The rapidly unfolding House scandal in which (former) Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) repeatedly engaged underage, teenaged Congressional pages in seductive and pornographic communications, including "Internet sex" and who knows what else, has caused unknown harm to many individuals. It threatens a sitting Speakership and potentially the GOP's 12-year majority, and will forever spoil many reputations, most notably Foley's. (His lawyer, btw, categorically denies any sexual contact with minors.)
Deservedly so. Foley's and the Republicans' reputations are taking a beating. So, too, are the Florida delegation's and that of the entire Congress. Depending on how the media and blogs pursue the story and on how authorities succeed (or fail) to prosecute criminal activity, their and our reputations are on the line, too.
* * *
"The personal is political," in which a personal anecdote or sentiment
(rightly or wrongly) justifies a public stance, belongs to no party
or ideology. While sparks fly in all directions -- The GOP says they're for 'family values'?! [spit]... Aha! The Democrats' 'October Surprise' ... "The MSM misreported this!" -- and while the Democrats (Barney) frank(ly) lack the moral authority to condemn Foley and the GOP leadership -- at least two conservative commentators are contributing to this story in a timely and meaningful way. Michelle Malkin and Debbie Schlussel have recently come
forward with stories of their own Washington internships.
From Ms. Schlussel's "Mark Foley moment":
I know this first-hand. When I was in high school and college, I worked as an intern on Capitol Hill for three Republican Congressman--Mark Siljander of Michigan, Phil Crane of Illinois, and Donald E. "Buz" Lukens of Ohio. During my junior year of college, just after I worked for Lukens, he was caught in a sex scandal, broken by tabloid show "A Current Affair" (then hosted by Bill O'Reilly). Lukens was blackmailed on tape (all set up and arranged by the FOX show) by a teen-age prostitute and her mother, who was apparently her pimp and "marketed" her as "of legal age." Lukens was apparently one of their "customers."
It gave new meaning to the Christmas cards he sent me that said "Debbie, We hardly knew ye." It was the other way around, apparently. I hardly knew him. Still, I felt bad for him--it was a sleazy situation created in part by a sleazy, sick pimp mother (to whom nothing happened) and a sleazy TV show whose host now claims he's a "culture warrior." Buz Lukens was always nice to me (no, not in that way) and all of those who worked for him. And I saw him lose everything. He lost his Congressional seat, the scant money he had, was forced to take AIDS tests, and had to attend sex offender education. He lost everything.
From Ms. Malkin's "Reflections of a former intern":
The most important lesson I learned, however, came before my internship even began. Several weeks preceding my arrival in Washington, I got a call from an East Coast congressman. My college had sent out notices requesting help for interns in need of temporary housing. The congressman offered me a room in his Capitol Hill residence --- for free. He was married and had a family, but lived alone in D.C. while Congress was in session. How generous, I thought. And how exciting....
A few days after the congressman had extended his offer, I still had not made up my mind. Then I received a call in my dorm room that sealed my fate. It was the congressman's wife. In a brief and bizarre conversation, she started pouring her heart about the difficulties she was having with her husband. She asked me not to come. She cautioned me that it wouldn't turn out the way I thought it would.
Yikes. I was just looking for a place to stay -- not a real-life role in the D.C. version of "Days of Our Lives." Freaked out, I immediately turned down the invitation.
Update 10/4: "It's the predation, stupid"
Mercifully, we're not hearing from the teenaged pages whose trust has been molested by the dishonorable Congressman from Florida. I would like to state for the record, however, that Ms. Schlussel's and Ms. Malkin's remarks bring to mind the teenager I once was....
* * *
When I was 17 and applying to colleges, a professional newspaper writer helped me write an essay that was objectively persuasive and personally meaningful. A heartstring-plucking, 700-word coming-of-age story, it helped me win acceptance to a top-tier, private New England university. Sticking by me from start to finish, he and I together identified les mots justes and purged all others. I couldn't have done it without him.
Then he tried to force me to have sex with him.
Nothing happened in any graphic (or "Prince of Tides") sense. My objections, which eventually showed him I'd fight if necessary, collapsed his resolve. He quickly teared up when he realized what he was doing, and abjectly apologized.
Call it what you want -- "a moment of truth" ... "the drama of the unlived life" ... or whatever -- the trust had vanished. I felt like the garbage in a little office wastebasket -- after you crush it down with your foot to make room for more garbage. I walked out of his apartment and never looked back.
How little it takes for a pivotal role model to turn into a cringing weakling, leaving only confusion, anger, contempt, and sadness -- and the sting of a psychological slap that never quite goes away.
I am beginning to wonder if there is a human being on the planet who has never had some contact with a pervert. Every time a story comes out, other people have personal stories to tell. I had a very short job as a secretary to someone who I suspected had his hand in his "lap" whenever he gave dictation. I thought it was just my imagination until another woman working for the same guy asked me if she was imagining it also. Needless to say I found another job as quickly as possible.
Posted by: westbankmama | October 04, 2006 at 04:50 AM
Yep. 30 years after the fact one of my mother's acting coaches was exposed on the evening news for working "too closely" with his acting students. (His conduct, eventually and somehow, had become newsworthy.) Very clearly she remembered havnig been uncomfortable with the way he'd taught. Who ever likes to mention this stuff?
Posted by: Jeremiah | October 04, 2006 at 02:04 PM