GLYASDI
by digby
Tony Perkins of Dobson’s Family Research Counsel was on CNN earlier and I think we are hearing the contours of the Christian Right’s argument. They are going with Newt Gingrich’s formulation: Poor Denny was afraid of being called a gay basher so he didn’t say anything.
Since when has the GOP been afraid to be called homophobic or gay bashers? They positively revel in it. In fact, just a couple of months ago 202 Republican House members voted for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. (It failed to get the required 2/3rds for passage.) Somehow, I don’t think the Republicans are quaking in their boots at being called anti-gay.
And if they were so afraid of being called anti-gay that they allowed a 52 year old congressman to stalk 16 year old boys on the internet, then they are much too timorous to be running the government. These guys are charged with making laws and running wars, for gawd’s sake.
Tony didn’t seem bothered by this. It appears that Focus on the Family has decided that they aren’t going to condemn the leadership for failing to protect these teen age kids. But then should we be surprised? Dobson is a child psychologist who wrote this bit of “professional” advice for his followers who wonder if their sons might be gay:
Meanwhile, the boy’s father has to do his part. He needs to mirror and affirm his son’s maleness. He can play rough-and-tumble games with his son, in ways that are decidedly different from the games he would play with a little girl. He can help his son learn to throw and catch a ball. He can teach him to pound a square wooden peg into a square hole in a pegboard. He can even take his son with him into the shower, where the boy cannot help but notice that Dad has a penis, just like his, only bigger.
Dr Dobson undoubtedly believes that Representative Foley was just behaving as any normal older man would in loco parentis.
Update: Gary Bauer sent around an email:
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.
“And we are the ones whocover for and enable 52 year old pervs to banter with 16 year old boys on the internet:
Maf54 (7:46:33 PM): did any girl give you a haand job this weekend
Xxxxxxxxx (7:46:38 PM): lol no
Xxxxxxxxx (7:46:40 PM): im single right now
Xxxxxxxxx (7:46:57 PM): my last gf and i broke up a few weeks agi
Maf54 (7:47:11 PM): are you
Maf54 (7:47:11 PM): good so your getting horny
Xxxxxxxxx (7:47:29 PM): lol…a bit
Maf54 (7:48:00 PM): did you spank it this weekend yourself
Xxxxxxxxx (7:48:04 PM): no
Xxxxxxxxx (7:48:16 PM): been too tired and too busy
Maf54 (7:48:33 PM): wow…
Maf54 (7:48:34 PM): i am never to busy haha
Update II:
LIMBAUGH: I’m just thinking out loud here. What if somebody got to the page and said, you know, we want you to set Foley up. We need to do a little titillating thing here. Keep it and save it and so forth. How would you get a kid to do that? Yeah, who knows? You threaten him or pay him. There’s any number of ways given the kind of people that we’re dealing with and talking about here.
Now, folks, I don’t want to be misunderstood here. I’m not trying to mount any kind of a defense. That’s a bad word. I’m not trying to get into a defense of what Mark Foley did. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m just telling you that the — the — the orgy and the orgasm that has been taking place in the media since Friday and with the Democrats is — it’s all coordinated, and it’s all — it’s all oriented toward the election. There’s no concern about the kid — no concern about the children.
There is — there is — there’s not even any real problem with what Foley did, as we’ve discussed. In their hearts and minds and their crotches, they don’t have any problem with what Foley did. They’ve defended it over the — over the years.
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