in the IM's. It's also clear in the IM's that FOLEY was the instigator... many times kids backed off, but he aggressively kept after them.

HE DID IT. That's ALL that matters. He knew who he was talking to, he knew how old they were, he knew his own law made it illegal (which can be applied retroactively), and he did solicit sex from them. HE is the adult. HE knows it's wrong, illegal and that if caught he would rightfully go down for it. HE IS GUILTY.

Not only that, but it is ALSO sexual harassment. These kids although out of the page program want political careers which makes them STILL subordinate to him... Foley STILL wielded power over them. He offered political advancement for sex... BLATANT sexual harassment in crisp, clear, shiny black and white.

Dateline has just had a series of shows about adults pretending to be underage chatting with perverts online, and the pervs rightfully go down for it... arrested immediately even. Everybody knows that this type of predator snagging is used by law enforcement to catch creepy perverts, and everybody thinks it's a great idea that they do. Foley is JUST LIKE those creepy perverts except he chatted online with ACTUAL underage kids, not kids pretending to be underage.

Who CARES if it was a prank??? Law enforcement does the SAME THING to catch creepy perverts, and America LOVES them for it. And law enforcement doesn't even use REAL minors to boot!

RED. HERRING.

[Crunchy Frog]

8. It's also irrelevant.

Even if the conversations had actually been with a fat middle aged female FBI agent, Foley would still be just as guilty.

It's not about what the kid's intent was, it's about what Foley's intent was.