Cezary Podkul | Voters won't forget about Foley

If the Clinton years have taught us anything about political sex scandals, it's that the heart of the scandal is often not the allegations themselves, but rather how politicians react to them.

The abrupt resignation of former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) - after ABC News exposed his sexually explicit instant message conversations with former House pages - is yet another case in point.

It's also another reason why the American people should think twice about to which party they want to hand control of the House of Representatives in November.

The Foley sex scandal is certainly not a situation unique to the Republicans; from Melvin Renolds (D-Ill.) in 1995 to Daniel Crane (R-Ill.) in 1980, both parties have had their fair share of congressmen disciplined for sexual misconduct.

"It is an unfortunate state of affairs, but it is not something that is unique to either party," College Republicans President and Wharton junior Jack Abraham said.

So the good news is that, when it comes to predatory sexual behavior, our lawmakers can finally overcome their bitter partisanship.

The bad news, though, is obvious.

Such scandals are more than just an annoyance or a source of material for Jay Leno or David Letterman. When ex-Wharton professor Scott Ward was arrested on allegations of possessing child pornography, we all realized just how embarrassing and shameful it is for trusted public figures to go down in infamy for allegations of sexual misconduct. Penn deserves better - as do the American people.

Hence, even though a vote for a Democrat is not necessarily a vote for an end to congressional sex scandals, it's important for the American people to take into consideration the handling of the Foley scandal when they vote in November.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), has been criticized for not doing more to pursue what he admits was a "red flag" when Foley's suspicious e-mails to pages were brought to his attention. In one of the e-mails, he asked the page to send him a "pic" of him.

"That's kind of weird," said Jason Ackerman, a former Democratic House page and New York University student. "My congressman never asked me to send him a pic of me." Outside of the page program, Ackerman acknowledged that communication between pages and congressmen was fairly uncommon.

Now, if House pages were cognizant that Foley's behavior was "weird" for a member of the House, certainly the leadership should have known the same and investigated it further.

But this failure in leadership is only the most recent in a long line of frustrating headlines involving Republicans.

In January, Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist with deep Republican ties, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe members of Congress. Since then, Republican Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) has also stepped down and pleaded guilty to charges connected with the Abramoff probe.

In April, former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay stepped down amid allegations of money-laundering charges in his home state of Texas.

And add to this the continuing investigation of White House staffers for the leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity as well as allegations of insider trading leveled against former Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).

And now Foley.

There comes a point when the voters must make like Popeye and say, "That's all I can stands, I can't stands no more!"

And this November would be a perfect time say it. In Illinois, Hastert's - and my - home state, a similar spate of corruption and unethical behavior throughout the Republican state leadership caused a massive upheaval in the 2000 elections. The Republicans lost the governorship and a Senate seat as a result.

Granted, the then-champion against corruption, Democratic governor Rod Blagojevich, has now had questions of unethical conduct raised against himself and his staff.

But notwithstanding, the message that the Illinois voters sent to politicians - both Democratic and Republican - was loud and clear: We will hold you accountable for your actions, or lack thereof.

And so should we, when we vote in November.

Cezary Podkul is a College and Wharton fifth-year senior from Franklin Park, Ill. His e-mail address is podkul@dailypennsylvanian.com. The Salad Strikes Back appears on Tuesdays.

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