Gerry Studds died yestereday.
Once outed, however, Mr. Studds refused to buckle to conservative pressure to resign.
“All members of Congress are in need of humbling experiences from time to time,” Mr. Studds said at the time. But he never apologized. He defended the relationship as consensual and condemned the investigation, saying it had invaded his privacy.
He went on to win re-election in 1984, surprising both supporters and opponents.
Gerry Studds, of course, is the first one that Republicans blame for Mark Foley.
The thing about Gerry Studds -- well, there are several things. He wasn't harassing pages with dirty IMs or e-mails. He had an affair with a 17-year-old page. From reports that the page appeared with him at press conferences when the scandal broke, I have to conclude that the relationship was indeed consensual (as well as being legal) and that the two remained on good terms. No reports of anyone being "creeped out."
Second, he was re-elected. Twice. He probably would have been re-elected again, but he chose to retire when the Neanderthal right took over Congress. Now, let's go back to those who are the first to scream "the will of the people" when a court hands down a decision they don't like. Obviously, Studds' constitutents felt that he was correct -- the affair was his business and not theirs -- and that he'd been an effective representative.
Third, Studds was censured by a Democratic-controlled Congress. No one tried to sweep it under the rug, although as scandals go, by today's standards that one was pretty tame. (Please note also that when William Jefferson was discovered to have $90,000 in cash in his freezer, the Democrats stripped him of his committee assignments. Bob Ney, on the other hand, who has pleaded guilty to felony in court, has yet to be disciplined at all by the Republican leadership.)
There's no real comparison between Studds and Mark Foley, except in the mind of some loon like Donald Wildmon, and if he believes half the crap he spouts I'd be more than amazed.
Of course, this all happened back in the days when Democrats and gay men still had balls.
1 comment:
The page, in fact, went on record to say that the relationship with Studds was consensual, and even appeared with him on the campaign trail. As you point out, there is a massive difference between a consensual relationship like this and one where one party's attentions are being forced on the other, like Foley's.
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