The View from the Meadow

Observations of the Passing Scene

Political and Social Commentary by Dave Satre

Foley’s Folly
Republican Congressman Caught in Page Scandal

The current congressional sex scandal, in which Republican Congressman Mark Foley was caught sending titillating e-mails to male Congressional pages, is not the first time this subject has arisen. A plethora of Instant Messages testify to earlier transgressions with Foley’s young underlings, including an incident in 2003 when Foley actually interrupted a floor vote in the House to engage in sex with a high school student serving as his page.

In fact, incidents of Congressmen diddling their pages has occurred so frequently over the years that it has become an almost accepted clandestine practice. The Foley situation was originally swept under the rug when it first arose several years ago because congressional leaders really don’t want any investigations on the subject. Evidently, there are far too many of our nation’s representatives, in all areas of Congress, involved in such activities.

They impeached Clinton for his promiscuous activities in the Offal Orifice, but many of his major critics were guilty of far worse sexual indiscretions. Among the worst offenders was Newt Gingrich, who was the Speaker of the House at the time. Clinton’s loudest and most vociferous critic was actually deeply involved in an affair at the time that eventually ended his marriage and his political career.

The Republicans went through quite a laundry list in an effort to find a clean candidate to replace Gingrich as the House Speaker. Bob Livingston, a Republican from Florida, was the party’s top choice to replace Gingrich, but he, too, was found to have marital infidelity problems and withdrew his nomination. Livingston ended up resigning from Congress in mid-1999.

Henry Hyde, another top contender for the Speaker’s position was also found at that time to have carried on a four-year affair with a married woman.

Back in the Reagan administration (1983) an investigation into sexual misconduct with pages on the part of congressional members resulted in improved legal protections for the pages. They raised the minimum age of a congressional page from 14 to 16 years, provided dorms for them to live in, increased supervision over them and established a board to oversee the situation and protect the pages.

Republican Congressman Daniel B. Crane was censored by the House for repeated sexual conduct with a 17-year-old girl. He lost his position in the 1984 election. Democrat Congressman Gerry Studds got caught with a 16- or 17-year-old boy whom he plied with vodka and had repeated sexual encounters, including taking the boy on a trip to Europe with him. Studds was also censored, but his political career survived until he retired in the mid 1990s.

Foley has now admitted to being gay and blames his behavior on alcoholism. He also claims to have been, himself, molested by a clergyman between the ages of 13 to 15. Evidently he liked it. Ironically, Foley co-chaired the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus and helped to write much of the legislation strengthening prosecution of pedophiles and child pornographers.

Current House Speaker Dennis Hastert is now under fire to resign the position in view of the fact that he was notified of Foley’s practice of harassing male pages over three years ago and didn’t do anything about it.

Who’s next? This is beginning to look like an episode of TV’s Survivor, in which one leading politician in Washington is voted off the island every week. The pressure is on for Speaker Hastert to be on the next boat out.

How many weeks do you think it will take before it’s Bush’s turn for a cruise back to Texas?

Cartoon by Drew Sheneman - Newark Star Ledge