Quotes of the day: House leaders' problem isn't that Mark is gay, but that he's one of the GOP's countless predatory homophobic closet cases

(1) "Only now have I learned that Congressman Foley was not honest about his conduct."
--Rep. John Shimkus (R-Illinois, right), chairman of the House Page Board, which oversees the House pages, commenting on his "investigation" of information he's had for some 11 months, it appears, about inappropriate online communications between Florida Rep. Mark Foley and at least one House page

Not going too far out on a limb here, are we, Congressman?

(2)"Now it turns out that the chairman of the committee that's supposed to look out for the welfare of abused children well may be a child predator. This is a replay of the Jim West scenario in which Washington State's best known and most rabid Republican homophobe--one who actually made his whole miserable political career campaigning against gay men and women--was all along getting into positions of power so he could seduce underaged boys.
"Normal, uncloseted gay men don't do this. This is what scared, mentally deranged right-wing closet cases do."
--Howie, in his early DWT reporting yesterday on the breaking Foley scandal