Old--

You bid fair to be the slowest learner it's ever been our privilege to have on Mudcat.

Foley did not have to resign. His own party leaders forced him to--or he anticipated this and did it himself.

Studds did not have to resign. His own party leaders did not force him to.


Are you starting to get a glimmer of understanding?


There are also reasons for this.   If Foley's own leaders had not forced him to resign, his own supporters would very likely have deserted him in the election in a few weeks.

This is not true for Studds.

By the way, did you notice in the Studds obituary that when Studds had his (consensual) homosexual relationship with a 17-year old page, the page was of legal age according to Massachusetts state law at the time? I suspect this is no longer the case--but it was then.

The main factor here appears to be the horror that a good part of Foley's own base feels towards homosexuality. Consider the huge outcry-- including in such deep dyed Red southern states as Michigan--at the idea of homosexual marriage

More late.