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Still behind, Illinois media tries to play catch-up on Foley scandal
Tuesday, Oct 3, 2006 * The State Journal-Register editorializes: Most of us are not looking at this situation as a political football game. We are looking at it as parents who wonder how in the world anyone could consider even for a nanosecond that politics might be more important than protecting a child. * The SJ-R’s article completely buried the item about Sen. Dick Durbin’s call on Shimkus to resign as chairman of the page board, relegating it to one sentence. * The Sun-Times editorial, which won’t be read by many in Shimkus’ district, is harsh on the Republican incumbent. “Mark Foley should be ashamed,” Shimkus told the press conference. So should Shimkus and any other Republican who failed to protect the young people serving as pages. Hastert says he does not recall being told about the first reports of Foley’s behavior last year. The early reports on the messages did not contain any explicit language. Still, when the GOP leaders heard about them, why did they take Foley’s word that the messages were merely “over friendly?” Why didn’t they launch a formal investigation? In this day, when there has been so much angst and anger over the sexual predations of Catholic priests and school teachers, why did Shimkus and the other Republicans in the know just shrug this off? The horrible irony is that Foley himself sponsored legislation to protect children from sexual predators. * The Tribune editorial makes a good point at the very end: But this scandal now rests where it should: at the door of the speaker of the House. Mr. Hastert, you don’t need a squad of FBI agents to tell you how you and your colleagues in the House reacted when they first learned that Mark Foley had crossed a line that ought never be broached. You need to tell us. * Democrat Dan Stover, Shimkus’ opponent, got some rare ink. A Democratic congressional candidate says U.S. Rep. John Shimkus should step down from panel that oversees more than 70 pages working in the U.S. House. * The Alton Telegraph ran this long headline above its coverage of Shimkus today: “U.S. Rep. John Shimkus ducked a chance to address his role in the growing House page scandal on Monday, and his November election opponent and other Democrats wasted little time in turning up the heat. “ * The Tribune looks at the political fallout in the 8th: U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) and Republican challenger David McSweeney disagreed Monday over whether to scrap the congressional page program amid a scandal involving a Florida congressman. * Crain’s has more from congressional candidates:
- Posted by Rich Miller
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- Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 9:32 am:
Dick Durbin makes a good point. The Senate panel that oversees their page program isn’t headed by Congressmen, it’s headed by the sergeant-at-arms, a member of the Capitol Police, and has been led by ex-generals and ex-MP’s.
The don’t need to dissolve the program, as McSweeney suggests, they need to put responsible adults in charge.
- DSOWNSTATE - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 9:33 am:
I wouldn’t put to much into what Stover says if the people I have talked to from his home town are correct and several have had the same opinion.They claimed Stover worked for Stover and he didn’t last long in the offices he was in.
- Snark - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 9:44 am:
Boy Shimkus and Hastert sure have given a lot of money to candidates in important races this year, and not exactly late at night in undisclosed locations. Where’s a good “Sword of Justice” when you need it?
- Troy News Guy - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 9:45 am:
I met John eight years ago after moving to the Metro East, and he’s a solid guy. But I think his self-imposed term limits should have kicked in. He originally didn’t want to stay in Congress forever…. because you’ll get dirty. Shimkus certainly should pay the price and resign as page chairman. Stover may be an unknown, but people I talk to from Shimkus’ hometown are very disappointed about this. Plus, all the dirt hasn’t come out yet. I hate to see it happen to a good man, but John I think it’s time to stay home and be with your family.
- (618) Democrat - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 10:08 am:
Downstate:
This is not about Stover.
This is about a person of power, Shimkus, protecting a Republican colleague when he should have been looking out for the welfare of a child. It is also about the apparent cover up while the predator was allowed to continue his acts.
I think we are going to hear more things that will be even more troubling, if that is possible, before this is over.
- HANKSTER - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 10:19 am:
The conservative Washington Times editorial board called for Hastert to resign today. This story is not going away.
- DSOWNSTATE - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 10:35 am:
Is it true that 2 news outlets are saying that a couple of high ranking Democrats had the same emails and done nothing or were waiting for the right moment to release them.Fox news is one.
- DSOWNSTATE - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 10:38 am:
YDD is right about putting the right people in charge but it was not so long ago that a Democrat was chasing them down the halls and he got re-elected for his dishonor.
- outsider - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 10:39 am:
if the dems “timed” the leak for political purposes, how does that differentiate them from the Republicans?
- Middle Majority - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 10:42 am:
Methinks thou dost protest too much…and too quickly, and with too much organization, and too coincidentally timed, and with too much ignorance of the facts, and with too much feigned ignorance of the difference between emails and IMs, and with too much over-dramatization…
As this is playing out I keep getting a very creepy feeling that this is very planned. The fact is that conservatives don’t have any problem with taking down one of their own if they are believed to have violated ethics. If the outed perpetrator doesn’t commit harikari he will be stoned. Foley is the perfect example, he could have been taken down at any time (and the sooner the better from my perspective). Compared to the liberal trait of circling the wagons and making excuses for human failings, this could even be charachterized as a conservative party political weakness, but to conservatives values and ethics are more important than winning.
As this is now being played more as an attack on Hastert, Shimkus, and Republicans in general, I think I will wait for the dust to settle before jumping to conclusions.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 11:03 am:
DSOWNSTATE - I’m not going to defend what Stubbs did, or Clinton for that matter. But let’s not blur distinctions either. A bipartisan panel immediately called for investigations into Stubbs and Clinton. Stubbs was censured by a bipartisan swath of Congress. Clinton was thoroughly investigated in an open public forum and the charges found wanting.
Contrast that with how Hastert and Shimkus handled things. The allegations against Foley were never formally investigated. Even though there was ample evidence that something fishy was going on, law enforcement was never contacted, Foley’s office and computer were never searched, and other past pages were never questioned to see if this was an isolated incident or just the tip of the iceberg. And who was the first person that Hastert and Shimkus consulted with? The chair of the House Ethics Committee? No. The chair of the House Republican re-election efforts.
Republicans handled this as a political issue from the get-go, and politically its coming back to bite them in the butt. If Republicans had handled this properly, there would be no political ammo.
And let’s not forget, while these e-mails just popped into Hastert and Shimkus’s lap ten months ago, YEARS ago their staff was warning pages to steer clear of Foley.
The House leadership’s idea of keeping our kids safe seems to be to post a sign that says “SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK.” Total dereliction of duty.
- NW burbs - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 11:03 am:
Outsider and Middle Majority, Your claims are laughable.
The Dems didn’t even know about it in the first place. So how would they be able to “time” anything? They were kept in the dark just like you and me. In fact, Republicans as late as Friday (the day ABC aired the emails) were still trying to cover it all up by trying to cut deals with ABC to keep it off the air.
You’re grasping at straws and still coming up empty. And in the process you are defending the fact Republicans were protecting a pedophile? Sick and twisted.
In fact, let’s look at your argument here. The Republicans knew about the Foley affair 5 years ago (that’s when they started warning pages about Foley).
Why didn’t Republicans turn him in to the authorities at that point? No, they circled the wagons in some bizarre attempt to protect their political power. Is one Congressional seat that important to them?
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I agree with Rich that the Illinois media coverage on this has been abysmal. They’re revealing themselves to either be in the GOP’s pocket or simply unable to keep up with the story and stop themselves from being spun like tops.
It’s ridiculous when the media allows quotes and assertions from the GOP to be printed when those very same quotes and assertions were contradicted a day earlier by other Republicans. WTF?
What kind of person hears that a Congressman was sending 16-year-olds “overly friendly” emails and takes that Congressman at his word without looking into it further? Obviously the parents of the Louisiana boy were concerned enough to contact their own Representative. I don’t buy that the parents wanted “privacy”. Why would they have gotten in touch with their Congressman if they didn’t want someone to know?
None of what the Republicans or their partisan defenders like Outsider and Middle Majority passes any sort of BS test. None of it.
Many of the people involved in Republican leadership are parents. If someone in a position of power (a priest, a teacher, a boss, a Congressman) were sending your son or daughter “overly friendly” emails that made them feel “sick” wouldn’t you want to find out what the #%$& is going on????
(And for all you partisan whiners complaining the Dems would just let it pass… The Dem leadership was among the first calling for Rep. Jefferson to leave when the bribery investigation came to light — it was the Black Caucus that held that back. And Clinton was friggin’ impeached people — so yes, he too was punished despite the fact he and Lewsinsky are consenting adults, not children.)
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 11:10 am:
And DSOWNSTATE, while you hammer on Stubbs re-election 20 years ago, let’s not forget that Tom DeLay just got renominated months ago for his dishonor. So let’s not lay that “Republicans do a better job of cleaning their own house than Democrats” stuff on too thick.
Stubbs and DeLay’s record were both clear to the voters, and barring a felony conviction, it is ultimately up to the voters to measure the candidates on the ballot. It’s not a perfect system. In fact, to quote Winston Churchill, “Democracy is the worst system of government in the world, except for every other system.”
- (618) Democrat - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 11:10 am:
Downstate: If what you say is true about the two high ranking Democrats, lets have their names, then I will ask them to resign from congress along with Shimkus.
I will not support or make excuses for anyone who protects and enables a child sex predator, Democrat or Republican.
- NW burbs - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 11:12 am:
Dsownstate — I’d hardly call Fox a “news” outlet. Republican propoganda outfit maybe, but not really “news” in the traditional sense of the word.
Again, how could the Dems have known about this when Shimkus and Hastert were keeping the Foley affair secret? Even Republican Leaders like Roy Blunt are claiming to have been kept in the dark.
Why are you politicizing this pedophile and cover-up? It doesn’t matter if Republicans or Democrats or Whigs or Tories were involved. A Congressman of any party preying on 16-year-olds and asking them to take off their boxers and measure themselves is flat out wrong.
Do you have kids? You’d be a heck of a lot more upset about this if you did.
- Bill Baar's Physician - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 11:15 am:
DSOWNSTATE:
Nice try to change the subject (its funny to watch conservatives still obssessed with Bill Clinton - everything is related to Clinton, everything is Clinton’s fault, everything was Clinton’s fault, Clinton did it so it was wrong, Clinton did it so it must be okay now, Clinton, Clinton, Clinton). Also, you wrote that Clinton was chasing “them down the halls.” Monica Lewinsky was an adult. As his emails and the itnerviews with former pages show, GOP Cong. Foley preyed on children, minors, kids. The law is clear that minors cannot legally consent to sexual relations, so when Foley chased “them,” Foley was preying on children.
And nice try to try to work the GOP talking points, i.e. this is all just a Democratic witch hunt.
Sorry, but Republican Members are the ones stepping forward. From the Charleston Daily Mail (via Hunter at Daily Kos (http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/10/2/18643/3951):
“Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., says she was not told about suggestive e-mails that a Florida congressman sent to a 16-year-old former Capitol page, even though she is one of three representatives who oversee the page program. […]
Several high-ranking House Republicans have known about the e-mails for months, including Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., chairman of the House Page Board.
Late last year, Shimkus met with Foley about the e-mails. But Shimkus never told Capito or the board’s other member, Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Mich., about them until Friday, according to all three.
“There’s only three of us on the page board. I feel that we should have been informed,” Capito said. “I’m absolutely disgusted by what I’m hearing. I was caught totally unaware.” […]
Capito said she would have been very concerned if she had read those e-mails.
“I don’t think it would pass the sniff test,” she said. “Even asking those questions — that is not normal between a 52-year-old adult and a 16-year-old. It’s not like they’re family friends or anything. I think it would raise some serious questions. But I wasn’t given that opportunity.”
Late last year, Shimkus and former House Clerk Jeff Tandahl met privately with Foley to talk about the e-mails, but did not tell the other House Page Board members or launch an investigation.”
Hastert has changed his story again and again and again, trying to claim the House leadership “didn’t know.” That’s a flat lie. There have now been at least two high-level GOP figures, Boehner and Reynolds, who gave direct quotes to the press saying Hastert personally knew about the Foley “problem”. Hastert has pointedly refused to dispute Reynold’s assertion.
The undisputed facts here are these: the GOP pages (but not the Democratic pages) were “warned” about Foley as of 2001. GOP Members Alexander, Shimkus, Reynolds, Boehner, and Hastert, at minimum, knew about the problem. It came up very directly again in late 2005, and there are stories in the press describing Hastert and the others as discussing the problem multiple times between then and the spring of 2006.
And nothing happened. Hastert himself knew, his office knew, and a sizable chunk of the leadership knew — and they just didn’t do nothing, they prevented the usual channels from even investigating the claims. As Capito says, it doesn’t pass the sniff test.
Sad quote from Hastert at his press conference yesterday: “‘Would have, could have, should have,’ Mr. Hastert said, responding to questions about whether Republicans should have done more.”
- NW burbs - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 11:15 am:
Here’s a link to the Roy Blunt story claiming even he was kept in the dark by Hastert and Shimkus and Reynolds. I don’t know that I believe it, but it puts the lie to any notion that Democrats knew and were simply keeping it quiet til October…. Dumb.
(And why was Tom Reynolds even made aware of this — he’s the head of the Republican re-election committee, a purely political post. Nothing to do with House ethics, etc.)
- winco - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 11:31 am:
it was Studds, not Stubbs. No jokes please.
- Scott Fawell's Cellmate - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 12:20 pm:
In our discussion about the sexually graphic online emails from Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) and the GOP leadership’s cover-up of Foley’s sexual predatory practices, lets not lose focus about the victims. Remember, we are dealing with particularly vulnerable victims: House pages. 16-year old kids living in dorms, away from home (most likely for the first time), looking for adult mentors and leaders in public service.
Accordingly, Members and their staffs owe a special duty to these children and to their parents, as the below excerpt from an online article from ABC News shows.
“The bright high school juniors who come to Washington to be pages are wards of Congress, much like orphans were when the House first hired them to run errands in centuries past.
In their gray and navy uniforms, they get a taste of power while doing humdrum jobs, serving at the whim of an institution that shelters, educates and pays them while they are far from home.
The potential for abuse is apparent, as it always is when power and powerlessness are in the same room….
Members of Congress are expected to take special responsibility for the welfare of pages and act in place of their parents. Protections introduced since the early 1980s include an increase in the starting age of pages to 16 from 14, dorms for them to live in, heightened supervision and a board to protect their well-being.” (http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/print?id=2520355)
House Pages have done nothing wrong, and yet Hastert and the GOP leadership who failed the Pages now want to destroy the House Page program. The House Pages were the innocent victims here, and now Hastert and the GOP want to punish them - again.
I have a proposal for Speaker Hastert, Shimkus, Boehner, Reynolds and the rest of the GOP leadership who failed to protect children they knew were actually at risk: demand that Foley donate his $2.7M campaign warchest to the House Page program to create real safeguards for these young people.
- Bill Baar's Physician - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 12:23 pm:
In addition to banning the House Page program - to solve the problem of Members and staff preying on Pages - Shimkus wants to ban children from the Capital.
These kids are just too tempting for Members.
- Tip O. Iceberg - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 12:35 pm:
Just wait.
They’re gonna find some kid that Foley molested AFTER Shimkus got the e-mail.
Then all kinda hell’s gonna break loose.
- Enraged - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 12:53 pm:
The Washington Times is right. Hastert should step down. How insensitive (or even politically tone deaf)can you be? You’re in charge of the safety and well being of children and you know one of your members is sending inappropirate messages to these kids and you DON’T DO A FRIGGIN’THING?!! Not even ask some questions?
I guess that’s the Washington buddy system–look the other way, cover up for your guy.
What a pathetic bunch this Congress is–rubber stamps for Bush’s war, rubber stamps for Hastert’s look-the-other-way polcies.
- Southern Ilinois Democrat - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 1:49 pm:
Shimkus and Hastert should go. It doesnt matter to me which party they belong to if they make this kind of error in judgement. These men put children in danger by attemtping to sweep a problem under the rug. Now that they are caught, they are spitting out excuses left anf right. The next thing I expect to hear is that Shimkus and Hastert will admit they have a drug and/or alcohol addiction and are admitting themselves into a program. These guys make me sick.
- Carl Nyberg - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 2:43 pm:
Wasn’t Shimkus “helping” Foley by introducing him to pages he wouldn’t have met otherwise?
Was Shimkus so naive he couldn’t tell what was going on?
Would you want someone of Shimkus’ judgment representing you?
- Carl Nyberg - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 2:45 pm:
Hastert, Shimkus and the rest of the Republicans implicated don’t have a good reason for not investigating once they saw the emails.
- annon - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 5:00 pm:
Yea !!! Typical liberal Dem responses…..fire them all & make them resign damn it !!! Is there no due process…ever once think that Ahhhh ! Shimkus , Hastert & others are telling the truth !!!! No because it’s an election year & of the 435 house members, one screwed up so the whole bunch is guilty !!!???? So I know let’s blame the party in the majority. What about Clinton ??? NO Dem’s were calling for resignation then …were they now. And we ALL know what that entailed….8 years of nothing but !!! It’s sad that Foley has these problem{s} booze & kid tendacies & yes the children exploited is an inmeasurable degradation & I’m sure {as many will agree} devastating & appalling. By how on earth {without the benefit of fact} can anyone blame anyone else for this guys inappropriate behavior ???? Answer ! You can’t. We don’t know yet the extent & how far it’s gone. Hastert & the boys are limited. Foley resigned ….good ridance ….so let’s let law enforcement do it’s thing…hell it might surprise you “resign mongers” to know at the end of it all they were telling the truth & maybe did ALL they could do at that given time.
- BonVoyageJohn - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 5:18 pm:
Post Dispatch still looking for Shimkus…try Collinsville guys.
WGN radio had a guy who worked for Foley on this a.m. and he talking about being driven the airport and Foley rubbing his face and talking about a clean shave.
Maybe these guys can bring in the pope as a pr adviser.
anyone ask Shimkus for his emails yet?
- T. C. - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 6:18 pm:
After reading NW burbs rambling diatribe at 11:03 a.m., it is so obvious that liberals still cannot get it through their heads that Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice. Not for giving Monica her presidential kneepads.
They also seem to believe tha all Republicans are guilty when one of them turns out to be a sleazeball. They seem to also have a short memory. I think it is called selective memory. How about Mel Reynolds, Gary Studds, Joe Biden, William Jefferson, and America’s favorite lifeguard Ted (Chapaquidik) Kennedy. That doesn’t make all Democrats guilty.
A person can pick out any demographic group, whether Democrat, Republican, Black, White, Right handed or Left handed and find a reprobate. That doesn’t make all of them guilty by association.
I would like to hear the facts before I demand any resignations.
- RealClear - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 7:14 pm:
Here’s a simple fact:
Shimkus and Hastert would STILL be playing cover-up if ABC News hadn’t forced their hand.
And that’s the real problem here.
- Anon - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 7:32 pm:
Enough of the small talk, let’s hear it from another Illinois Republican Congressman about how to responsibly and morally respond to this shocking matter and get down to what’s really important, as reported this afternoon by Reuters:
“Illinois Rep. Ray LaHood told CNN (that) Republicans faced a challenge in winning back supporters and “we have to change the subject and get back to the issues that energize our base.”
Whatta stand-up guy he is. Impressive. Impressively shallow and crass, that is.
- T. C. - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 7:35 pm:
RealClear that is called assuming. I haven’t heard them as being facts. Let’s stay open-minded, shall we.
As I recall from a previous posting, someone mentioned high level Democrats that had the information and did not turn it over to the L.E.O.s. If that is the case that could be considered withholding information dealing with a crime being committed. I am not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV (:)) but like I said, lets get all the facts before we string anybody up besides Foley.
- Troy News Guy - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 7:43 pm:
I’m still bothered that Shimkus is being kept quiet by the GOP machine. Refusing interviews from St. Louis radio stations he used to be in-studio for (KMOX and McGraw on KTRS) and no comment from his office. Just buying time as the GOP investigators start combing the Hill for every page ever.
- RealClear - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 8:16 pm:
It’s not about stringing anyone up T.C. It’s about something called an election five weeks away, and about the kind of people we want running our country.
- T. C. - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 9:14 pm:
It would seem that those are just allegations. That is probably the same thing that you would vehemently disclaim as being groundless when talking about the allegations against our illustrious governor.
Sorry that I cannot spar with you any more, but I have one of those things called a job that I must attend early in the a.m.
- notsofast - Tuesday, Oct 3, 06 @ 10:00 pm:
No, T.C., when someone says something on the record, in front of witnesses, that is easily, repeatedly, and incontrovertibly proven untrue, that someone is guilty of lying.
So that pretty much rules out the use of the term “allegation,” which is a claim that is yet unproven.
Nice try though. What’s next? An even more ridiculous attempt to divert attention from or muddle this scandal, say, a nationally televised attempt to misidentify Foley as a Democrat? Oh wait. Someone got there first: http://tinyurl.com/pjfz2
(be patient and try, try, again–that site is really slow tonight)
- BonVoyageJohn - Wednesday, Oct 4, 06 @ 6:26 am:
Sounds like John is preparing for his exit interview and/or session with teh FBI by trying to blame Dems.
Many are still wondering if John:
1. Talked to the parents that the pervert/drunk
wanted to ….. or yeah get a photo before or after ht talked with the pervert/drunk
2. thought talking to the GOP campaign committee chair (Reynolds) was better than calling the police or whoever checks out pervert/drunks in DC?
I am sure there will be more questions later in the day
- Charles Martel - Wednesday, Oct 4, 06 @ 8:52 am:
This entire Foley incident is disgusting. I would expect this from the party of the Hollywood gang and the big labor bosses but not the party of the self righteous. Time for Mr. Foley to turn over a new page in his life.
- AliceBlueGown - Wednesday, Oct 4, 06 @ 3:23 pm:
For once I agree with Mayor Daley. If Congressman resign because they covered up corruption, there would be nobody left in Congress!