Hoity toity. It's possible you just haven't been paying attention to the ways of Washington, but it's also possible you only notice scandal when the perp is a Republican.
>>House Page Scandal, 1983
Forget Monica Lewinsky. In the early 1980s, a so-called ?sex and drugs investigation? by the House ethics committee revealed the worst nightmare of every parent of an honor roll student: Members of Congress having sex with underage House pages.
In 1983, the ethics panel determined that Reps. Dan Crane (R-Ill.) and Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) had both engaged in sexual relationships with Congressional pages, both 17-year-old minors.
Crane, a married father of six, was apologetic about his 1980 relationship with the young female page. But Studds, who was outed as gay by the episode, was unrepenting about his involvement with a teenage boy 10 years earlier.
Gingrich, then a junior Republican, demanded the expulsion of his disgraced colleagues. But the House as a whole was more forgiving, voting to censure both Crane and Studds. Crane lost re-election in 1984, though Studds was handily re-elected until he retired in 1996.
Both the House ethics committee and Justice Department failed to find any evidence that Members were involved in a cocaine-distribution ring on Capitol Hill, though the $2 million probe did snag six low-level Congressional employees. Among those prosecuted were employees of the House Doorkeeper?s office and a Senate elevator operator.
politicalresources.com
'Course, back in the old days, politicians could get away with more, because sex scandals weren't considered acceptable front page news in allegedly family newspapers. Or, as Clinton's supporters said, as many would say, sex is a private matter. |
