Washinton Times: Resign Hastert

[DKW 86 7,451]

http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20061002-102008-9058r.htm

Resign, Mr. Speaker

TODAY'S EDITORIAL

October 3, 2006

The facts of the disgrace of Mark Foley, who was a Republican member of the House from a Florida district until he resigned last week, constitute a disgrace for every Republican member of Congress. Red flags emerged in late 2005, perhaps even earlier, in suggestive and wholly inappropriate e-mail messages to underage congressional pages. His aberrant, predatory -- and possibly criminal -- behavior was an open secret among the pages who were his prey. The evidence was strong enough long enough ago that the speaker should have relieved Mr. Foley of his committee responsibilities contingent on a full investigation to learn what had taken place, whether any laws had been violated and what action, up to and including prosecution, were warranted by the facts. This never happened.

Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois, the Republican chairman of the House Page Board, said he learned about the Foley e-mail messages "in late 2005." Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the leader of the Republican majority, said he was informed of the e-mail messages earlier this year. On Friday, Mr. Hastert dissembled, to put it charitably, before conceding that he, too, learned about the e-mail messages sometime earlier this year. Late yesterday afternoon, Mr. Hastert insisted that he learned of the most flagrant instant-message exchange from 2003 only last Friday, when it was reported by ABC News. This is irrelevant. The original e-mail messages were warning enough that a predator -- and, incredibly, the co-chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children -- could be prowling the halls of Congress. The matter wasn't pursued aggressively. It was barely pursued at all. Moreover, all available evidence suggests that the Republican leadership did not share anything related to this matter with any Democrat.

Now the scandal must unfold on the front pages of the newspapers and on the television screens, as transcripts of lewd messages emerge and doubts are rightly raised about the forthrightness of the Republican stewards of the 109th Congress. Some Democrats are attempting to make this "a Republican scandal," and they shouldn't; Democrats have contributed more than their share of characters in the tawdry history of congressional sexual scandals. Sexual predators come in all shapes, sizes and partisan hues, in institutions within and without government. When predators are found they must be dealt with, forcefully and swiftly. This time the offender is a Republican, and Republicans can't simply "get ahead" of the scandal by competing to make the most noise in calls for a full investigation. The time for that is long past.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert must do the only right thing, and resign his speakership at once. Either he was grossly negligent for not taking the red flags fully into account and ordering a swift investigation, for not even remembering the order of events leading up to last week's revelations -- or he deliberately looked the other way in hopes that a brewing scandal would simply blow away. He gave phony answers Friday to the old and ever-relevant questions of what did he know and when did he know it? Mr. Hastert has forfeited the confidence of the public and his party, and he cannot preside over the necessary coming investigation, an investigation that must examine his own inept performance.

A special, one-day congressional session should elect a successor. We nominate Rep. Henry Hyde, also of Illinois, the chairman of the House International Relations Committee whose approaching retirement ensures that he has no dog in this fight. He has a long and principled career, and is respected on both sides of the aisle. Mr. Hyde would preside over the remaining three months of the 109th Congress in a manner best suited for a full and exhaustive investigation until a new speaker for the 110th Congress is elected in January, who can assume responsibility for the investigation.

[CCTAU 3,351]

So let's see? The Dem who got censured for doing the same thing served for another 14 years. Even he didn't resign. But now, not only does the culprit have to resign, but anyone who knew about it? If we all had death by association, there would not be many of us left.

[Tiger Al 0]

So let's see? The Dem who got censured for doing the same thing served for another 14 years. Even he didn't resign. But now, not only does the culprit have to resign, but anyone who knew about it? If we all had death by association, there would not be many of us left.

We could only be so lucky.

[otterinbham 0]

So let's see? The Dem who got censured for doing the same thing served for another 14 years. Even he didn't resign. But now, not only does the culprit have to resign, but anyone who knew about it? If we all had death by association, there would not be many of us left.

Jeez, CCTAU, so you're just about Conditional Ethics, right?

Why is it that whenever a Republican is found indulging in illegal, immoral, or incompetent conduct of office, all you can do is whine, "Well the Democrats do it toooooooo....."

Call a whaaaaambulance. Has it ever occurred to you that Republicans should hold themselves to a HIGHER standard of conduct than Democrats? Has if ever occurred to you that a principled response on the part of Dennis Hastert would not only have been the right thing to do, but probably would have bolstered the GOP's standing in the house?

And, by your reply, basically you state that there's no ethical difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. So all we have in Congress is two sleazy gangs of political thugs grappling to empower their own constituencies.

However, you did the board a favor and essentially pointed out that the Republicans have become arrogant in our power, and that we have become more worried about saving seats than doing the right thing. And we will lose the mid-terms as a result. And deserve it.

[DKW 86 7,451]

So let's see? The Dem who got censured for doing the same thing served for another 14 years. Even he didn't resign. But now, not only does the culprit have to resign, but anyone who knew about it? If we all had death by association, there would not be many of us left.

Jeez, CCTAU, so you're just about Conditional Ethics, right?

Why is it that whenever a Republican is found indulging in illegal, immoral, or incompetent conduct of office, all you can do is whine, "Well the Democrats do it toooooooo....."

Call a whaaaaambulance. Has it ever occurred to you that Republicans should hold themselves to a HIGHER standard of conduct than Democrats? Has if ever occurred to you that a principled response on the part of Dennis Hastert would not only have been the right thing to do, but probably would have bolstered the GOP's standing in the house?

And, by your reply, basically you state that there's no ethical difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. So all we have in Congress is two sleazy gangs of political thugs grappling to empower their own constituencies.

However, you did the board a favor and essentially pointed out that the Republicans have become arrogant in our power, and that we have become more worried about saving seats than doing the right thing. And we will lose the mid-terms as a result. And deserve it.

Sad to say but it exactly true. We need to get these fools out of office now and start all over in 2008. I dont think any Republican is defending Foley or Hastert. Here's hoping hastert is the next one gone too. He has lead the pork barrel spending the Reps have been doing.

Foley forced out, Hastert under pressure. lets just sit back and hope that they finally do the right thing with this guy. The reports I hear go back as far as 2000 and 1999. This is inexcuseable. his committee chairmanship was just an outrage.