Prominent Republicans have slammed critics of Florida's new sex education bill that critics call "Don't Say Gay" and "groomers".
Some Florida Republicans are accepting money from the old campaign committee of an ex-congressman who sent sexually explicit messages to young boys.
The Republican Party of Palm Beach County has received $118,250 in donations and sponsorship from the former congressman's ex- campaign committee.
The most recent donation to the Republican Party of Palm Beach County came in January, when his campaign committee gave $15,000.
Mar-a-Lago is a private club that former President Donald Trump calls home. The county Republicans held their annual Lincoln Day fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.
The chair of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County did not respond to email questions, but a representative who answered the phone said it was not the group's policy to talk to the media.
The Republican Party of Palm Beach County gave a service award to Foley at its Lobster Fest dinner in Boca Raton, the Florida Sun Sentinel reported.
Roger Stone said at the event that the man who doesn't need to apologize is a man who is without sin.
The Republican Party of Palm Beach County implored its Facebook followers to "Reclaim our School Board" on issues from "woke activism" to "parental rights".
Since Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill limiting instructions about sexual orientation and gender in schools, education issues have become a hot topic in Florida.
Critics who say the language is too vague have called it the "Don't Say Gay" law while some of its defenders in the Republican Party and conservative media argue that it should be called the " Anti-Grooming Bill".
He was not charged with a crime and said he never had sexual contact with the pages.
Insider did not get a response from Foley.
The Florida House members who have received campaign donations from the committee since 2016 include Republicans, but neither responded to questions about the donations.
The Palm Beach Republican Club did not respond to Insider's inquiries.
The college publicly praised the donation, which was made in the name of police academy recruits.
Not every political organization accepted the check. A $1,000 donation was received by a US House aide who is now running for Congress.
The check was part of a larger group of checks deposited by the campaign administrative staff.
Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida, received a $2,000 check from the campaign of disgraced lobbyist Mark Foley, but never cashed it. Brad Stewart, his campaign spokesman, confirmed that the campaign never cashed the check and did not accept the donations.
Mast has been vocal about supporting Florida's school legislation, imploring critics to stop trying to force their views on our children.
TheZombie campaign
After leaving Congress, he went to a rehabilitation center for alcohol misuse and emotional issues. His lawyer disclosed that the former congressman had been molested by a Catholic clergyman when he was a teenager, and that he was gay, exposing what had already been an open secret on Capitol Hill and in Florida politics.
He is now a lobbyist.
16 years after leaving office, the Foley campaign committee still had $426,289.38 in cash on hand, as of the first three months of this year.
The congressman had a seven-figure campaign cash reserve. His old campaign committee remains technically active, which is seen among many former members of Congress as a zombie campaign.
Legally, the campaign committee can make political and charitable donations, and possibly disgorge the remaining cash to the US Treasury. It is not allowed for Foley to spend the money on himself.
In a 2020 letter to the FEC, Donna Foley Winterson said that the account would be terminated after he filed his tax returns in 2022.
The Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, food banks, and the gay chorus Voices of Pride in Palm Beach are some of the causes that have received surplus funds from the committee over the years.
He told the Sun Sentinel that he missed being in public service.
He said it was hard to be in a room with people who supported you. There is a bit of sadness.
The Republican Party of Palm Beach County appears to be open to having Mark Foley participate in conservative politics, but other parts of the party are using terms such as "groomer" and "pedophile" in order to get their point across.
In his office, in conservative politics, and in media outlets such as Fox News, opponents of the law have been accused of supporting grooming children. The term "grooming" refers to pedophiles who try to gain the trust of their victims so they will accept sexual assault without telling an adult.
Several opinion pieces in conservative news outlets have called the legislation the "Anti-Grooming Bill" after the pro-Republican Political Action Committee American Principles Project used the term in a recent fundraising email.
The Georgia Republican said she would introduce a national version in Congress. She referred to Democrats as the party of pedophiles on Conservative America's Voice.
Republicans are doubling down on the legislation, saying that parents should be informed about their children's education and any questions they might have about their gender identity and sexuality.
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