Reader DairyMaid brings up a point we've discussed the last few days, but it is something I think needs a bit more emphasis:
He pointed out that if, Heaven forbid, the Republicans should hold on to the House, that there would be a skirmish for leadership positions, regardless of the present public display of their craven lack of care and accountability.
He said,”It’s like muscial chairs. Boehner, Hastert, Reynolds, etc…all want a seat, and when the music stops, someone will be left out.”
Denny has a target on his back…no matter what. So tossing him in a public display may be the easiest way to appease the base and move on. Or so they hope.
I read somewhere or heard this morning on MSNBC (can't find or place the exact source) that Hastert had intended to step down as Speaker at the end of the next term of Congress if the GOP retains control in any event — that he had mentioned something to this effect to friends in Congress.
The GOP leadership, both in the House and outside of it, is in full damage-control mode and may be thinking that hastening Hastert's "retirement" from the position might staunch the bleeding (so to speak) on this issue. But would it? In this finger-pointing, every Republican for himself environment — and with substantial questions being raised regarding Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), his chief of staff Kirk Fordham (who previously was former Rep. Mark Foley's Chief of Staff as well at one point — yeah, I know, you start to need a flow chart here…), and Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) who was head of the page board…well, that's a lot of people to still be standing there with outstanding questions. And that doesn't even get to Rep. John Boehner (R-OH).
All the articles and interviews I've been trying to keep up with on this suggest a lot of hints from Republicans on the sidelines who may be salivating at the prospect of a free-for-all for the GOP leadership positions after November. (Chris Shays, for one, has been all over coverage denouncing the handling of this and he's made no secret in the past of wanting to get back into the leadership.) We live in interesting times, but I'm more than happy for the GOP infighting, so long as what they end up fighting over is who gets to be Minority Leader after the elections in November.
(Musical chairs still from the Stan Laurel Collection.)
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T R U T H ! ! !
Christy!
EPUed: Um, I don’t think Hastert can resign. He’s in the middle of a political shitstorm at the moment, but keep in mind that he could also be in legal jeopardy here, both criminal and civil. The FBI is investigating, and civil suits could be on the horizon. A resignation would be an admission of guilt. He just can’t do it.
Holy.
Cow.
Raw Story says naming of names to commence soon on ABC. Who knew what and when:
“ABC will soon report who had knowledge of the Mark Foley page scandal, and when they became aware of it, RAW STORY has learned.
In an interview with DemocracyNow, ABC’s Maddy Sauer has shared some startling facts about the story.
Pages have, according to Sauer, been able to produce instant message conversations going back as far as five years. Some of them are reportedly sexually explicit.
The FBI, Sauer claims, will be interviewing pages starting today.
Sauer also indicated that ABC’s next wave of reports on the Foley scandal will focus on who in Congress was aware of the situation, how much they knew, and when they were alerted.”
Madsen (take the appropriate number of grains of salt) is saying that ABC got the e-mails from…wait for it…Justice Department lawyers who were pissed off that they weren’t being allowed to investigate this. Oh please oh please oh please.
Since apparently Lieberman hasn’t spoken out about Foley, it makes sense that Lamont should come out swinging on this issue – pointing out how Foley has been protected by Republican leadership.
This is a perfect opportunity for Lamont to separate himself from Lieberman on a real moral issue.
Anyone ever play Duck Duck Goose? That’s what I picture going on in the oval office. Or, red rover red rover, send Hastert over! And, of course, musical chairs.
And, The cost to fill up your tank is still going down. The Gop may have to drop it to 11 cents a gallon soon. bbbwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
John Boehner is no run of the mill Mayberry Macchiavellian, oh no . . .
http://www.salon.com/opinion/c…..0/boehner/
some republican has to take a hit on this. If denny the hut was retiring anyway, and IF he cared for his party, he would suck up as much of the blame as possible and retire taking the blame with him along with most of the heat, sparing the rest of the republicans and the party in general. But since we all know that republicans are ego-manical, don’t be looking for that scenario to be happening anytime soon – the show goes on.
.
i just posted this in the last thread, but it is appropriate here.
i think that the first round of punshiment for anyone found to have participated in the cover-up of this mess should be to spend 10 minutes locked in a room with the parents of all the kids who got dirty im’s from foley. (or maybe just the dads, and let’s throw matt drudge in there too, just so he can tell these folks to their faces that their “little beasts” seduced foley into it). their (in)action had real consequences for real people, something they just never seem to get. i would hope that after that encounter having to resign your leadership position wouldn’t seem such a big price to pay.
USA Religious News
Bauer Foleys Failures Reminder of a Fallen World
Christians are being advised not to be so disgusted with the behavior of former Republican Congressman Mark Foley that they decide to stay home from the polls in November. In fact, Christian activist Gary Bauer says the scandal involving Foley is just further evidence that the pro-family agenda is needed desperately in America.
Several pro-family leaders are now saying it is clear why Mark Foley always refused to answer questions about his sexual orientation. Tony Perkins with Family Research Council says in light of Foley’s now revealed e-mails and messages to teenage male pages who had worked in the Capitol, “… it appears clear that Foley is a homosexual with a particular attraction to underage boys.” Adds Linda Harvey with Mission America, “… like many homosexual men, he likes young teen boys. We should pray for him that he gets a handle on this problem and refrains from harming any more kids.” Since resigning his congressional seat on Friday, the former Florida lawmaker has admitted himself to an alcoholic rehabilitation center.
Gary Bauer, chairman of the pro-family group American Values, describes some of the instant messages transmitted by Foley as “obscene and disgusting” — and says resignation was “the only appropriate response” for someone who has “abused the public trust.” He notes, however, that similar indiscretions among Democratic lawmakers in the past brought different results.
http://www.usareligiousnews.co…..hp?ID=1101
ccmask at 12 — every time I see the name Gary Bauer, I see in my mind’s eye that vision of him falling off the stage at that pancake cook-off during the GOP primary when he was running for president. And then I laugh. A lot. hehehehehehe That was one of the all time funniest political moments — the attempted pancake flip, fall off the stage maneuver…
Rita Cosby just fell all over herself gushing her good wishes to Negron via phone. Says that she hears he’s gonna get some real good help from Jeb Booosh.
Frank Probst @ 3
A resignation from his leadership position could be phrased in such a way as to avoid any admission of guilt. “For the good of the party, and the dignity of the Office of Speaker of the House, I am stepping down from my position as Speaker. I have done nothing wrong, but have reluctantly come to the conclusion that my presence in this office will unavoidably draw the attention of the House and the country away from the serious work that remains to be done before this session of Congress concludes. We must pass appropriations bills, and continue the war on terror . . .”
This is enough of a political mess that a good defense lawyer – if things ever get to a trial – could easily paint a resignation as a poltical act and not an admission of guilt.
Shorter version: this is a question of legislative branch politics, not the legal process. Prior to November 7, the question of Hastert’s staying or going will revolve around electoral calculations. Period.
I wonder how many of these people have bought GINSU knives recently.Remember?
“They never need sharpening.”
Oh, and speaking of amusing — take a peek at the Daily Show clip that C&L has up…
Hastert needs to be out of office yesterday,not at the end of the term. What freaking nerve. And he and Foley best not be the only ones to take a few for the team here either. That’s BS.
What’s really eating at me is that this pre-dates Hastert,there’s an environment that ALLOWS this,and that’s the REAL problem. Party and politics before kids and their safety. It makes me sick.
I’m still betting this ass covering isn’t just about Foley. This crap has been going on for years. The page program appearantly attracts preditors. Perhaps since the very beginnings of the program.
well I’m disgusted anew -
yesterday I contacted The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children – strongly but politely urging them to use their star power to smack down Drudge and others for their reprehensible comments on the victims -
well, I just saw this -
a tepid, watered down statement -
http://www.missingkids.com/mis…..ageId=2820
well it’s four days later and it is obivous to all that House Leadership failed to protect children -
sure would be nice if they heard from more than me on this -
http://www.missingkids.com/mis…..ageId=1285
these folks for the most part, do good work – recall their assistance in reuniting families Post Katrina – so please be polite but urge them to publicly comment on this hideous failure
I bet Karl is kicking himself now for not buying that additional supply of Depends.
o/t
Hey Prof Foland -
more Nobel good news:
2 Americans take Physics Prize
http://abcnews.go.com/Technolo…..id=2521503
Hastert won’t resign over Foley scandal
Washington Times ask House Speaker to ‘do the only right thing’
snip
Updated: 26 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – Speaker Dennis Hastert brushed aside any suggestion of resignation on Tuesday as House Republican leaders struggled to contain the fallout from an election-year scandal involving sexually explicit messages from a disgraced lawmaker to underage male pages.
snip
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15113942/
Katherine weighs in:
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2….._1003.html
have to go barf now. what a total idiot.
Senators generally keep their comments to themselves about the procedures in the House, and vice versa. The fact that they are commenting about the problems in the House is telling. Harry Reid has spoken out, and now watch for the Republicans . . .
Dubya better send out a fleet of buses, because I get the feeling there will be more than a few folks to throw under the wheels.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 13
Anybody got a link to that ?
Peterr @ 24
IIRC, there are a whole bunch
of them sitting in New Orleans he didn’t use last year.
from the wapo chat with Robinson today:
Uh – Where’d everybody go?
I always felt Denny Hastert was Tom DeLay’s sockpuppet from the start. Until his downfall, DeLay, not Hastert, was the real center of power in the House. IMO, Hastert was made Speaker primarily because he was the “un-Newt”: an innocuous mid-Westerner who wasn’t likely shoot his mouth off and end up a political lightening rod like Gingrich.
It’s therefore hardly surprising that the wing-nuts are now calling for his head. Hastert served his purpose and can now be offered up as a convenient scapegoat for “Foley-gate”. The reality is that if Hastert gets the boot, it do little to change the corrupt Republican power structure in Washington.
Frank Probst @ 5
DOJ lawyers? Leaked this? Glenn Greenwald’s assesment of the hassert letter is looking much more prescient.
If Hassert knew that DOJ had this, ans suspected that DOJ is the source for it…….
Wow. That would make his letter downright threatening.
Jane posted a New Thread.
cbl @ 19
I read the letter in your first link, prepared to write a note and will do so shortly. Here we go again with this letter sidestepping the real issue and blaming the internet not the behavior or the cover up. I will say again this internet pornographic finger pointing will be used against net neutrality. Do these people support incumbants at any cost as we witnessed NARAL love ‘em even if he’s Lieberman?
On the question of “who leaked Foley’s problems to the media”.
Some right-wingers are denouncing it as an left-wing smear campaign.
What if
2) There is serious Repubican infighting over leadership positions, and some faction decided to take out a lot of the contenders
Chris Shays in the Republican leadership? Not a chance. It’s hard to think of another Republican congressman less liked by his colleagues (other than Mark Foley.) Chris has already been bounced once out of the leadership and the so-called RINOs will have even less sway in the next Congress. Chris may be tolerated by GWB (he did, after all, take a good swig of Iraqi kool-aid) but the House Rethugs, fuhgeddaboutit!
Why does all this Republican infighting remind me of “The Screwtape Letters?”