I’ve always wondered why Gerry Studds was held up as some sort of hero, especially in light of this:

Studds was first elected in 1972 and represented Cape Cod and the Islands, New Bedford, and the South Shore for 12 Congressional terms. He retired from Congress in 1997.

In his early career, Studds was known for opposing the Vietnam War and military intervention in Central America. Studds later became an advocate for a stronger federal response to the
AIDS crisis and was among the first members of Congress to endorse lifting the ban on gays serving in the military.

In 1983, Studds acknowledged his homosexuality after a 27-year-old man disclosed that he and Studds had had a sexual relationship a decade earlier when the man was a teenage congressional page.

The House of Representatives censured Studds, who then went home to face his constituents in a series of public meetings.

At the time, Studds called the relationship with the teenage page, which included a trip to Europe, “a very serious error in judgment.” But he did not apologize and defended the relationship as a consensual relationship with a young adult. The former page later appeared publicly with Studds in support of him.

Studds’ page was 17 at the time they had intercourse, while Foley never actually had intercourse with his page.  Yet Democrat contemporaries of Studds said little about his scandal at the time, and today he’s lionized as a gay rights hero.  Meanwhile, Mark Foley is treated like the scum of the earth.  Which he is, of course (as is Studds for banging an underaged page), but once again the differences between how a Democrat sex scandal is treated as opposed to a Republican sex scandal are remarkable.

Just think about it.  Studds bangs an underaged page and he’s remembered as a gay rights hero.  Bill Clinton bangs an intern in the White House, lies about it to the American people, and he finishes out his term in office.  Mel Reynolds bangs an underaged campaign worker, lies about it, and gets re-elected before he’s sent off to prison.  Foley has some cybersex with some underaged pages and he ends up resigning while the Democrats and their allies in the media try to use the scandal to bring down the whole GOP.

Simply amazing.

And why is Studds given credit for being “openly gay?” He wasn’t open about it until the scandal about it broke.  That’s hardly an example of courageousness, in my book.