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Studds Had To Die To Get NBC To Recall His Sex With A Teen Page
~ 9:45am EDT, Monday October 16, 2006
Gerry Studds had to die for NBC Nightly News to inform viewers of how the former Democratic Congressman had a sexual relationship with 17-year-old male congressional page, misconduct for which the House in 1983 censured him, but did not prompt Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill and other leaders to force his resignation -- nor raise calls for O'Neill's resignation. Despite the Democratic hypocrisy given their current calls for Speaker Hastert's resignation and investigations of who knew what and when about Mark Foley, Saturday night -- two weeks into the media-fueled scandal -- was the first time, according to Nexis, any NBC News program mentioned Studds' name.
Anchor John Seigenthaler, who called Studds "Gary," relayed how "from Massachusetts comes word of the death of former Democratic Congressman Gary Studds, the first openly gay Member of Congress." Seigenthaler then gave the gentlest of descriptions as he avoided the word "sexual" in his one sentence on the matter: "In 1983 the House of Representatives censured Studds for his relationship with a teenage page."
[This item was posted Saturday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
ABC does not produce an evening newscast on Saturdays during college football season and college football bumps the CBS Evening News on Saturdays in the Eastern and Central time zones.
As I recall, early in the week of October 2, the ABC and CBS evening newscasts made very brief mentions of the 1983 cases of Democrat Studds, who went on to repeatedly win re-election, and Republican Dan Crane, who also had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old congressional page -- but a girl -- and lost in his next primary. CNN's Jeff Greenfield put together a full story on Studds, Crane and the history of sexual scandals on Capitol Hill.
For how ABC News, which broke the Foley story, treated Studds back in 1983, check the October 6 CyberAlert item, "ABC on Studds: Only 'A Strong Sense of Loyalty' from Voters," online at: www.mrc.org
The brief item on the October 14 NBC Nightly News, as announced by anchor John Seigenthaler:
"From Massachusetts comes word of the death of former Democratic Congressman Gary [sic] Studds, the first openly gay Member of Congress. In 1983 the House of Representatives censured Studds for his relationship with a teenage page. Still, he won re-election until his retirement in 1997. Studds collapsed last week and was recovering in Boston at a hospital when doctors say he succumbed to a blood clot. Gary Studds was 69."
The Boston Globe's obituary for Studds, on Sunday's front page, noted: "As the Foley scandal unfolded and he abruptly resigned from the House, Republicans in Washington accused Democrats of hypocrisy, saying they had not spoken out in 1983 when Studds was censured. At the time, he called it 'a serious error,' but refused to resign."
[Oh, and on the Harry Reid scandal, zilch again Friday on the three broadcast network evening newscasts: CBS gave 15 seconds to the report of an investigation about a 1996 camping trip in which Congressman Jim Kolbe accompanied some former congressional pages and ABC, which allocated nearly two minutes to the guilty plea from former Congressman Bob Ney, spent about 15 seconds on Congressman John Shimkus appearing before the ethics committee. NBC gave about 25 seconds to Ney, but nothing to any Foley-related matter.]
CyberAlert. Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
A usually-daily report, edited by Brent H. Baker, CyberAlert is distributed by the Media Research Center, the leader since 1987 in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.
Check Out the MRC's Blog The MRC's blog site, NewsBusters, "Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias," provides examples of bias 24/7. With your participation NewsBusters will continue to be THE blog site for tracking and correcting liberal media bias. Come post your comments and get fresh proof of media misdeeds at: http://www.newsbusters.org
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Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Massachusetts Legacy
Saturday, former Congressman Gerry Studds died from a blood clot in his lung. He served in Congress for nearly 25 years and has left quite a legacy. Studds had been in the news lately as some media outlets were comparing his House page scandal to that of former Congressman Mark Foley of Florida. Foley was accused of sending obscene instant messages to former House pages, and he resigned within hours. Studds was accused of actually having a sexual relationship with a teenage House page. He refused to resign and when formally censured by the House of Representatives for misconduct, he turned his back on his colleagues in an amazing display of arrogance. The voters of his district re-elected him repeatedly, and House Democrats rewarded him with a committee chairmanship.
After word of his death became public, fellow Massachusetts Democrats praised Studds. Senator Edward Kennedy remarked, “Gerry’s leadership changed Massachusetts forever and we’ll never forget him.” Representative Barney Frank said, “Gerry was a forceful advocate for causes that were not always popular and that were consequently shunned by many politicians.”
An advocate for homosexual rights, Studds “married” his partner, Dean Hara, in Massachusetts in 2004. For his years of public service, Studds earned a congressional pension estimated at $114,000 a year. His “spouse” would normally be entitled to approximately $62,000 in survivor’s benefits. However, congressional pensions are governed by the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage in federal law as the union of one man and one woman. Thus, Mr. Hara does not qualify. Today there is news that homosexual rights groups are planning to use Studds’ death as a “teachable moment” to promote same-sex “marriage.” Those who believe in the sanctity of traditional marriage should welcome this debate – we will win it if we stand our ground.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Rep. Studds' Death Leveraged by Gay Activists
At least one group is arguing the deceased former congressman's same-sex partner should receive his federal pension.
Homosexual activists are looking to capitalize on the recent death of the first openly gay congressman, Rep. Gerry Studds, by claiming his same-sex partner is being discriminated against by the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
That law prohibits Studds' gay partner from inheriting his federal pension, worth an estimated $114,000 annually, according to Gary Buseck of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders. So, the group plans to use the incident to "educate" Congress about the need to legalize same-sex marriage — and then work to get lawmakers to strike down the law.
The federal DOMA defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman for the purposes of federal law — and says states need not recognize same-sex relationships, even if they are defined as "marriage" under one state's laws.
Studds and his partner, Dean Hara, were married in Massachusetts — the only state that allows same-sex couples to unite in matrimony.
Bob Knight, director of the Culture and Media Institute at the Media Research Center, said if Studds wanted Hara to receive his pension, he likely could have named him as a beneficiary, but the late congressman apparently didn't.
Taking a Page (Well, Two) From History
As you may have heard by now, former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) is not the first member of Congress to be involved in a congressional page scandal.
Twenty-three years ago, the House Ethics Committee concluded that Reps. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) and Daniel Crane (R-Ill.) had each engaged in sexual relationships with seventeen-year-old pages. Both admitted to the respective affairs, each of which had taken place several years earlier. While the Ethics Committee recommended only that the members be reprimanded, many felt that this punishment was not strong enough. Some, including future Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), argued that each member should be expelled from the House.
Ultimately, the chamber voted on measures to upgrade the punishment of both Studds and Crane from a reprimand to a censure. While only eight House Republicans opposed the upgrade for Studds (a Democrat), thirty-seven opposed it for Crane (a Republican). Meanwhile, slightly more Democrats supported the upgrade for Studds, their own member, than Crane. Once the measures passed, the actual censure resolutions were brought to the floor, where each was approved overwhelmingly (Studds: 420-3, Crane: 421-3).
Studds and Crane saw their careers go in separate directions following the censures. Studds was reelected to the House six times, eventually serving as Chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries (before it was dissolved in 1996). Crane, however, could not overcome the scandal and was defeated in his 1984 bid for reelection.
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