NBC Republican: Scarborough Says 'Throw Hastert Under The Bus'

Went it comes to hiring Republicans, NBC/MSNBC has a pronounced predilection for those with no special love for the party of Lincoln. Guys like Pat Buchanan, who quit the GOP to run against George Bush and loves to lambaste him. Or Joe Scarborough, who this morning predicted Republican doom and suggested hurling Hastert to the wolves.

The former Republican representative from the Florida Panhandle, now host of his own MSNBC show, was Matt Lauer's guest on 'Today.' The two played 'Can You Top This?' when it came to foreseeing the worst for the GOP in light of the Foley fiasco. Examples:

Lauer: "Let's talk about Dennis Hastert. What troubles me here is a couple of high-ranking Republicans, John Boehner and Tom Reynolds, go to him, they say months ago, and they talk to him about the situation with these emails and Mark Foley, and Hastert according to them says 'I am aware of it, it's taken care of.' Now Dennis Hastert doesn't remember that conversation. That seems hard for me to believe."

Interesting that Lauer has heaved his reporter's hat and has now assumed the role of news analyst/editorialist, informing the world as to what "troubles" him and what he "finds hard to believe."

Sounding like a man eager to ingratiate himself with his bosses, Scarborough enthused: "You are right. You hit the nail the head. This is what hurts Dennis Hastert and Republicans more than anything else: You have a Speaker of the House that says he doesn't remember being told that a page, a young boy was targeted by a sex predator inside his Congress."

Joe continued to pile on: "When I went up to Congress, we were told there had been problem with the pages. Something Dennis Hastert knew. It was terrible and raises too many disturbing questions."

Lauer: "Let's say we believe Dennis Hastert. He doesn't remember this. Doesn't it at least raise questions about his oversight in an important matter?"

Scarborough: "No doubt about it. But here's the deal. But somebody is lying. Either Tom Reynolds the head of the Republican Congressional Committee who has a very difficult race in New York is lying or Hastert is lying."

Lauer goes on to cite some poll numbers showing a GOP downtick, and invites Scarborough to suggest the worst: "In other words, are you saying that the Republicans to turn those numbers are going to have to, for lack of a better expression, have to throw somebody under the bus other than Mark Foley?" Scarborough: "They will have to throw Dennis Hastert under the bus."

Scarborough: "I think politically, the Republicans have to do something dramatic. . . I think whatever they do will be too little too late. This is the final straw that broke the camel's back. It's the base that's going to be upset by the Foley scandal that will end up dooming the Republican majority. I think Nancy Pelosi is the next Speaker of the House."

Matt concluded by thanking Scarborough "very much." You can be sure of Lauer's sincerity toward his compliant guest.

Lori Kaye Klausutis (died July 19, 2001) was an aide of then-US Representative and current MSNBC pundit Joe Scarborough. She died after hitting her head on a desk when she fainted in Scarborough's Fort Walton Beach, Florida office. Scarborough was in Washington, D.C. at the time, and returned to Florida upon receiving news of her death.

Klausutis, who was 28 at the time of her death, graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and was working on an MBA at the University of West Florida. She was married but had no children. [3]

Newspapers initially reported that there was no outward sign of trauma to Klausutis' body [4], but subsequent reports stated she died from a blow to the head suffered from striking her desk after fainting, and that her head was scratched and bruised. [5] Okaloosa County Associate Medical Examiner Michael Berkland ruled that a previously-undiagnosed cardiac arrhythmia had been responsible for the collapse. While witnesses say Klausutis appeared healthy and physically fit before her death, such a condition could have existed regardless of her outward appearance, and would have been difficult to diagnose.

Soon after her death, Scarborough complained about allegations "spread all over the Internet" that he had been involved. [1] Critics have complained about the handling of the investigation[2], the failure to release relevant records[3], and disputed Berkland's conclusions and his past. Specifically, they note that Berkland was fired from his position as deputy medical examiner of Jackson County, Missouri in 1996 for failing to complete autopsy reports. It was later discovered Berkland had fabricated reports and was responsible for eight undissected brains found by investigators.[4] Berkland was working in Florida and was suspended when his medical license was revoked by the state of Missouri in 1999[5], but he was reinstated.

Critics also complained about the relative lack of media coverage, especially compared to the coverage of Gary Condit. However, the issue was discussed in a few prominent media outlets, such as Vanity Fair magazine and Don Imus's radio show, where Imus and Scarborough joked about the incident.[6]

In 2004, Michael Moore registered the domain JoeScarboroughKilledHisIntern.com. Responding to some of Moore's public comments, Scarborough said to a guest on his program: "tell him to stop going around calling me a murderer or I'm going to have to call my lawyers." [7]

In July of 2006, former aides to the 2006 Senate campaign of Republican Congresswoman Katherine Harris claimed that when Harris learned that Scarborough was being courted to challenge her in the Republican primary, Harris called potential Scarborough supporters and raised Klausitis' death as a means to prevent his entry into the race.[8] Scarborough, who had already declined to enter the race, briefly considered suing Harris, but decided to let the issue pass.

The coroner said Klausutis' death was likely accidental or the result of natural causes. [9]

You are brilliant with: "Sounding like a man eager to ingratiate himself with his bosses, Scarborough enthused..."

"Sychophant" should be Scarborough's middle name, and I think it's as much to join the Washington air kissing, cocktail party in-crowd, as it is to please his MSNBC bosses. On his more cautious days, Scarborough hedges everything he says with "on the other hand" addendums, but more and more lately, Scarborough doesn't even pretend to be philosophically conservative. There's nothing more disingenuous than a politician journalist who still claims redneck roots long after he's severed them with a self-serving vengence.

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