I'd like to take exception to the position dick g. is taking here.

First and foremost, Rep. Foley wasn't just any ole pervert. He was a high ranking member of the House Republican leadership. One of his assignments, and a very good argument can be made that it was his most visible, was as House Chair of the Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.

There is a reason why Democratic House candidate Patty Wetterling, from Minnesota, was chosen to deliver the Democratic response to the Bush weekly radio address today. As a child protection advocate, she has worked with Rep. Foley over the years to get legislation passed to protect children from sexual exploitation, abuse, kidnapping by non-custodial parents, strengthening laws against sexual predators and pedophiles, etc.

Her 11 year old son was abducted by a stranger, believed to be a pedophile, just about 17 years ago. He has never been found. She began a lifelong crusade of child protection advocacy in the wake of her son's kidnapping and presumed murder. This is a story that hits very close to home for her, because not only is it her story of why she decided to run for US Congress.

In the wake of the institutional cover-ups of sexual abuse by the US Catholic clergy, her personal working relationship with Rep Foley on missing and exploited children's advocacy issues, and the widely presumed institutional cover-up of Rep Foley's predatory sexual behavior towards House pages, she felt she could not remain silent.

This isn't a "sex scandal". The Rep Foley case isn't comparable to Bill and Monica's. It is comparable to the institutional cover-up of sexual exploitation of children by the Catholic clergy.

Nearly everyone here in Minnesota I have spoken to in the last week is comparing this scandal to the clergy abuse scandal, and they view the Republican leadership as those in power with an incentive to keep Foley's predatory behavior under wraps.

We mustn't forget that besides the possibility of egg on their "family values" faces, Rep Foley's other big assignment as a member of the House Republican leadership team was as a fundraiser. Already, several candidates and incumbent Republican House members from Minnesota have "returned Foley's funded campaign contributions" or "donated the money to charity".

This isn't about consenting sexual behavior between adults. This is about predatory sexual behavior by an extremely powerful adult, towards minor children. Just because they are teenagers doesn't make it "natural sexual curiousity". Adults rape teenagers all the time. It is devastating to the teen, their families, etc.

I recently sat on a jury in a case where a mother's trusted and long time live-in boyfriend, repeatedly raped and molested the teenage daughter. The molestations began when she was 15 years old, and the rapes began occuring when she was 16 and continued until she was 18, and "caught" by the mother walking in on them.

A friend of the daughter testified to the predatory nature of the behavior by the boyfriend. How he would come into the daughter's bedroom in middle of the night, and take her out of her room (the friend observed this happening 3 times over a period of years doing sleepovers at the house).

I assure you dick, there was no indication this girl appeared to anyone as sexually precocious, or coming on to the boyfriend or any other adult males, in any way.

Yet, the one hold out juror in the jury room seemed to think that the girl had "asked for it" because she hadn't come forward and told the mother of the abuse. In fact, this woman even thought the daughter might be trying to steal the mother's boyfriend from her. While her opinion boggled my mind, I now realize how common that perception is of teenagers "asking for" sexual attention from sexual predators.

It seems some people only believe sexual abuse occurs when it is done to very young children. There is, apparently, a societal belief among many people, that teenagers are so sexually active and precocious nowadays, that powerful adults preying upon them for sexual contact isn't wrong.

But especially in cases like the Rep Foley and Catholic clergy scandal, where the adult is in a very powerful position vis a vis the child, it doesn't have anything to do with healthy, natural sexual desires. It has to do with power, punishment, and vengeance.

That is why some victims of childhood abuse grow up to abuse others. They can't pull themselves out of the dark, abusive desire to "get back at" someone for their pain and suffering.

I believe that is a dark side to human nature that we need to protect children from, regardless of where the chips fall. This isn't about Democrats or Republicans. It is about the lengths powerful institutions will go to in order to protect sexual predators in their ranks.

And THAT is why the Republicans may lose. They just happened to be the foxes guarding the hen house this time. But it just as easily could have been the Democrats, and most Americans realize that fact.

Nonetheless, because it has happened on the Republicans watch, they will pay the price for their arrogance of power. As well they should.