“Studds Should Take Foley Blame.”

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As we reported earlier, Gerry Studds, the first openly gay Congressman whose sexuality came to light after a former Congressional page admitted to having sex with him, has died. In the wake of his death, countless political and medical officials have come forward to praise his work in AIDS activism, governmental reform, and landmark work in furthering the so-called LGBT cause.

One such quote comes from his husband, Dean Ara, who says:

Gerry often said that it was the fight for gay and lesbian equality that was the last great civil rights chapter in modern American history. He did not live to see its final sentences written, but all of us will forever be indebted to him for leading the way with compassion and wisdom. He gave people of his generation, of my generation, and of future generations the courage to be who they are.

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It should come as no surprise, then, that our less-liberal countrymen have used all this praise to draw parallels between Studds and everyone’s favorite disgraced political homo, Mark Foley. Of the many, this piece is definitely one of our favorites.

Coming all the way from The Buckeye State (Ohio, for those of you who don’t know), a writer who goes by the thoroughly hackneyed name of “Big Dog,” laments the Democratic need to find someone to blame for Foley’s actions other than Foley. He goes on to say that if he must join the finger-pointing game, he’ll wag his “Big Dog” paw at Studds. Confused? Let “Big Dog” do the explaining himself. Referencing Ara’s quote above, he writes:

First of all, Studds gave gay people courage by winning reelection after publicly acknowledging his sexual relationship with a 17-year-old man along with his homosexuality. Secondly, if Studds gave people like Mark Foley the courage to “do whatever they wanted to do,” then how can Foley or anyone else be to blame? Gerry Studds set a standard and his constituents approved of that standard by reelecting him. Mark Foley was only trying to reach the bar set by Studds and his electorate.

Um…we know the GOPers are struggling to survive their political shit storm, but that’s just ridiculous. Although, it would be mighty convenient if they could actually place blame on a corpse.

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