Chicagoland Republicans Imply Members Can't Be Trusted

Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood (R-18th) and Republican gubernatorial candidate Judy Barr Topinka have both taken an interesting approach to the page scandal, they think that Congress can't be trusted with the care of kids.

Topinka believes it's time for the page program to end, saying, "I don't know that 16- and 17-year-old kids really and truly ought to be in the heavy climate of Washington."

She wasn't alone in calling for an end to the 150-year-old page program, which brings high school juniors to Washington, D.C., to live, work and study.

Congressman Ray LaHood told NBC 5 last week the program should at least be suspended.

"Is it a program that reflects the 21st Century Congress? I think it's not," LaHood said. "That's a little much in terms of power around these kids. They probably ought to be at home."

Heavy climate? Too much power? Are you freaking kidding me? These kids weren't victims of the program, they were victims of neglect. If this had happened in a program where kids went to Washington DC to do mission work with religious leaders, would the Congress be calling for an end to mission work? If this had happened on one of the thousands of high school trips to DC every spring, would the Congress be banning field trips?

The only thing wrong with this 150 year-old program was the Republican leadership's failure to respond to the problem. You cannot blame the program and expect people to believe you. You can not blame the staffers in the offices of these Congressmen who failed to act. You can only blame those who put the political fortune of their party ahead of the welfare of these kids. To do anything else is an insult to the victims and the people you represent.

Read the whole article here: WMAQ-TV/MSNBC