"They're sick people; they need mental health counseling."

That’s a quote from Florida Rep. Mark Foley expressing how he feels about internet pedophiles.

Here’s another quote (PDF page 2) attributed to Foley:

Maf54 (7:48:00 PM): did you spank it this weekend yourself

ABC News says that’s an instant message he sent to a 16-year-old page.

He resigned. And, whoopee, there’s a Louisiana connection:

The page worked for Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., who said Friday that when he learned of the e-mail exchanges 10 to 11 months ago, he called the teen's parents. Alexander added, "We also notified the House leadership that there might be a potential problem."

A “potential” problem? That sounds like an actual problem to me. Of course, in politics, a problem like this is only a problem if someone finds out about it. So, I guess, 10 to 11 months ago, it was only potentially a problem.

I certainly hope no one was covering this up. If “House leadership” knew about it and didn’t do anything, that ain't right, especially when:

Federal authorities say such messages could result in Foley's prosecution, under some of the same laws he helped to enact.

Not cool.