Foley's Fall Spotlights Growing 'Velvet Mafia' Influence in GOP
by Fred Jackson and Bill Fancher
October 9, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Amid the fallout of the Mark Foley scandal, one consequence appears to be an increasing exposure of the influential role homosexuals have within the Republican party. As the New York Times reported Sunday, homosexuals in the Republican Party -- sometimes known by insider slang terms including the "velvet mafia" or the "pink elephants" -- are a well-established force in the GOP.
According to the Times, many of these homosexual Republicans "have held crucial staff positions for decades," and this has been even more the case in recent years. "They have played decisive roles in passing legislation, running campaigns and advancing careers," the article notes.
And although "gay" GOP members have had to be, in most cases, more discreet about their lifestyle than their counterparts in the Democratic Party, the Mark Foley scandal -- and the recent confirmation of the Florida congressman's homosexuality -- has put a new spotlight on just what influence these homosexuals have within the Republican Party.
As the Times observes, conservative blogs and websites have stated that homosexual staff members played principle roles in investigating the Foley case, suggesting that the party has been betrayed by homosexual men trying to hide misconduct by one of their own.
The newspaper also says a group of homosexual activists has started a document known as "the list," a roster of homosexual congressional staff members and their Republican bosses. The list, the Times suggests, is an apparent attempt to force homosexual Republicans working in and around the Capitol to be more open about their lifestyle choice.
| | 
Peter LaBarbera |
Meanwhile, one pro-family activist is calling for more openness about another aspect of the scandal. Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth believes the media have taken great pains to avoid using the words "homosexual" or "gay" in coverage of the Foley scandal. "There's clearly an effort here to make this somehow a pedophile issue or something that's separate from the homosexual issue," he asserts, "and, of course, this is right up the homosexual alley."There is a well-documented history of homosexual men pursuing underage boys, LaBarbera says; but homosexual activists are getting help in burying this fact. "What we're seeing here," he contends, "is another effort by the media, working with the gay lobby, to separate out Foley's predations on a teenage boy from the homosexual issue."
The media is not being intellectually honest about the Foley situation or the pattern that it illustrates, the pro-family activist insists. "There's a long history of homosexuals being predators on teenage boys," he says.
"The fact is, if you go all the way back to the days of ancient Greece, there were homosexual relationships between adult men and teenage boys; so it's really ridiculous to say this has nothing to do with homosexuality," LaBarbera notes. He says the media's reporting of the Foley scandal has been marked by a great deal of political correctness, while the media have actually helped homosexual activists bury the truth.
Fred Jackson and Bill Fancher, regular contributors to AgapePress, report for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
