A Tale of Two Disgraced Congressmen … Mark Foley & Gerry Studds … Amazing what a Party Affiliation Does for you

It is simply amazing how two political parties and the media both look at people who have basically committed the same act. Actually one Congressmen’s actions were far worse, but both reprehensible. However, one gets praise while the other get condemnation. Too bad both did not get the same treatment and asked to leave the US Congress in permanent disgrace. However, thats the double standard that exists when one has a (R) or (D) in front of their name.

Former Democratic Congressman Gerry Studds passed away over the weekend and was regaled, even though he has actual sex with a Page not just emails. Amazing what a “D” does for you.

In 1983, Studds acknowledged his homosexuality after a 27-year-old man disclosed that he and Studds had had a sexual relationship a decade earlier when the man was a teenage congressional page.

The House of Representatives censured Studds, who then went home to face his constituents in a series of public meetings.
 
 
At the time, Studds called the relationship with the teenage page, which included a trip to Europe, “a very serious error in judgment.” But he did not apologize and defended the relationship as a consensual relationship with a young adult. The former page later appeared publicly with Studds in support of him. (AP News)

Reaction to the death of former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds

“Gerry’s leadership changed Massachusetts forever and we’ll never forget him. His work on behalf of our fishing industry and the protection of our waters has guided the fishing industry into the future and ensured that generations to come will have the opportunity to love and learn from the sea. He was a steward of the oceans.”

- U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

“Gerry was a stalwart champion of New England’s fishing families as well as a committed environmentalist who worked hard to demonstrate that the cause of working people and the cause of the environment go hand in hand with the right leadership. When he retired from Congress, he did not retire from the cause, continuing to fight for the fishing industry and New England’s environmental causes.

- U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. (Worcester Telegram)

We all know what is presently happening with disgraced Florida Congressman Marc Foley. US Representative Mark Foley resigned after the emails with a page were made public as he should have. So why didn’t Gerry Studds back in 1983? Instead upon his death he is hailed as a hero. Why, what was the difference between Foley & Studds actions? Other than the fact that Studds actually had sex vs. Foley’s completely inappropriate emails.

Studds was a central figure in the 1983 Congressional page sex scandal, when he and Representative Dan Crane were censured by the House of Representatives for separate sexual relationships with minors – in Studds’s case, a 1973 sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male congressional page who was of the age of legal consent. The relationship was consensual (which made it legal, in accordance with state law), although very unprofessional of a politician. (Wiki)

AP’s Extraordinary Double Standard Regarding Mark Foley and Gerry Studds (News Busters)

Wizbang: A flawed comparison, corrected