This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Blame the creeps in Congress, not parents
How much dizzier can Chris Cannon get?
Utah's 3rd District Republican congressman's comments last week regarding the congressional page scandal are outrageous. He hass now had the luxury of several spin cycles in the news media, but it still comes down to this: Cannon said what he meant, and he meant what he said.
He should be pressed and squeezed and hammered until he homes in on the real bull's-eye for blame: the adult men and women who work for us, and to whom we entrust those young people on Capitol Hill.
Thursday night, Cannon offered a KSL Radio "Nightside Project" reporter his view on the growing sex scandal:
"These kids are actually precocious kids," Cannon said of the 16- and 17-year-old pages who were victims of sex predator former Rep. Mark Foley. "Frankly, this is the responsibility of the parents. If you get online, you may find people who are creepy. There are creepy people out there who will do and say creepy things. Avoid them. That's what you have to do. And maybe we can say that a little more to the pages."
First thing Friday morning, I was on the telephone with Cannon. He had finished two interviews with KSL talk show hosts and had significantly softened his remarks. By the time we spoke, he was defending himself this way:
"I certainly did not mean 'precocious' the way it sounded. But these are not naive kids. They tend to be sophisticated and worldly," he said.
"Mark Foley did creepy things. He's a predator. Now you can't change the nature of mankind, but parents can prepare children for people in this world who are creepy.
"The first line of defense in something like this should be the parents and their children."
I'm sorry. Is it OK if we refuse the bromides about Internet safety and "stranger danger" right now? Maybe I'm wired up as a parent of two teenagers with brains and political opinions and robust helpings of self-esteem - you know, "worldly" kids. Maybe I can't diffuse the responsibility here because this is the U.S. Congress we're dealing with - the first government branch mentioned in the Constitution. Cannon's remarks imply that good parents and their civic-minded children can't count on a safe and professional environment in the highest ranks of government.
When is this cesspool going to stop spreading further and further from what really matters - should matter - to both parties: Protecting young people.
In the real world, people seem to understand that.
"What happened in Washington, any way you look at it, is wrong. It's just wrong. And let's keep this about the kids," said Karen Crompton, director of the nonprofit children's advocacy group, Voices for Utah Children.
"Adults do have a responsibility to protect children and underage teens," she said. "And they have tremendous emotional and physical power over children. Combine that with the seductive power an elected official holds over a page or intern and this is what you can end up with."
Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, oversees the placement of hundreds of interns in Washington every year. The Hinckley interns are all over 18, but for many, this is their first extended time away from home. The interns receive briefings about safety and adult "liaisons" for the program live in Washington to help them through rough patches.
Still, says Jowers, "there are a hundred forces in Washington that would put the most savvy 16-year-old at an utter disadvantage. No way do you hold a person of that age responsible for the actions of an adult, and especially an adult in such a powerful position."
Please don't buy Cannon's line. Insist he fix blame for this scandal on those who made it and those who have to repair it: The creeps in Congress.