The ongoing debate about former Republican Congressman Mark Foley’s explicit e-mails to congressional pages focuses on the lurid details of the affair and the scandal’s possible impact on the upcoming midterm elections. But most of the discussion ignores what could be a far more consequential effect: its impact on youth political participation.
Questionable behavior by politicians, particularly when directed toward young staffers, runs the risk of turning off young Americans from politics. This would be a damaging consequence.
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