"Sex offenders are not petty criminals. They prey on our children like animals and will continue to do it unless stopped. We need to change the way we track these pedophiles...It has often been noted that a society can be judged on how it best treats its children. We have a moral responsibility to do everything in our power to protect our kids from these animals." -Former Florida Rep. Mark Foley-

The above quote taken from a report on salon.com was made by Rep. Foley in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in 2005, the same year he had an instant message conversation with a 16 year old male page in which he asked for explicit details about what turned the boy on, his preferred method of masturbation and congratulated him for concealing sexual exchanges on the computer from his mother. Ironically, Foley celebrated Internet Safety Day in July 2004, by warning parents that the Web had become 'a new medium for pedophiles to reach out to our most vulnerable citizens'America's children." Now that's rich.

My arm chair diagnosis of Rep. Foley is that he is a sociopath. Foley lives in such a deep state of denial that he can't admit or even recognize his own sexually inappropriate behavior. Foley was the co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus and often spoke of the danger of sexual predators to children especially via the internet. In a weird kind of way, Foley gives us a unique insight into the mind of a sexual predator. Tragically Foley was also provided access to potential teenage victims who were taking part in the congressional page program. Foley's outward denial of his sexually preference was given cover by the Republican Party's hatred and alienation of homosexuals. According to salon.com Foley held a news conference in 2003 to denounce Democratic activists for engaging in a "repulsive" campaign to tag him with the "slur" of being gay. Foley had to deny his sexual interest in males to remain loyal to the GOP's consistent view of homosexuality as deviant and repulsive, running contrary to their ideal of the traditional nuclear family.

As a veteran volunteer guardian ad litem, protecting children from sexual abuse and sexual exploitation is an issue I take very seriously and one that I have personal experience with. Foley is in fact a classic example of a sexual predator; a cunning, convincing con-man who uses his position of authority to manipulate and dominate children into submitting to his sexual desires. Sexual predators often times aren't creepy, slime balls that repulse others, they are slick and seductive and very very good at convincing people to act in ways that are contrary to their moral and ethical beliefs. They are often in positions of authority and in these positions they exploit a child's desire to be obedient and to win praise. Children need to be told over and over in explicit detail what's acceptable behavior and what's out of bounds. If children understand the boundaries and feel empowered by their parents or guardians to stand up for themselves they are offered some protection from those that would exploit them and damage them for life.

If you've ever dismissed the importance of Congressional oversight and the balance of power in the federal government, I hope this incident will serve to enlighten you.

The male victim and his parents did everything right, they contacted their congressman about inappropriate e-mails from Foley. Rep. Rodney Alexander then discussed the problem with Rep. Thomas Reynolds. Reynolds acknowledges hearing about the incident in the summer of 2005 and he claims he informed House Speaker Dennis Hastert of the incident at that time. Instead of a full scale investigation into Foley's behavior, the Republican leadership chose to warn Foley about his inappropriate behavior and told him not to have any further contact with the teenager in question and to respect the other pages.

Now that the incident has come to light, Hastert and others are expressing their disgust and outrage. But don't listen to their words pay attention to their actions or rather inaction. According to msnbc.com House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has proposed that the House ethics committee begin a full investigation and make a preliminary report in 10 days. She demanded to know the details of Foley's contacts with other pages and exactly when the Republican leadership was notified of Foley's conduct. Instead, majority Republicans engineered a vote to allow the ethics panel to decide whether there should even be an investigation.

The GOP is still in charge of both houses of congress and unless and until that changes the foxes are guarding this henhouse.