Meet David Roth with Alivia and Anita.  Mary Bono is terrified of this big, mean Democrat (pictured with his liberal family) and his mean, mean questions about Iraq, political corruption, and her votes attacking seniors, children, and disabled veterans.  She won’t debate, won’t even address a public forum without assurances that Roth won’t be scheduled the same day, as is the case with the Palm Springs Green Expo this weekend.  She’s petrified.  Now we have Mark Foley epitomizing the rot of Republican rule.  Let’s count the ways Mary Bono’s story “adjusts” to unfolding news reports, shall we?  

Crossposted at Daily Kos

First, Mary Bono said she had “no personal ties” to Foley on Monday, October 2nd.  Trouble is, the reports of her nickname for Foley (“Hollywood” – hey, I thought she hated Hollywood) were already printed on September 30th in the Herald Tribune, and on Oct. 2nd in USA Today

This report, by The Desert Sun‘s DC reporter was filed on October 3rd, but our GOP mouthpiece of a local paper didn’t run it as Diane Marrero wrote it (this version lives only on Lexis/Nexis, as far as I know):

HEADLINE: Foley close to Bonos

BYLINE: DIANA MARRERO

DATELINE: WASHINGTON

BODY:  Rep. Mary Bono and her late husband, Sonny, had ties to former lawmaker Mark Foley, who recently resigned from Congress amid scandal.

An avid rock fan, Foley became friends with Sonny Bono after the two joined the ranks of House Republicans in 1994.

But Bono, R-Palm Springs, denied having any personal ties to Foley on Monday, adding that she was shocked to learn the Florida Republican had reportedly sent explicit Internet messages to teenage boys.

Her spokesman, Jason Vasquez, said Bono did not know whether her late husband and Foley had been close.

“The inappropriate conduct by former Rep. Mark Foley is unacceptable and abhorrent,” Bono said in a statement. “Mr. Foley’s actions go against the values and responsibilities upheld by Congress. If he has violated the law, he should be prosecuted.”

In an interview with the Palm Beach Post in 2003, Foley said he had been friends with the couple. He loved the entertainment scene so much that Mary and Sonny Bono began calling him “Hollywood,” he told the Post.

Sonny Bono and Foley formed a Republican Entertainment Industry Task Force to boost ties between Republicans and entertainment industry executives.

When Sonny Bono died eight years ago, Foley was among a group of lawmakers who flew to California for the funeral. Later, Mary Bono sold Foley her late husband’s 1994 Jeep Wrangler.

Before Sonny Bono died, the former singer helped raise campaign cash for Foley. In 1998, the Florida lawmaker gave Mary Bono a $1,000 contribution, for her campaign to succeed her late husband in Congress.

Mary Bono now co-chairs the Recording Arts and Sciences Congressional Caucus, of which Foley was a member. Mary Bono has also worked with Foley on legislation, signing on as a co-sponsor earlier this year on a bill Foley introduced to strengthen Congress’ scrutiny over the sales of ports and other properties to foreign buyers.

—-

Contact reporter Diana Marrero at [email protected].

 

What did The Desert Sun go with?  This article, on October 4th, by local guy Keith Matheny instead:

Bono on Monday said she had no personal ties to Foley. Bono’s spokesman, Jason Vasquez, said Bono did not know whether Foley and her late husband, Sonny Bono, were friends, though they did co-found Republican Entertainment Industry Task Force to boost ties between Republicans and entertainment industry executives.

Mary Bono called for a “comprehensive investigation” of Foley’s activities.

“Mr. Foley’s actions go against the values and responsibilities upheld by Congress,” Bono said. “Should it be determined that he has engaged in acts which have harmed children or put them in jeopardy, he like any other person must be held accountable. If he has violated the law, he should be prosecuted.”

 David Roth was more direct:

La Quinta Democrat David Roth, running for the 45th Congressional District seat currently held by Bono in the Nov. 7 general election, accused Hastert of covering up Foley’s actions and called on him to resign.

“It’s one more thing that disgusts people about their government,” Roth said. “I will never turn a blind eye to corruption, cover-up and inappropriate behavior.”

As Mary Bono’s initial denials are clearly not operative, she gives us this on October 5th:

Rep. Mary Bono knew her former congressional colleague Mark Foley was gay, wasn’t publicly admitting it, and that it “haunted him for some reason.”

“I would tell him, ‘It’s fine you’re gay; just be open and honest about it,'” Bono said after an event at Palm Springs airport Wednesday morning.

 

Wait a minute!  Isn’t that a personal remark to make to someone with whom you have “no personal ties?”  -Come on out of the closet, stranger, hey, nothing personal-  Please.

Does Mary Bono call for Denny Hastert to resign?  Heavens, no.  But she would support a special prosecutor, she claims in her latest canned appearance in front of a safely GOP crowd.  

This concerned parent of “What do you tell your children” fame, had no idea that her friend Mark – strike that – colleague Mark was ever inappropriate with Congressional pages.  No idea at all.  I don’t buy it, even given the empty headed things Mary has said in the past:

May 5, 2006

Bono Sings the Blues, Paying for College on $165,000 a Year

The rising cost of a college education is one of the key higher-education issues in Congress, and one member this week helped explain why, in a very personal way. According to an article (subscriber only) in Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Congress, Rep. Mary Bono, a California Republican, said on Wednesday that her government salary of $165,200 a year was not enough to send her son Chesare to college this fall.

Speaking at a hearing on consumer issues, she said that were it not for the music royalties of her late husband, Sonny Bono, “I could not afford college for my son.” Among her many expenses, she said, were new cars for herself and for Chesare, Roll Call reported. Both vehicles came equipped with a satellite radio and a Bluetooth wireless connection to the Internet.

  Oblivious remarks about living expenses aside (and boy, does that remark tell you all you need to know about Bono), all parents of teens have this particular radar, as Barbara Boxer pointed out.  I just don’t buy it.  And if Mary Bono truly found this whole disgusting affair to be a shock, then she’s too willfully blind to serve the nation.  But we all knew that already.