Posted on 03/17/2010 10:02:22 AM PDT by Utah Binger
Kevin Garn is gone from Utah politics after a sordid 25-year secret was finally laid bare in a bizarre end-of-session legislative speech last week. Garn, 55, admitted to sharing a hot tub with a 15-year-old girl 25 years ago. Both were nude. Also, Garn admitted that he paid $150,000 in 2002 to the woman, Cheryl Maher, for her to keep quiet about the incident.
Garn's resignation reminds us that in politics, most secrets eventually are revealed. There may be more to the story. We promise to keep our readers informed. There is one ghastly sidelight to all this that merits further discussion: the standing ovation Garn received from his colleagues in the Utah House after his mea culpa. What a distasteful show. What a bad example for our children. Do we want them to learn that admission to appalling behavior -- long after it's occurred and with a payoff -- merits praise and applause?
In what other venue would Garn's admission have been met with applause other than the old boy's club known as the Utah Legislature? Utah House Speaker Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, incredibly said this, "I would ask my fellow colleagues that their hearts might be open, and that we wish you and your family all the best and we hope that you remain with us."
"We hope that you remain with us." That appalling comment deserves repeating. It nails the attitude last week in the Utah House. Clark later defended his comments and the ovation, saying it shouldn't be construed as approval for Garn. But there's no other way to read the show of support. Legislators aren't stupid. They know Garn only made that speech because he hoped to dilute the effects of newspaper stories the next day. It's a common practice for politicians and others to release bad news first and then try to ride out the storm. In Garn's case, thankfully the only people he was able to spin -- at least last week -- were his colleagues in the House.
Where was concern for Cheryl Maher last week from legislators? There appears to be circumstancial evidence that the experience has caused personal trauma in her life. Frankly, the entire Garn incident, and how it was handled, is an advertisement for real ethics reform in the Utah Legislature -- not the baby steps recently passed by legislators, but the citizens initiatives that will be on the ballot this fall if enough signatures can be gathered.
This was a better world when shame was the expected reaction when shameful behavior became public. I’m sure we had pedophiles back then, but they didn’t get standing ovations when we knew who they were!
Too bad he won't be able to get the $150,000 back. Probably ill-gotten in the first place, anyway.
ping
Sure are a lot of women going after the money now.
Is the chick in the hot tub supposed to be the one that took $150,000 to keep quiet?
She’s a willing participant, albeit after the fact.
In a culture that would restore polygamy in a heartbeat if it became legal, why should we be surprised that they gave him a standing ovation for being naked in a hot tub with a 15 year old girl.
Joseph Smith would be proud of Garn.
Two words - Bill Clinton.
25 years ago?
Any current misconduct? I would hate to be judged by what I did 25 years ago.
In what other venue would Garn's admission have been met with applause other than the old boy's club known as the Utah Legislature?
Where? In the US House of Representatives.
Mass. Rep. Gerry Studds (D) got a standing ovation when he returned to Congress after his censure for buggering a House Page.
I knew a teenage in a small town in the plains states that broke into the liqour store in town and stole some beer for a party.
He was caught (he did it with the owners son) and forced to go back to the store and apologize publicly to the owner, pay for the beer and almost the entire town (1500 pop) showed up to watch.
He was so embarrassed that he never tried anything like that again.
“Garn’s resignation reminds us that in politics, most secrets eventually are revealed.”
What? This only proves the meaningless “All former secrects have been revealed”. It says nothing about the number of secrets still secret.
He was just being a good Mormon.
He was 30 then, and married, she was 15 and his employee. He was also her Sunday school teacher before that.
And the cover up (150,000 hush money) was only 8 years ago.
If it wasn’t a big deal he should have pressed extortion charges against her.
Pedophiles usually don’t get better without treatment. Now he may get the treatment he deserves.
From another website:
Leave it, of course, to a Utah-born Mormon to show the ugly side of TBM:
“That woman is an adultress and extortionist. She should go to jail for blackmail. What a horrible person. Let’s just hope she’s still excommunicated for trying to ruin someone’s life 25 years later. Will she ever go away? Trashy ilk like her usually remain around like sludge stuck in your engine causing more trouble....”
(poster “ex-utah native,” in “Deseret News” section “Recent comments,” 12 March, 2010, at: http://www.deseretnews.com/user/comments/700016074/Cheryl-Maher-says-Kevin-Garn-lied-about-hot-tub-contact.html ; Note: poster is responding to “Deseret News” story by Lee Davidson, “Cheryl Maher says Kevin Garn lied about hot tub contact: Hush money may have violated election laws,” 12 March 2010, at: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700016074/Cheryl-Maher-says-Kevin-Garn-lied-about-hot-tub-contact.html)
He was 30 and she was 15? That alone does not really concern me. Some women are more sexually mature at 15 than some men at 30.
Now, the specifics might concern me very much, but I don’t know them.
Should Ira Einhorn be judged by what he did 33 years ago, with no current misconduct?
Does Ted Kennedy get a pass on what he did 41 years ago?
How does a guy who makes $20,000 a year afford to give someone $150,000 in hush money?
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