PWWA writes to Illinois religious leaders on the role of Speaker Dennis Hastert in Foley scandal

Dear Madam or Sir:
Speaker Dennis Hastert’s private meeting today with Rev. K.A. Paul, founder of the Global Peace Initiative, is insufficient to answer the questions that his constituents and concerned citizens nationwide have about why the Speaker of the House covered up the Foley sex scandal for so long.

As a leader in the gay rights community, I am writing to you although I know we differ on many issues, because of an issue on which I believe we have a common concern: the protection of America’s young people from sexual predators.

I am sure you are stunned as I am by the revelations about former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, and the leading role of two Illinois members of Congress, Speaker Hastert and Rep. John Shimkus of Collegeville, in protecting him and letting his behavior continue.

Mr. Foley’s alleged misuse of his office to communicate inappropriately with underage youth, and the hypocrisy on Capitol Hill after leaders there found out, are, I am sure, things we both find abhorrent -- especially because these men are members of a party that proclaims itself the defender of family values. As a result, we must put aside our differences to work together to clean up Congress and protect the children invited to serve there.

That work should start, I believe, by joining together in calling for Speaker Hastert to face his constituents at an open public meeting and come clean about why he failed to act himself to stop the apparent molestation of teenaged boys placed in the care of Congress while they participated in the page program.

If Speaker Hastert declines to take his constituents’ questions in public, or his explanation is still lacking, then we should jointly call for him to step down as House Speaker immediately, without waiting for the next session of Congress to convene in 2007. Otherwise, there will be no accountability for the responsibility that Speaker Hastert himself has admitted is his, and the hypocrisy on Capitol Hill will continue.

Rep. Shimkus, as well, should face his constituents in such an opening meeting to explain why he did not to disclose to any of the other congressional members of the Page Board that he heads the questionable emails from Foley to a former page from Louisiana that Hastert had referred to him, and instead simply discussed the matter with Foley himself.

Speaker Hastert and Rep. Shimkus chose not to report to the proper law enforcement authorities what they had to suspect was sexually predatory behavior. Our Congress must operate in an environment that is welcoming and safe for young people. I am certain you join me in your outrage over this lack of inaction on the Foley case. Like you, I don’t want any sexual predators like Mr. Foley in Congress, regardless of whether their targets are young men or young women.
I am first and foremost concerned for the young victims of Mr. Foley’s advances, and any other young people who might be similarly targeted in the future.

I am certainly troubled for our democracy, when our elected leaders cover up behavior that Mr. Foley himself worked to criminalize, for partisan political advantage.

I am also concerned that his behavior is a blight on my community that could lead to further discrimination against gay people in public life.

Some conservative leaders have even reiterated the stereotype that gay people are somehow more likely to be pedophiles. I realize you yourself may hold strong opinions of proudly gay Americans such as me and the readers of my weblogs, www.proudofwhoweare.org and www.blogActive.com. While I can assure you that this is not the case, I know you don’t want this behavior in the halls of Congress -- and in the party you may have been asked to help keep in the majority.

If you are convinced that everybody like me is a potential pedophile, and that it’s unacceptable for gay people to be in public life at all, then I would ask, what do you intend to do when you learn that there are more closeted gay members of Congress?

I hope you join me in my call for a non-partisan approach to this matter. The safety of America’s children is at stake, as is the public belief in Congress, which started out at rock-bottom levels even before the news about Rep. Foley broke.

So, in light of our shared interest in purging this moral cancer from Congress, I invite you to join me in demanding a full public explanation from Speaker Hastert and Rep. Shimkus, and an opportunity for their constituents themselves to satisfy themselves that his explanation is complete.
By joining forces, we would speak across the ideological spectrum for the sort of action that would send a powerful signal that this sort of politically driven cowardice is not going to be tolerated.
Let’s put aside our differences for just a day, and hold Dennis Hastert and John Shimkus responsible for assisting in the continued misconduct of a member of the United State House of Representatives, which threatened the wellbeing of the children placed in their care.

Michael Rogers
President
Proud of Who We Are

Cc: The Hon. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House
The Hon. John Shimkus of Illinois
U.S. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho
The Hon. David Dreier of California
The Hon. James O. McCrery III of Louisiana
The Hon Jerry Weller of Illinois
The Hon. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina
Ken Mehlman, Chairman, Republican National Committee