October 5, 2006, - 3:06 pm
Mark Foley Diarrhea: Notes on Dan Crane & Gerry Studds; The Studds “Monument”
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I, for one, am sick of the all-Mark-Foley-all-Hastert-should-resign all-the-time, diarrheic media slurry. And now, it’s being reported that the whole graphic IM message series between the now-former Congressman and the page was a set-up prank by the page, Jordan Edmund. Haha funny.
And some other notes on the matter:
On Sunday, I wrote about , among them Donald E. Buz Lukens, who resigned in shame after an alleged affair with a teen-age prostitute (pimped out by her own mother!).
I also mentioned that I worked for former Congressman Phillip M. Crane. A number of people e-mailed and commented about whether he was the Congressman who had an affair with a page. No, he was not. That was Dan Crane, his brother–an Illinois dentist. I was well aware of Dan Crane’s involvement in the page scandal, because at age 17, when I began working for Phil Crane, his office manager told all of the interns about it and reminded us that this was the brother, NOT our boss. Phil Crane was a principled, brilliant, honorable, and decent guy in all the years I’ve known him. And I remain good friends with him, his wife Arlene, and his children, to date. He can’t be held responsible for the actions of his brother.
Dan Crane, who had an affair with a female page, cried on the floor of the House of Representatives. He publicly apologized and begged for the forgiveness of the people of his district. All of this was televised. He lost his Congressional seat.
Gerry Studds, who had an affair with a male page at around the same time, did none of those things. And he was re-elected over and over. He got to retire with honor, years later.
And, incredibly, he now has a federal site named after him. No, it’s not the Washington Monument. It’s the Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Also notable, a Republican Congressman Don Young of Alaska, is the one who asked that the Sanctuary be named after this liberal Congressional Page paramour. (The info on the Sanctuary’s site is completely incorrect–it says that Senator Andrew Young of Alaska did so. No such Senator from Alaska, ever.) Young later took campaign contributions from Studds. Perhaps something strange was going on there.
Frankly, I think a federal bathhouse would be a better monument to Studds, if there must be any government site bearing his name. A friend of mine suggests Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, which we both think would be more appropriate in a lot of ways.
So, a national sanctuary, of all places, named after Gerry Studds. But Foley resigned for the same thing. And, yet, it’s still not enough.
What will be? Perhaps a complete apology by the former page, Jordan Edmund, for playing a prank that has now turned America upside down when we’re supposed to be fighting a war on terror.
No-one is saying Foley should not have resigned. He should have. And it’s good he’s gone. But the non-stop Natalee Holloway style coverage is absurd.
How many heads will be enough for the lumpen liberaltariat–and mediatariat?
Tags: Alaska, America, Andrew Young, Arkansas, Arlene, congressman, Dan Crane, Debbie Schlussel, dentist, Diarrhea, diarrheic media slurry, Don Young, Donald E. "Buz" Lukens, federal site, Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank, Gerry Studds, government site, Haha, Hot Springs National Park, House of Representatives, Illinois, Jordan Edmund, Mark Foley, Mark Foley Diarrhea, National Marine Sanctuary, office manager, Phil Crane, Phillip M. Crane, Senator, Washington Monument
Debbie, your last sentence is right on the money.
I continue to shake my head in wonder at how passionate politicians and journalists (and some regular folks) have been about this scandal.
Imagine that, a sex scandal involving congress. Did Foley, or did he not write those e-mails and messages?
Quite frankly, I donít give a damn.
I worry a little more about the war weíre fighting, than congressmen with hyper-active libidos.
Rocky on October 5, 2006 at 4:05 pm