Republicans poll campaign may suffer setback in wake of sex scandal

Washington, Oct 3 (UNI) Republican Party in the US Congress is likely to suffer a major setback in its crucial elections next month following abrupt resignation of senior party lawmaker Mark Foley who sent sexually explicit emails to young boys.

The Democrats, out to cash in on voters' discontent over President George W Bush's handling of Iraq war and terrorism, hope to benefit from the sex scandal.

The Democratic Party needs 15 seats in the House of Representatives and six in the Senate to regain control of the Congress it lost to the Republican Party in 1994. Polling is scheduled for November 7.

The Republican Party is trying to limit the damage likely to be caused by the scandal which hit the headlines five weeks before the election. It promptly announced a new candidate for the constituency in Florida which Mr Foley won six times in succession. It also urged federal inuquiry into the matter.

Meanwhile, Mr Foley, 52, issued a statement, saying he had entered a rehabilitation clinic for treatment of ''alcoholism and related behavioral problems.'' Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who is under attack for not taking an early action against Mr Foley's inappropriate behavior, said Republican leaders did not know about the ''lurid emails sent by Congressman Foley to teenage male interns working at the Capitol until they surfaced in news reports on Friday.'' He said he was glad that Mr Foley had resigned. ''If he had not, I would have demanded his expulsion from the House of Representatives,'' he said.

Speaker Hastert also sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting an investigation into the congressman's conduct with the boys.

However, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Republican leaders admitted knowing about Mr Foley's ''abhorrent behavior'' at least six months earlier and failed to protect the children in their trust.

Mr Foley had served as co-chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, and recently introduced legislation to crack down on internet pornography sites.

US congressional and FBI officials are looking into whether Mr Foley broke any laws when he sent the objectionable e-mails.

Some opposition Democrats are calling for the resignations of all members of Congress who knew about Mr Foley sending messages and did nothing to stop it.

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