Scandalous Politicians

Let’s take, for example, ex-Representative Eric Massa, a democrat from New York. The latest scandal involves allegations that Massa groped several of his staff. So what is Massa’s response to these allegations? Well, he backs them up, but he believes he did no harm and nothing sexual. His version was that at his 50th birthday, he gave a few of his staff some friendly tickles, with no harm done.

Nancy Pelosi, Democrat Speaker of the House, assured the people that the hesitation to investigate this case was only because it was believed to be only a “rumor”. And let’s face it, rumors couldn’t possibly hold any truth, could they? Or could they only hold truth when they involve Republicans?

Let’s take a look back into the year 2006. Representative Mark Foley, a Republican from Florida, resigns. Another scandal rocks the Hill, and Foley is the center of it. Allegations, proved to be true, are said that Rep. Foley instant messaged sexually explicit letters to more than one underage male. Not only that, but House Speaker at the time, Dennis Hastert, was involved in covering up the scandal. Where does Nancy Pelosi come in then? She demanded that Foley’s actions be investigated, something that she contradicted in Massa’s scandal by putting his investigation off because it was only a “rumor”.

But let’s take a look at another Congressman, Representative John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio. Amid the Massa scandal, he wants punishment for people who knew about the scandal but did nothing to stop it. But if he wants punishment now, why didn’t he want punishment in 2006? Or was it because he was the one going to be punished? In 2006 Rep. Boehner was aware of Foley’s actions, and told Hastert, who later covered it up. But then changed his mind and said he couldn’t remember telling Hastert anything of Foley’s actions.

Let’s take a look at one more politician. This time it’s Senator David Vitter, a Republican of Louisiana whose beliefs oppose same-sex marriage because marriage is an important social institution. If this is true, then the important social institution of marriage would not include taking part in prostitution, something Sen. Vitter was found to be doing. In 2007, Sen. Vitter was accused of being part of a prostitution scandal involving the company D.C. Madame, which was convicted of running a prostitution service. Even though the scandal was wide-spread, Vitter was not charged and did not step down from office. His response to this scandal definitely contrasted his publicly proclaimed beliefs.

So what standards do politicians have? Some would say that they should have high moral standards, but then should they have to follow those standards? Should Congressmen and women be telling the American people what ethics we should live by, when they don’t live by those ethics themselves? While scandal upon scandal unfolds, people should be asking why these people were elected to office in the first place.

What do these politicians believe in, and what do they stand for? If you believe in investigating an opposing party’s Representative, why hesitate in investigating your own? You should be willing and ready to investigate anyone involved in suspicious actions, regardless of which party they belong to. Democrat, Republican, or Independent, suspicious actions are meant to be looked into and if found guilty, then they should be taken care of. And if you believe in an important issue, then why should your actions contradict what you state as your beliefs? A belief should be carried out not only in words, but actions too.

What do you think of the Congressmen and women of today? Do you believe that amid these scandals, they can hold true to their beliefs, or are they bound to contradict them to save their own party?