A former House page speaks out on Foley scandal
Plenty of opinions on all sides have been aired loudly regarding the Mark Foley scandal that has rocked Congress and Washington politics. But we haven't heard much from the young people at the center of the story -- the congressional pages -- until now. And it's in the form of a personal perspective from a Greater Cincinnati native who served as a page.
In a Your Voice column appearing on the Tuesday, Oct. 10 editorial page, former House page Elizabeth Shockey, an Oak Hills High School graduate now a freshman at Columbia University in New York, writes that the controversy has unfairly tarnished the page program. "The victims of the Foley scandal are not House members whose seats are in jeopardy, but pages, both current and former, who have been failed by a Congress riveted by its own political power struggles," she writes.
Pages chosen to work for Congress are clearly warned to stay vigilant against sexual propositions and harrassment, Shockey writes. She fears that a worthwhile program that has helped numerous young Americans learn about the workings of government is now in jeopardy -- and not because of anything the pages have done wrong.
Do you think the congressional page program is outdated or just too dangerous for young people? Read her column and weigh in here with your opinion.
posted by Ray Cooklis at 4:37 PM
5 Comments:
at 8:31 PM, October 09, 2006 
JohnDWoodSr said...
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at 12:38 AM, October 10, 2006 
Anonymous said...
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at 8:57 AM, October 10, 2006 
Anonymous said...
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at 4:20 PM, October 10, 2006 
Anonymous said...
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at 10:30 AM, October 11, 2006 
Anonymous said...
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Post a Comment*I read with compassion Elizabeth Shockey's extremely thoughtful and well-written piece about the Foley scandal and the damage it has caused to the Congressional page program and to the pages themselves.
I don't know Miss Shockey personally but am sorry she feels that her reputation has been damaged by her association with the program in which Mark Foley's predations were concentrated. She certainly doesn't deserve it.
However, her assertions that Democratic exploitation of this sordid scandal for political gain has contributed to lowering the esteem we all have for the page program are simply not accurate.
This is not a partisan issue. It is a moral and ethical issue that if nothing else should point up the concern that all citizens have (or should have) for the safety and welfare of our children.
What would she have us Democrats do - NOT talk about it? If we didn't, the whole scandal would be covered up by now. How would that protect our young people? The fact that this scandal broke so close to the election was not because of Democratic partisanship. The scandal was exposed by a Republican aide. The timing was coincidental.
Additionally, it should be noted that not one democrat has blamed the pages or the page program for what happened. Not one, because we know that the fault lies not with the pages, but with the Republican leadership who failed in their responsibilities to the pages by keeping quiet for ten years.
On the other hand, Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL) has called for an indefinite suspension of the page program because "some (House) members betray their trust by taking advantage of them."
This is an attempt by the House Republicans to shift the focus of the scandal away from themselves. By inference, it is they who have besmirched the reputations of the pages by calling their maturity and integrity into account.
Also, James Dobson, head of the conservative group, Focus on the Family, has been repeating as fact a rumor started "somewhere" that the whole Foley scandal was instigated by the pages themselves "as a prank."
Again, a very unfair charge against the pages, and patently untrue.
It's plain to see who is doing the damage Miss Shockey decries, and it is not the Democrats.
I can understand Miss Shockey's distress and anger, but feel that if she were able to set aside her political leanings and take a more objective view, she would see the truth of what I am saying.
The fact that such a question is even be asked illustrates how messed up things are in Congress. You are asking if we can protect Congressional pages from the members of Congress. Think about it---what does that say about the members?
Ms. Shockey's is right when she says that there is nothing wrong with the page program. What's wrong is we have Congressmen who cannot control their libido and House Leaders like John Boehner who cannot see the moral imparative of acting when he sees something is wrong.
When a Congressional leader learns or even suspects that one of his collegaues is having inappropriate contact with minors why shouldn't he call the cops and report the crime? They do have a thing called the Capitol Hill Police?
According to one page who was interviewed by a national news organization Foley's inapproiate behavior was no secret on Capitol Hill. If most of the pages new about it how in the world did it escape the attention of House leadership?
Boehner, Hastert, and Reynolds say they could not see the significance of Foley's behavior. Well...excuse me...but the signs were so obvious that the three blind mice could have seen what was going on.
How is it that everyone else around the Capitol seemed to know about Foley's interest in pages years ago, yet the House GOP leadership team of "hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil" was oblivious to what everyone else knew?
And how about the democrats who apparently knew about Foley and saved the "dirt" for release at the most politically oportune time---just prior to election? They should be held to account as well. Why didn't they call the Capitol Hill Police? They too placed politics above the safety of children.
The solution is simple. It is not to discontinue the page program it is to discontinue the service of ANY Congressman who knew anything about Foley's behavior and failed to call the police and failed to aggressively investigate.
The page program should stay. Every member of the House GOP leadership team should go, and so should their democrat counterparts.
There is no excuse for their silence.
It is a shame that the pages, the actual victims in this scandal, seem to have been brushed aside by the other victims in this scandal, the poor powerful Republican leaders.
They are victims of the media and the liberal Democrats. Interesting how the party of "personal responsibility" becomes victims of the media and the liberals when it is convenient for them.
Newsflash. ABC wouldn't even air this story on television originally so it was relegated to their website. Does this sound like the media "targeting Republicans"?
Newsflash #2. Political gain is not a crime. Republicans use the media for political gain all the time. Democrats do too. It is not a crime like soliciting minors is. That is the difference. Why would you call for an investigation into something that is not a crime? Gee. The only reason I can think of is to point the finger somewhere else and gain a political edge. And yes, this is disgusting. So are the ads the Democrats put out taking advantage of the situation. Politics is disgusting. But these are not criminal acts.
So quit your crying, Republicans. That's what is really disgusting about this mess. The fact that the real victims are taking a backseat to the powerful "victims."
This (Foley)incident only shows the extent of the corruption in our government. We need a limit of 2 terms in office for both the senators and the house representatives -- and NO pension plan. It is unconscionable that our congressmen (on both sides)are sucking the life out of our government. Service in our government was NOT intended as a life-time commitment. There are entirely too many incidents of corruption and cover-ups. The only difference is that the Republicans put their persons out of office, while the Democrats cry foul and glorify the wrong-doers. I sincerely think that most Americans want honesty, decency, and integrity in ALL the elected officials. It's definitely time for a constitutional ammendment for term limits with no pension plan.
I agree with most of Hebron27's reform suggestions, with one change. I believe campaign contributions should only be allowed from constituents. In other words, you can only contribute to a campaign that you can actually vote on. It is ridiculous to allow contributions from anyone who doesn't have a direct interest in the outcome. hat would go a long way to 1) making the process more fair without stepping on free speech rights; and 2) focus campaigns better because candidates would be dependent on their constituents for support (what a concept!)
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