Actually (H/T to Jerry), the Wall Street Journal has it just about right:
[I]n today's politically correct culture, it's easy to understand how senior Republicans might well have decided they had no grounds to doubt Mr. Foley merely because he was gay and a little too friendly in emails. Some of those liberals now shouting the loudest for Mr. Hastert's head are the same voices who tell us that the larger society must be tolerant of private lifestyle choices, and certainly must never leap to conclusions about gay men and young boys. Are these Democratic critics of Mr. Hastert saying that they now have more sympathy for the Boy Scouts' decision to ban gay scoutmasters? Where's Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on that one?Of course, in Foley's case, we're talking about perverse fantasies, not actual practice. It's appropriate to remember how Democrats reacted to actual perversion:
This is harsher treatment than was meted out in the past to some Members of Congress who crossed another line and actually had sexual relations with underage pages. Democrat Gerry Studds of Massachusetts was censured in 1983 for seducing a male teenage page, but remained in the House for another 13 years and retired, according to the Boston Globe, with a rich pension.Jerry has written another good post about the whole imbroglio, as well, noting the utter confusion of the far Left, in whose circles homosexual behavior is supposed to be acceptable.
Thankfully, we have the New York Times to makes these fine distinctions between acceptably perverse behavior, and unacceptably perverse behavior.
2 comments:
Rep. Gerry Studds was reprimanded, not censured. As the House was voting, the arrogant jerk turned his back on the members.
Unless I've overlooked it, you haven't mentioned Rep. Barney Frank's scandal from the 1980s. His live-in boyfriend ran a homosexual escort service from the basement of Barney's house. Barney also had a bunch of parking tickets fixed in relation to that.
Newt Gingrich tried to have Frank (D-MA) censured, but he was only reprimanded, like Studds had been. Barney, of course, still serves in the House and is in line to become a committee chairman if the Democrats regain control.
I did a little research, and Rep. Studds was indeed censured in 1983. This was for having had sex with a 17-year-old male page 10 years earlier.
Rep. Barney Frank was reprimanded in July 1990.
January 2007: Chairperson Frank?
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