How will Foley's folly impact the sex offender panic?

I am not sure if I am amazed or even phased by the revelations that Republican Rep. Mark Foley had numerous improper contacts with congressional pages.  But I am puzzled when I try to figure out the implications of this latest congressional scandal for all the federal and state legislation and proposals purporting to get extra tough on sex offenders.

This CNN story details many of the latest interesting facets of this unfolding scandal:

Foley, a Republican from Florida, resigned Friday after his alleged e-mail exchanges with a teenage male page were made public, and the House voted to launch an investigation. Foley apologized to his family and his constituents.

Foley, who co-chaired the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, did not mention the messages that brought him down. The six-term representative has pushed legislation to crack down on Internet child pornography and tighten tracking rules for sex offenders.

GOP sources told CNN that Foley's resignation was prompted in part by concerns that other potentially politically damaging e-mails or information might surface, including exchanges with other pages that were more graphic....

The Democratic National Committee issued a statement Saturday saying that at least one member of the Republican House leadership, Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York, had "known about the situation for months and did nothing about it." Reynolds chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, the election campaign arm for House Republicans. Reynolds responded by saying that when Rep. Rodney Alexander, a Louisiana Republican, told him about the e-mails, he said the teen's parents didn't want the matter pursued.  Alexander was the boy's sponsor.

Some related posts:

• Sex offender bills becoming law
• Senate passes major sex offender bill
• Liberty versus security in the war on ... sex offenders
• USA Today overview of sex offender realities
• More politicians participating in sex offender panic