Posted on 10/03/2006 5:05:01 PM PDT by wagglebee
Critics are calling for Rep. Dennis Hastert to step down as Speaker of the House over his handling of the Rep. Mark Foley affair. NewsMax strongly disagrees with that sentiment.
The Washington Times, a conservative voice in the nation's capital, has joined some Democrats in criticizing the Illinois Republican for not doing enough to investigate questions about Foley's e-mail exchanges with a former House page. Hastert must "resign his speakership at once," the Times demanded in a lead editorial published Tuesday.
But while we have disagreed with Hastert over Congressional spending practices, we feel that in the Foley matter he has done nothing that can be construed as malfeasance.
The fact is, the Republican leadership took swift action when Foley's salacious communications via instant messages became known just last week.
Last year the Republicans became aware of e-mails Foley exchanged in 2005, but determined that while they were "over friendly," they did not include overtly sexual references.
House Republicans asked Foley to stop making contact with the pages and he said he would.
It is important to note that several media outlets also learned about the same e-mails the House Republicans learned of last year. But these media outlets deemed them too innocuous to merit coverage. The St. Petersburg Times, for instance, decided the e-mails were nothing more than "friendly chit-chat."
It is clear that Hastert and the Republican leadership did not ignore this matter, as minor as it seemed to the media outlets. They instructed Foley to cease communicating with the teenage page.
It wasn't until last Friday – just weeks before the election that Florida Republican Foley was expected to win – that an unknown person provided ABC News with instant messages Foley had exchanged with another teenage page in 2003. Those messages, unlike the e-mails, did contain salacious sexual talk.
Upon hearing of ABC's instant messages, Foley resigned.
Hastert issued a statement on Monday that declared: "The instant messages, reportedly between Congressman Foley and a former page sent in 2003, are vile and repulsive to me, and to my colleagues. No one in the Republican leadership, not [Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., who chairs a board of House members overseeing the page program], saw those messages until last Friday when ABC News released them to the public. When they were released, Congressman Foley resigned. And I'm glad he did; if he had not, I would have demanded his expulsion from the House of Representatives."
Hastert also asked for an investigation to determine if Foley violated any federal laws, and asked Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to determine what state laws were broken.
It is clear, then, that Hastert has acted appropriately, and that the only culprit is Foley himself, who deceived the Republican leadership – and the nation – by adopting a strong public stance against pornography and child exploitation.
Foley was one of Congress' foremost opponents of child pornography, and chaired the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. He also sponsored legislation to change federal sex offender laws.
We also feel there could likely be an untold story behind the sudden revelation of the instant messages so close to Election Day – a story involving Democratic attempts to torpedo the campaign of a Republican almost assured of victory in November. Already Democratic candidates are using the Foley case to buttress their campaigns for Senate and House seats all across the country. How convenient.
Rush Limbaugh told his radio audience that the Democrats' handwringing over the Foley scandal is part of a carefully coordinated attack designed to help the Democrats in the coming election.
"I'm going to tell you what I think is going on," Rush said. "I think the Clinton war room is back up in full speed . . ."
"This has more to do with helping Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats than protecting teenagers with whom Foley was communicating."
That's all the more reason Hastert should remain at his post and not force Republicans to switch horses so close to the election.
"This has more to do with helping Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats than protecting teenagers with whom Foley was communicating."
That's all the more reason Hastert should remain at his post and not force Republicans to switch horses so close to the election.
Yes it is.
Ping.
I was wrong before and I don't mind admitting it.
I don't want to see Hastert replaced over this, but I am not a big fan. That being said, there's no way I want him replaced before the election. That would be absurd.
I agree unless there is further damaging information. But from what I know now he should stay.
Earlier today I thought Hastert should go, I've since changed my mind.
I do hope that if the GOP manages to keep the House and/or Senate that they will start following the agenda that their conservative base expects of them.
He couldn't be more right. The Clinton's apparently have one of their hacks spamming Republican voters tonight telling them to urge Hastert be ousted.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1713124/posts?page=1
Hastert should stay, we should make sure everyone knows these Leftists snakes let a pedophile stay in office for political gain while Republicans promptly kicked him out on receiving the info the Dems had for at LEAST months. You want a difference between the parties? None clearer then that one.
Vote Republican this fall and toss the scum in the Dems to the curbs.
I hope Hastert (since the Speaker is in charge of the page program) issued a general advisory to all the pages to advise him personally if they got any inappropriate mail in the future.
I noted your comment above, and thought you might have. It also occurred to me that you might think I was teeing off on your earlier comment. I wasn't. Sorry if it seemed like it.
It's fairly easy to make a judgement based on the information available. On this issue, I knew we would have to wait until the dust settled. We won't be sure it's all out there until after the election.
time for Repubs/conservatives to hang together and fight back against the Dem dirty tricks. i am proud that Foley had to resign - unlike the Prez who played around with the intern and stayed in office - only to pardon the congressman, Mel Reynolds, who went to the Big House for playing around with the 16 year old. we have standards - the other side has none.
That is true. I am glad that our side polices itself. I don't lament the idea that our people are held to a higher standard. I want them held to a high standard. 'Course I'd like to see the left held to that standard as well.
Isn't nice to be able to disagree and remain civil... something du slime cannot do!
LLS
But, but, does he wear boxers?
BUMP
Thanks for sharing that. The perfect political party wouldn't have too many members.
I disagree that Congressman Hastert needs to take a polygraph and subject himself to any questions those newspapers could ask. That wouldn't persuade those reporters a bit.
He might have a "lack of understanding" about email and instant messaging, but he has no lack of understanding on leadership and representing his constituents. I know. I'm one of them, and he's absolutely the best for me.
Now, I would say much different things about the way I'm represented by Senators Durbin and Obama. Sigh.
this seems to be a human issue and hopefully will sort itself out in due time...
m&s
I really admire that.
Too often people can't bring themselves to make that admission.
Well done!
To do what you suggests serves the left and satan. No thanks; Denny stays and 99% of us support him!
LLS
This is a bad blow to our side.
Foley deserves a bullet.
Not just for lusting after children, which is bad enough, but for aiding and abetting the enemy in time of war.
In a just world, Hastert would take Foley out on the west steps of the US Capitol, put a bullet into the back of his head in front of the news media (big ceremony, Foley kneeling down, blindfolded), and that would be the end of it.
We could move on to the real business of this election: keeping the domestic Al-Qaeda from winning more seats in congress.
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