colbert!

Christy! Fitz!

four dozens subpeonas, will not say if denny is gonna get one…

Keith!

The GOPedophiles are in the last throes, if you will, of their insurgency.

Via the Ethics Comm. press conf-they’re setting up a new investigative subcommittee?

Why? The ethics committee can issue subpoenas, so what’s the point? What am I missing here?

angie @ 2

four dozens subpeonas, will not say if denny is gonna get one…

Isn’t this supposed to be public record info?

TheOtherWA at 6 — stall tactic until after the election?

Prior to today, does anyone know how many subpoenas the Ethics Committee has thrown out in the last four years?

Berman made it clear it will take weeks, not months.

says the congress was in loco parentis and something went terribly wrong.

Well I’m hopelessly behind in my FDL reading hehe.

Hope this isn’t a repost, but I found this hilarious clip on YouTube about Foley:

Dramatic Reenactment

dead last @
185

Where is Bob Livingston when you need him?

Don’t remember him? He was supposed to be the Repug Speaker of the House (post Clinton) before he (Livingston) got caught in a sex scandal. After one or two others had to drop out for sex scandals (including Henry Hyde), the GOP went on bended knee to Hastert, asking that he take over as THE safe choice to be Speaker of the House.

The logic must have been, “How could someone so fat and ugly be involved in a sex scandal?”

Now we know: he likes to watch! But he will never tell…

Good Point! Those who forget their history tend to repeat it!!!

Gingrich:

“The Democrats sleaze and unethical behaviors are worse than the Republican’s sleaze and ethical lapses…so there.”

-GSD

CHS @8, yeah probably. I’m only on my first cup of coffee and hadn’t reached full cynical mode yet. Now I have.

These guys think they can put on a good show now, pretending to take this seriously, and assuming they keep the house (talk about arrogance!) it will all go away.

Not. Gonna. Happen.

Official: Hastert to take responsibility

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Dennis Hastert will take responsibility for the unfolding page sex scandal but insist he will stay on as leader of House Republicans, a House GOP official said Thursday, as leaders of the ethics committee weighed when and how to act. At a news conference in his home district in Illinois, Hastert will also ask the Ethics Committee to consider new rules so that anyone making inappropriate contact with pages be disciplined. In the case of staff, they would be fired; lawmakers would be subject to expulsion, the official said.

Source: Yahoo News

could someone in the media please smack newt gingrich upside the head and remind him that he’s got a couple of scandals in his past too. every time he throws out dems being “hypocrites” it makes me stip out my iced tea.

Frank Probst @ 9

Prior to today, does anyone know how many subpoenas the Ethics Committee has thrown out in the last four years?

Not sure, but I think the answer is zero.

Yep–Apparently Denny’s gonna take the “takes responsibility” route that Clusterfuck took on Katrina. “Yeah I’m responsible- I didn’t do anything wrong- and I’m not goin ta take any punishment- but I accept resposibility so shut the fuck up about it.”

Goopers may go to the well one too many times with this ploy!

I don’t know if you all saw this yet, but it goes to show that Lamont was quick on his feet in responding to Lieberman’s crappola on Hastert. From the Hartford Courant:

Lamont’s campaign also hit Lieberman hard Wednesday for comments he made about the Mark Foley scandal.

Although Lieberman strongly denounced Foley’s behavior - the former congressman sent overtly sexual messages to a teenage boy who worked as a page for the House of Representatives - Lieberman stopped short of calling for the resignation of Republican leaders who failed to investigate Foley after learning of a different set of e-mails to another page.

Instead, Lieberman again reverted to his partisanship theme.

“I know some people are calling for [House Speaker Dennis] Hastert to resign, but the truth is that unless he knows what he saw and he saw something he should have acted on, he deserves to have essentially a fact-finder to come in,” Lieberman said.

“The Foley case bothers people,” he added. “If anyone thinks they can make this into another partisan flap, it’s not. It’s very real and human. The House Republican leaders and, frankly, the Democratic leadership, should not make it partisan.”

Lamont said Lieberman has a “twisted definition of bipartisanship.”

“The fact that Joe Lieberman says calling for Hastert’s resignation is too `partisan’ demonstrates that he’s been in Washington so long that he can’t recognize the difference between what’s right and what’s partisan,” Lamont said.

Read the whole article, there’s a lot more.

Left behind on the last thread:

I think Hastert is going to serve as the levee preventing the total washout of GOP leadership (and I am not making fat jokes) that is feared will ensue if he steps down.

I think that at this point, they are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. There was a very small window of opportunity to be in front of the story, and it may not only be closed, but nailed shut.

Interesting - but not surprising - that the media can ferret out the tiniest of details on the Amish school shooting and do all kinds of homework on their faith and practices, but they cannot seem to bring themselves to educate the public that Foley’s sexual orientation has nothing to do with him being a predator, other than that if he were straight, his victims would have been female pages.

With the Amish school-shooting story, the media have talked to religious scholars and experts, educating the public on who the Amish are, but with the Foley scandal, the “experts” and the people the media is seeking out for comment all seem to have resumes that have Focus on the Family or the Family Research Council on them. Do the media believe that the public is being served by making no effort to debunk the impression that this is a gay thing?

This is one strange world we are living in.

If the Republicans try to investigate themselves, they need to get absolutely hammered on it by every Democrat.

Everyone understands that you don’t allow criminals to investigate themselves. And you don’t ask employees to investigate their boss.

How can you ask Republicans in Congress to investigate Denny Hastert, the de facto boss of the Congress?

This is a total joke, whitewash and scam.

It is so obvious that the Republicans are trying to cover-up and play out the clock to the election.

Democratic candidates for office need to roll up their sleeves and put on their shit-kicking boots and go to town on the Republican party in general if they try to self-investigate (via ethics committee, etc).

Again, any self-investigation should be framed as a continuation of the cover up. More of the same. Had enough?

Updated the thread above, gang, based on some new info from MSNBC. Just FYI.

Anne says
October 5th, 2006 at 11:20 am*

I think Hastert is going to serve as the levee preventing the total washout of GOP leadership (and I am not making fat jokes) that is feared will ensue if he steps down.

yeah, sure you’re not!

The Goopers have to support Hastert. If he gets flushed, there will be a whirlpool of a power vaccum. And when there are so many WASPy egos willing to jump in without a lifevest, there is going to be a fecal smear the size of an elephant on the steps of congress.

This is thier biggest fear: the republicans don’t trust one another without the straight jackets on.

HAHAHAHAHAHA Chris Matthews just made a funny:

Q: What do Congressmen say to each other on a Wednesday? A: Have a nice weekend.

Christy - Chris Matthews has said that several times recently. And, although it is funny, I think he seriously means what he is saying. That is the impression I got the last time I heard him say it. Good to hear it from him although it must be remembered that Tweety cannot be trusted under any circumstances whatsoever.

Hastert is going to announce an investigation of the page program?! Who’s advising this man? What’s next? Is he going to demand that the FBI start investigating Amish schools? He’s made more political missteps in the past week than most Congressmen make in their entire lives. How much worse is he going to get? At the point, he may as well just show up to the press conference naked.

Louis Freeh’s investigation out b/c of Pelosi refusal.

Hastert will also ask the Ethics Committee to consider new rules so that anyone making inappropriate contact with pages be disciplined.

Hastert will insist that any Republican Pedophile who is caught will be spanked very very hard — by the page of his choice.

Republican Pedophile Family Values at work.

Headline on Drudge: “REPORT: LOUIS FREEH TO PROBE PAGE PROGRAM”. Girlfriend really needs to think twice before she hits the “publish” key.

Frank Probst @ 27

Hastert is going to announce an investigation of the page program?! Who’s advising this man? What’s next? Is he going to demand that the FBI start investigating Amish schools? He’s made more political missteps in the past week than most Congressmen make in their entire lives. How much worse is he going to get? At the point, he may as well just show up to the press conference naked.

ouch . . . that would insure no viewers.

Ha — I was right, from the last thread: Hastert’s solution was to overhaul the page program! But Nancy Pelosi has rejected that move.

Go Nancy!!

I see Dennis Hastert as the George Bush of the legislative branch, the affable face to a criminal conspiracy. Behind Bush of course are the figures of Cheney and Rove. Behind Hastert there was Delay.

Face it it’s not like either of these guys got to where they are through their smarts.
Their premier qualifications have always been that they don’t rock the boat, they don’t ask any questions, they sign where they are told to sign, and they do what they are told.

angie @ 28

Louis Freeh out b/c of Pelosi refusal.

Wha? That is awesome. Freeh is a terrible mix of incompetence and raw partisanship.

Great job Pelosi for slamming down Hastert on this.

Democrats are holding a royal flush and they need to go all in. No falling for Republican bluffs or maneuvers.

There is no need to capitulate to Republicans on anything regarding this scandal.

-ck- @
29

Hastert will also ask the Ethics Committee to consider new rules so that anyone making inappropriate contact with pages be disciplined.

Hastert will insist that any Republican Pedophile who is caught will be spanked very very hard — by the page of his choice.

Republican Pedophile Family Values at work.

Again, what is this man on? Is he really trying to say that there is currently NO MECHANISM in place for this?

Hastert — “I’m deeply sorry that this has happened. Ultimately, we’re taking responsibility for this. As someone said before in Washington, the buck stops here.” Asking the ethics committee, the DoJ, the FBI and the state of Florida to look into this (now that ABC News forced our hand on this and actually investigated it. Ahem.)

“We will do everything possible to make certain that these kids are safe in Washington, D.C.”

Why should anyone believe Hastert when he says he/they will protect the children? Since when have they ever?

What’s the source on Pelosi?

Pelosi is exactly right. The page program is not the problem. Even an individual who harasses pages isn’t the problem.

The problem is the corrupt partisan House leadership, willing to throw the children of its own constituents to the wolves rather than risk negative publicity.

angie @ 28

Louis Freeh’s investigation out b/c of Pelosi refusal.

“I’m Freeh to be meh!”

*xyz @ 38

What’s the source on Pelosi?

Reported on MSNBC a few minutes ago.

LindaR @ 37

Why should anyone believe Hastert when he says he/they will protect the children? Since when have they ever?

Exactly! THEY’RE the ones who put the fox in charge of the henhouse–the last time they tried to “protect the children,” they assigned FOLEY to the job!

Evil Parallel Universe @ 199

I think that at this point, they are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. There was a very small window of opportunity to be in front of the story, and it may not only be closed, but nailed shut.

They are damned regardless. The door closed days ago, basically when it first came out, when they might have had a chance to mitigate the damage - though whether they could have actually mitigated the damage is purely speculative. Hastert, et al., needed to step up and take responsibility immediately rather than blame the media or anyone else and announce they would investigate every and all allegations and pursue them to the end, where ever they led.

That is basic organization crises management learned from the J&J Tylenol poisonings, and they failed.

He’s a day late and avdollar millions short.

I assume you are all watching the presser. And rightfully he is getting tagged on his previous inane statements.

They’re toast.

*xyz @ 38

What’s the source on Pelosi?

Viguera (sp?) on MSNBC– reporting from capitol hill.

angie - thanks. it is up on the msnbc website now too.

ABC and CBS broke into the soaps to show the Denny presser.

I guess the stay at home Moms need to see this more than the soaps.

Another demographic that watches daytime telly is Seniors…and they vote.

hastert’s statment today was the statment he should have made a week ago. unfortunately he’s got all sorts of conflicting statments from that last few days that he’s now trying to reconcile.

Last night Denny Boy blamed this on ABC and people close to Bill Clinton for pushing the reveal. So what?.. how does it help them to paint the Dems as concerned to get this into the light? I tbegs the question: How long did you plan to hide the scandal?

“Hastert right now, “I don’t know who knew what when.”
No resignation. Infuckingcredible!

Anne @ 20

Left behind on the last thread:

I think Hastert is going to serve as the levee preventing the total washout of GOP leadership (and I am not making fat jokes) that is feared will ensue if he steps down.

I think that at this point, they are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. There was a very small window of opportunity to be in front of the story, and it may not only be closed, but nailed shut.

[snip]

This is one strange world we are living in.

You may be right, it may be too late. I still think a head has to roll to get this off the MSM screens. At that point, the media will have vindicated their self-image as Important People Who Can Make Things Happen and go back to the normal pro-Repug test pattern.

I’m surprised that Rove hasn’t seen this and given the MSM their pound of flesh (or in Hastert’s case, a few pounds).Maybe it does go higher, but it’s lunacy to allow this to fester.

Did Hastert just say they were advised there was a “Katrina message”?????

If this is Hastert’s “A” game, they’re not simply toast, they’re BURNT toast.

Hastert is making an even bigger fool of himself on TV…if you can imagine. What an
idiot!

Evil Parallel Universe @ 43

They’re toast.

and Hastert is the toastest with the mostest (to lose).

LindaR @ 50

Did Hastert just say they were advised there was a “Katrina message”?????

I heard that too…

angie @ 54

LindaR @ 50

Did Hastert just say they were advised there was a “Katrina message”?????

I heard that too…

In other words, the fear was something as damaging to the party as Katrina — not the fear that children were being molested.

the. mind. boggles.

I like Froomkin. My problem with him is that by the time I am about a third of the way into his articles I get so p*ss*d off it becomes difficult to remain subjective and finish the piece.

How is our ignominious leader and his minions able to continue to get away with this crap and not be brought up on traitorous charges? He’s the terrorist, and has done more damage to this country than OBL in his wildest fantasies could have ever imagined.

I take responsibility…

I haven’t done anything wrong….

Grade F

ok, did i get confused or it seems like one minute he said he only knew about this last friday, but then later he said simkus went to foley months ago.

oh, and he just said the war is a “good story to tell”. yeah, a record number of military deaths in the last three days is just a great tale to tell.

Hastert is a jerk. “We have a good story to tell” (as Republicans? BWAHHHHAAA)

Mr. Speaker, this is not a good story. Where is the accountability?

and Denny walks out

ok

he’s toast

Wait, for those of us without cable, what did he say about “Katrina message”?

Where was he giving that speech? It looked like a shabby suburban parking lot or something.

Hastert is a big marshmallow to roast.

What is funny is that Tweety and Buchanan opined that Hastert handled himself well in the presser. We must not have been watching the same performance.

What Hastert said:

“I’m deeply sorry that this has happened. Ultimately, we’re taking responsibility for this. As someone said before in Washington, the buck stops here.”

What Hastert meant:

“I’m deeply sorry we got caught. Ultimately, we’re not taking responsibility for this. As someone said before in Washington, bucks are for chumps.”

They are just NOT going to admit they did anything wrong.
Same old tune… DENY DENY DENY.

“We were advised in our office . . . that there was a Katrina message.”

You ever notice how much Hastert looks like Baron Harkonnen from David Lynch’s “Dune”?

Some parentheticals of my own:

Hastert — “I’m deeply sorry that this has happened. (“This” being the political nightmare a month before the elections) Ultimately, we’re taking responsibility for this. (Yes, our GOP strategists are working hard on ways we can blame everyone but ourselves) As someone said before in Washington, the buck stops here.” (We love bucks. We try to get them to stop here every chance we get. Accountability? Not so much)

“We will do everything possible to make certain that these kids are safe in Washington, D.C.” (I know you thought we were already doing that, but, hey, no one’s really safe in D.C., are they? At least these kids are alive, that’s something – do we get credit for that?)

If Foley were a high school teacher, he’d still be trying to get the fingerprint ink off his fingers…

citizensue @
48

Last night Denny Boy blamed this on ABC and people close to Bill Clinton for pushing the reveal. So what?.. how does it help them to paint the Dems as concerned to get this into the light? I tbegs the question: How long did you plan to hide the scandal?

“Hastert right now, “I don’t know who knew what when.”
No resignation. Infuckingcredible!

Not only that, but ABC has already reported that it was a Republican staffer that leaked it to them.

Unless the House Republicans are saying that they told Bill Clinton about this and asked him to keep it quiet until after the election, their “blame Bill” strategy is too stupid for words. It should be shot down, with snide potshots, every time it pokes its head up.

–MarkusQ

LindaR @ 66

“We were advised in our office . . . that there was a Katrina message.”

And the parents didn’t want the Katrina Message pursued. Riiiight

CBS had Katie and Gloria do a short comment area. Said it would be going on for a while.

ABC has George Good Hair and Brian Ross.
Saying that there are two investigations.
FBI probe may have a hard time figuring out a way to prosecute Hastert.

New Ethics committee will issue a few dozen subpoenas. (Katie and Gloria talked about that too)

All say this story isn’t going to die.
All said Hastert was evasive.

I can’t wait to see what these people say under oath. I wonder how many of them saved the IMs or saved their notes of the meetings. It all boils down to the paper trail, doesn’t it Redd?

When Hastert starts saying, “Look…” it means, “Shut up, I’ve made my point, your point does not matter in the least, go away.”

And they re-elect this fool term after term?

Denny “Jabba the Lieing Fat Bastard” Hastert

kin @ 46

ABC and CBS broke into the soaps to show the Denny presser.

I guess the stay at home Moms need to see this more than the soaps.

Another demographic that watches daytime telly is Seniors…and they vote.

Thanks for letting us know.

I can’t believe that they are just going to have a “go slow” (exact quote from ABC news anchor) FBI investigation. They actually think this will go away? Incredible. The Brain must have had an aneurysm.

If the Bhastert or those advising him had half a brain, they wouldn’t be pushing hard on the “who leaked this, must be the Dems, blah blah”, he’d be saying “but thank God someone leaked this because we didn’t know a thing”. This is a much better lie, appeals more to their base, don’t you think?

gotta say
the clip to show is Denny walking out as the press ask him:

“Mr. Speaker, this is not a good story. Where is the accountability?”

and the video shows Denny waddle away.

put that on YouTube and show it

Anne #20,

Well said. The MSM has become infotainment. It not a story’s importance but its ratings which count. A cat up a tree, a car chase, a missing white girl, a tragedy in Pennsylvania are what they spend their vast resources on, Iraq and the criminal incompetence and overreach of this Administration not so much.

Perhaps this has been covered here - and it probably has, you guys are too good - but why isn’t Foley being arrested? Has he not broken any laws with his behaviour?

Dee @ 75

If the Bhastert or those advising him had half a brain, they wouldn’t be pushing hard on the “who leaked this, must be the Dems, blah blah”, he’d be saying “but thank God someone leaked this because we didn’t know a thing”. This is a much better lie, appeals more to their base, don’t you think?

Exactly right. They’re not as think as they smart they are.

[Regarding a question Christy and John Casper raised in the previous thread. This comment was EPU’d there.]

I’ve been doing some Googling - obviously not much since I’m still on this thread, but here’s what I’ve found so far:

From Mark Foley
In a statement, Foley said, “I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent.”

http://abcnews.go.com/images/U.....tement.pdf

Nothing about the victims.

That’s it. There were four to six pages of links, depending how I did it. I used the search string:

mark foley apolog sorry remorse parents victims hastert reynolds boehner

and some minor variations.

There sure isn’t a lot of text out there that has those terms all together in one place. If anyone among the names I used apologized, I think there’d be several references to it in the news.

Looks like Hastert sorta kinda apologized in the news conference, and then passed the buck downward.

Evil Parallel Universe @ 63

Hastert is a big marshmallow to roast.

What is funny is that Tweety and Buchanan opined that Hastert handled himself well in the presser. We must not have been watching the same performance.

No..they were watching it. It’s just that they actually know Denny, so they know he did as well as can be expected under the circumstances.

TRex @ 11:49 am (#67)

You ever notice how much Hastert looks like Baron Harkonnen from David Lynch’s “Dune”?

Hastert appears to have a better dermatologist.

Dee @
78

Perhaps this has been covered here - and it probably has, you guys are too good - but why isn’t Foley being arrested? Has he not broken any laws with his behaviour?

Who’s going to arrest him? Jeb Bush’s state troopers? Or George Bush’s Fibsters?

On Hardball- Hastert says he doesn’t really know Foley??? Somebody find Pics of Hastert and Foley at some social event.

in difficult times such as these, one can always take refuge chez watertiger.

Cujo@82 - LOL!!

“All say this story isn’t going to die.”

That’s it and the GOP doesn’t get it.

The Xtian right, Rita Cosby, and Nancy Grace want the same answers we do, what did Hastert, Boehner, and Reynolds, know, when did they know it?

The press will hound them until they provide answers, because stories like this drive ratings for everyone. They have no place to hide.

Christy, your flag comment was hilarious and absolutely right:

(Has enyone else noticed a relationship between the sheer number of flags people put behind themselves having a direct correlation to the amount of political trouble they perceive they may be in at that moment? If so, Reynolds is feeling very insecure these days…sheesh.)

“How bad is the scandal this time?”

“Pretty bad. Looks like a ten-flagger.”

Cujo359 @ 82

TRex @ 11:49 am (#67)

You ever notice how much Hastert looks like Baron Harkonnen from David Lynch’s “Dune”?

Hastert appears to have a better dermatologist.

But a worse dietician.

e.c. @47

hastert’s statment today was the statment he should have made a week ago. unfortunately he’s got all sorts of conflicting statments from that last few days that he’s now trying to reconcile.

oh what a tangled web we weave ….

We just watched Denny Hastert make his latest statement that he thinks will end the bonfire but won’t. And whatever Denny Hastert may have done or not done on the page front, you at least have to say on his behalf that he’s certainly one of the most dishonest and irresponsible Speakers in the history of the House. Asked if he had any evidence to back up his claims that ABC, Democrats and George Soros are behind this scandal, his answer was basically, ‘Oh, all I know is what I hear.’ In other words, I don’t have any evidence at all. But I did see something like it on Newsmax. So I figured I’d go with it.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

Hastert said “The Page Board could have handled it better.” Well, maybe if 2/3 of its members hadn’t been frozen out, the Page Board could have done something…

TRex @ 89

Cujo359 @ 82

TRex @ 11:49 am (#67)

Hastert appears to have a better dermatologist.

But a worse dietician.

I don’t know about the movie, but in the book, the Baron had a thing for young boys.

Hugh @ 77

Anne #20,

Well said. The MSM has become infotainment. It not a story’s importance but its ratings which count. A cat up a tree, a car chase, a missing white girl, a tragedy in Pennsylvania are what they spend their vast resources on, Iraq and the criminal incompetence and overreach of this Administration not so much.

Someone used the term “infoganda” which is really apt for lots of stuff we see now.

ReneND @ 84

On Hardball- Hastert says he doesn’t really know Foley??? Somebody find Pics of Hastert and Foley at some social event.

Foley was an assistant whip - part of the Repug leadership “team”. This is just like Abramoff, suddenly nobody ever heard of him.

Off topic, off season, off time: But we went to Diane Benson’s website and found it impressive (gave some money) and urge others to go and throw her some money. ET said there was an amazing Borough vote the other night….help her capture the momentum. Oh, what could happen without Don Young in Congress? A girl can dream…..

JupiterPluvius @ 92

Hastert said “The Page Board could have handled it better.” Well, maybe if 2/3 of its members hadn’t been frozen out, the Page Board could have done something…

Absolutely right. The Page Board was not involved in any way, shape or form. I can’t believe he said this, it’s so easy to rebut.

Hastert — “Ultimately, we’re faking responsibility for this.”

motherlowman @ 93

TRex @ 89

Cujo359 @ 82

But a worse dietician.

I don’t know about the movie, but in the book, the Baron had a thing for young boys.

Uh Oh! Could lead to ridin’ the wild sandworm.

TRex @ 67

You ever notice how much Hastert looks like Baron Harkonnen from David Lynch’s “Dune”?

Heh. And Harkonnen had a predilection for young boys too :)

Updated above again to reflect Hastert presser — just FYI gang. Whew! It’s lfying fast and furious this afternoon…

Tortoise @ 98

Hastert — “Ultimately, we’re faking responsibility for this.”

Signed, Deny Hastert

The Hastert statement “taking responsibility”–isn’t that almost verbatim from what Kevin Drum at Washington Monthly said he WISHED Hastert would say?

ReneND @ 84

On Hardball- Hastert says he doesn’t really know Foley??? Somebody find Pics of Hastert and Foley at some social event.

But isn’t Foley a Democrat? That’s what they said on Fox, and since Hastert’s been getting so much of his info from the media . . .

Good grief!

(heading for THOMAS to see about bill sponsorship records, etc.)

aReader @ 12:04 pm (#97)

JupiterPluvius @ 92

Hastert said “The Page Board could have handled it better.” Well, maybe if 2/3 of its members hadn’t been frozen out, the Page Board could have done something…

Absolutely right. The Page Board was not involved in any way, shape or form. I can’t believe he said this, it’s so easy to rebut.

Was it rebutted? Given the general level of inquisitiveness that our press corps display, it’s quite possible he’d get away with it. If he did, then we the public are left with the impression that it’s the Page Board’s fault.

Speaking of responsibility, David Lynch was responsible for the screenplay for “Dune” arguably one of the most laughably awful ever written and don’t get me started on the acting.

Cujo at 105 — Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to rebut it — Hastert took questions from perhaps three or four journalists, and then left the presser.

CNN - former page hires high power lawyer - i think they said timothy mcveigh’s lawyer

Something very strange is brewing, check this out from a wapoo chat with a page… he’s breaking Drudge headlines and happens to also be from OK as is the source on Drudge…

Pennsylvania: Is it common for representatives to IM or e-mail with pages? When the IM exchanges in question started getting out of hand, why didn’t the page terminate the conversation sooner, or do you think he was deliberately leading Foley on?

Bryce Chitwood: Personal conversation with a member is not common. And I am not sure about these pages leading Foley on. The Drudge Report at [removed by me cause I don’t want Drudge to get the traffic}just released some information saying this may have been a prank by pages. Check it out.

I don’t know about the movie, but in the book, the Baron had a thing for young boys.

Don’t see the David Lynch version. It’s AWFUL!

I’ve heard that the version the sci-fi channel did is much truer to the book, but I never got to see it.

Tortoise @ 98

Hastert — “Ultimately, we’re faking responsibility for this.”

brilliantly succinct

RE: Katrina message

I didn’t see Hastert’s press conference, but the original complaint in the page matter was made by the parents of a former page who lived in Louisiana. Foley contacted him by e-mail after Katrina, ostensibly to find out if he was OK and had not suffered from the hurricane. That may be what Hastert referred to as the “Katrina message.”

Was it my imagination, or did Denny open his statement today by blaming the internets for the scandal. I’m paraphrasing, but he started off by saying something like “No one could have anticipated the rise of instant messaging.” Definitely paraphrasing…does anyone have the exact quote?

This should be fun:

Jeff Gannon, the former gay male escort/White House Corespondent, is scheduled to be on live with Randi Rhodes TODAY in the 3rd hour of her show (5:30pm ET, Thursday).

Gannon/Guckert reportedly pissed that gay Rethugs are being thrown under the bus by values based Rethugs.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 12:09 pm (#107)

Cujo at 105 — Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to rebut it — Hastert took questions from perhaps three or four journalists, and then left the presser.

Then it was wise for him to leave when he did. While you can count on most of the DC press being airheads, there are often one or two ringers at these things.

Squonk @ 114

This should be fun:

Jeff Gannon, the former gay male escort/White House Corespondent, is scheduled to be on live with Randi Rhodes TODAY in the 3rd hour of her show (5:30pm ET, Thursday).

Gannon/Guckert reportedly pissed that gay Rethugs are being thrown under the bus by values based Rethugs.

Well, boo fuckin’ hoo, what the FUCK did they expect?!

citizensue @
99

motherlowman @ 93

TRex @ 89

I don’t know about the movie, but in the book, the Baron had a thing for young boys.

Uh Oh! Could lead to ridin’ the wild sandworm.

In the movie he liked to pull the heart plug and watch them die.

TRex at 110 — the David Lynch version is worth it for the Sting in a loincloth scene. *g* Other than that, though, it’s awful. Agreed. The SciFi Channel version was much truer to the book, and the effects were quite well done and worth a watch. But for my money, Dune is best through the reading — Frank Herbert was a master of space opera, and I can only hope to write something half as amazing at some point in my lifetime.

That Drudge thing is hilarious. “Page prank gone awry”–yes, gone awry for FOLEY. Even if the “beasts” were “goading” him, that just takes them to the “Dateline: NBC” level; they caught their predator whether they wanted to or not.

TRex @ 12:09 pm (#110)

I don’t know about the movie, but in the book, the Baron had a thing for young boys.

Don’t see the David Lynch version. It’s AWFUL!

I’ve heard that the version the sci-fi channel did is much truer to the book, but I never got to see it.

OT: Yes, the Sci-Fi Channel’s version was better, and it was much closer to how I imagined the book. It’s on DVD, so you can rent it, I suspect.

(Back from THOMAS)

I should have guessed that the Speaker of the House rarely sponsors or cosponsors anything. Presumably, as the voice of the whole house, they try to stay above these things.

Still, the notion that the Speaker doesn’t know the members of his own caucus very well - especially those with any kind of tenure - doesn’t pass the sniff test.

angie @ 109

Something very strange is brewing, check this out from a wapoo chat with a page… he’s breaking Drudge headlines and happens to also be from OK as is the source on Drudge…

Pennsylvania: Is it common for representatives to IM or e-mail with pages? When the IM exchanges in question started getting out of hand, why didn’t the page terminate the conversation sooner, or do you think he was deliberately leading Foley on?

Bryce Chitwood: Personal conversation with a member is not common. And I am not sure about these pages leading Foley on. The Drudge Report at www.drudgereport.com just released some information saying this may have been a prank by pages. Check it out.

Again- So what! Even if the pages were all watching way too much “To Catch A Predator” voyeur porn and cooked up their own sting operation… bottom line is, if these young boys stripped naked and bent over… it makes no difference. He was in a position of loco parentis… HE’S THE GROWNUP.

karnak12 @ 117

citizensue @
99

motherlowman @ 93

Uh Oh! Could lead to ridin’ the wild sandworm.

In the movie he liked to pull the heart plug and watch them die.

Sounds like a Republican to me.

Well, Hastert and the GOP are gonna try and ride it out.

Bad move (for them).

Where are the Repub grown-ups? One of ‘em needs to tell Denny to shut up and get the fuck outta here. Their arrogance won’t allow them to *actually* take responsibility.

citizensue @ 122

angie @ 109

Something very strange is brewing, check this out from a wapoo chat with a page… he’s breaking Drudge headlines and happens to also be from OK as is the source on Drudge…

Again- So what! Even if the pages were all watching way too much “To Catch A Predator” voyeur porn and cooked up their own sting operation… bottom line is, if these young boys stripped naked and bent over… it makes no difference. He was in a position of loco parentis… HE’S THE GROWNUP.

agreed, but more signs of a desperate and concerted effort to change the story.

Titanyum @ 90

e.c. @47

hastert’s statment today was the statment he should have made a week ago. unfortunately he’s got all sorts of conflicting statments from that last few days that he’s now trying to reconcile.

oh what a tangled web we weave ….

No. A potentially mitigating response when this first came out would not have been a 4 minute (I’m guessing there) reading of a statement, never looking at the cameras, then taking two questions and running off while someone shouted “accountability.”

It would have been Hastert with a group of people (bipartisan, assuming he could have gotten dem’s to appear with him), with law enforcement officials, and others. And he and the others would have sat there and answered, as best they could, every single question asked by reporters.

angie @ 125

citizensue @ 122

angie @ 109

Again- So what! Even if the pages were all watching way too much “To Catch A Predator” voyeur porn and cooked up their own sting operation… bottom line is, if these young boys stripped naked and bent over… it makes no difference. He was in a position of loco parentis… HE’S THE GROWNUP.

agreed, but more signs of a desperate and concerted effort to change the story.

JupiterPluvius @ 119

That Drudge thing is hilarious. “Page prank gone awry”–yes, gone awry for FOLEY. Even if the “beasts” were “goading” him, that just takes them to the “Dateline: NBC” level; they caught their predator whether they wanted to or not.

Wasn’t Abu Ghraib explained in much the same way? Something on the level of a fraternity prank?

Christy Hardin Smith @ 118

TRex at 110 — the David Lynch version is worth it for the Sting in a loincloth scene. *g* Other than that, though, it’s awful. Agreed. The SciFi Channel version was much truer to the book, and the effects were quite well done and worth a watch. But for my money, Dune is best through the reading — Frank Herbert was a master of space opera, and I can only hope to write something half as amazing at some point in my lifetime.

Sting in a loincloth…/swoon hehe.

It wasn’t THAT bad of a movie…but trying to compress all of that plot into one movie was doomed to failure. So much was going on in the books that never got mentioned, or only got mentioned in passing by the narrator. Neither movie mentioned why there were no computers, for example.

I do prefer the sci-fi version, in spite of the silly hats worn by the women in it :) Even though they lengthened it, it’s still missing parts of the book though.

citizensue: marginbuster

:-)

Angie at #125.
Sorry Angie, rant not directed at you. *smiles*

Somehow the press needs to establish the fact that when a politician “TAKES RESPONSIBILITY” for something, they owe us answers to the questions:
1) Exactly WHAT are you accepting responsibility FOR? What did you do that you shouldn’t have done? What did you NOT do that you should have done?

2) Now that you have accepted responsibility (for these kids being harrassed sexually by a member of your own party) what punishment is appropriate for your fuck up? When will you resign?

Tortoise @ 98

Hastert — “Ultimately, we’re faking responsibility for this.”

Yup.

citizensue @ 131

Angie at #125.
Sorry Angie, rant not directed at you. *smiles*

I didn’t think so! *smiles* back.

Dr. Bong @ 130

citizensue: marginbuster

:-)

Sorry.

Peter Gabriel said it best, when singing of fallen South African civil rights leader Steve Biko:

You can blow out a candle
But you can’t blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher…

One subject I haven’t seen discussed yet… What do the Minutes of the Page Board say?

I assume there is no official recording of the warning given to Foley. I assume this matter was not deemed worthy of being documented in the official records of the Page Board.

Can some reporter follow up on this dimension?

Twisted Martini @ 136

Peter Gabriel said it best, when singing of fallen South African civil rights leader Steve Biko:

You can blow out a candle
But you can’t blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher…

“September, ‘97
in Cloak Room 609…”

ok
I gotta get out the door

but I gotta comment bout this

CNN is now running a piece called
“CAPITOL CLOSET”
about how stressful it is to be a closeted gay in office.
I’m sure.
It’s also difficult to be an open gay in D.C.

This is part of a new spin on this Foley story.

It’s not about in/out.
It’s not about gay.
It’s about trust.
It’s about protecting a sexual predator.

The in/out in D.C. story is an important issue, but it’s not the Foley story.

We can’t let them blame this on gayness or on the closet.

By implication, they are saying that closeted gays ( and gays in general) will prey on your kids. Gotta nip this meme in the bud.

angie @ 109 –

this has the smell of a prank, all right – and it isn’t one being played on Foley by pages, but on the public by the right-wing.

Imagine you are Mark Foley – upstanding member of Congress. You get an IM or an e-mail from a page. How do you respond? Do you tell the page you’d like to take his pants off? Do you ask if the page’s mom “found out?” Do you tempt the teen with promises of liquor? Do you compliment him on his body?

If you’re Mr. Normal Foley, you don’t respond at all, and if you do, it’s “I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to be communicating this way, please stop by the office with your concerns.”

Imagine, though, you are a page who got some weird e-mails. Maybe you’d tell another page, and he would say, “Hey, why don’t I e-mail/IM him and see what he does?” I think that’s entirely possible.

And it’s possible someone tried to prank Foley – but Foley bit. Would a so-called normal person bite? Do you resign if you did nothing wrong?

This smells like flop-sweat.

Anne:

This smells like flop-sweat.

yup.

prank schmank

TRex @ 116

Squonk @ 114

Gannon/Guckert reportedly pissed that gay Rethugs are being thrown under the bus by values based Rethugs.

Well, boo fuckin’ hoo, what the FUCK did they expect?!

Well, I have no sympathy either, but if Gannon/Guckert really turns on them, he might reveal some things we’ve all been wondering about, like who he was visiting at the White House…

Cillizza on Hastert:

We wouldn’t hazard a guess as to whether Hastert can hold on or not. But, remember that it was 15 days from Lott’s comments [in 2002] to his resignation. If you take Foley’s resignation as the start of Hastert’s clock, he is now in day 7 of the spin cycle. The next eight days will be extremely telling.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com.....eline.html

angie @ 141

Anne:

This smells like flop-sweat.

yup.

aReader @ 142

prank schmank

Why don’t they understand that all of this prank talk and obfuscation only serves to make them look more desperate and disconnected from their holy roller base?

Re: “Prank”

The mindset of the page has no relevance in judging Foley’s behavior. He did what he did. If the person he was communicating with was baiting him, it would make no difference. If the person Foley was communicating with was actually an undercover cop, it would make no difference. He would still be responsible for his actions made while believing he was communicating with an underage former page.

And it would make no difference in judging the behavior of Hastert and the rest of the Congressional leadership, unless they were in on a sting operation against Foley. (No one has alleged that, I’m just mentioning it to put things in perspective). The leadership still failed to do what it should have done.

JimmyJeff got fired from the Washington Blade immediately after the village idiot editor Chris Crain got dumped. From direct experience, let me assure you Crain was truly an asshole, one of the few people I know that I would consider pissing on if I saw him lying drunk in the gutter.

Which is all to say, JimmyJeff needs a new John.

Bay Buchanan is still HOT!!!!! Hastert must go.

Sorry, Denny

aReader @
137

One subject I haven’t seen discussed yet… What do the Minutes of the Page Board say?

There were no “minutes of the Page Board” because there was no meeting of the Page Board. Neither Kildee, D-MI, nor Moore Capito, R-WVa, were informed of the issue.

Hugh @ 64

What Hastert said:

“I’m deeply sorry that this has happened. Ultimately, we’re taking responsibility for this. As someone said before in Washington, the buck stops here.”

“Someone”? So Hastert doesn’t know the words to the national anthem and doesn’t know (or doesn’t want to admit) who had the famous sign saying “The Buck Stops Here.”

I guess he doesn’t want to remind everyone that we once had a president with that as his motto…

Christy Hardin Smith @ 118

TRex at 110 — the David Lynch version is worth it for the Sting in a loincloth scene. *g* …

Sting…loincloth…Oh right, excuse me. Just wanted to comment on Jon Stewart’s rant. He is enjoying this so much. Talk about EGREGIOUS. I love how he ended with clapping for them trying to change reality: Foley-D on Fox*. Clapping for the blatant propaganda. We’re on to ya, boys, have a nice day. In prison. At the Hague.

*AP had Foley-D as well. Coincidence I’m sure. Not smooth, maybe they’re losing their touch. hahahahahaha.

If anyone out there knows Jonathon Alter, I beg you: get him to a better barber, because that fuzzy hair combover thing he has going on at the front of his head is just unsightly. I know this is superficial, and kind of mean, but it’s distracting and heinous and his friend should tell him before some mean producer person does.

The House has an ethics committee?

ED SHULTZ Is having JOHN LAESCH on his show again very shortly.

ED is really, really gungho for LAESCH and promoting him heavily, teling the Democratic Leadership to get money and support to him.

Redshift @ 150

Hugh @ 64

What Hastert said:

“Someone”? So Hastert doesn’t know the words to the national anthem and doesn’t know (or doesn’t want to admit) who had the famous sign saying “The Buck Stops Here.”

I guess he doesn’t want to remind everyone that we once had a president with that as his motto…

Jimmy Carter later retrieved Truman’s sign from the Smithsonian or wherever it was being kept, and used it himself while he was president.

someone at fark.com posted this. I’m still giggling…

Christy Hardin Smith @ 152

If anyone out there knows Jonathon Alter, I beg you: get him to a better barber, because that fuzzy hair combover thing he has going on at the front of his head is just unsightly. I know this is superficial, and kind of mean, but it’s distracting and heinous and his friend should tell him before some mean producer person does.

a nice waxing would go a long way… be bare and be proud, man.

“The Buck Stops Here.”

The GOP’s stuck here

Act I: The story begins as a Friday news dump with the hope that it would be dead by Monday. While this is usually true, our hero Hastert and other House leaders forget the first cardinal maxim: Sex sells.

ACT II: Wherein House leaders forget the second cardinal maxim: Get your stories straight. Thinking the dragon would be slain over the weekend, they didn’t think this was necessary although it may also have been because they were just being lazy, arrogant b*stards.

ACT III: Here Hastert and the House leaders come to the tragic existential realization that this is the universe’s fault. They are surprised when an otherwise apathetic American public doesn’t buy this.

ACT IV: An unworldly Dennis Hastert begins to suspect that something may be going on here although he is not quite sure what when he wakes up one morning alone and finds that his friends are gone and they have left 6 or 7 daggers in his back. Wounded, he nevertheless vows to persevere in whatever he was doing if only he could remember what that was.

ACT V: ?

citizensue @ 48

Last night Denny Boy blamed this on ABC and people close to Bill Clinton for pushing the reveal. So what?.. how does it help them to paint the Dems as concerned to get this into the light? I tbegs the question: How long did you plan to hide the scandal?

“Hastert right now, “I don’t know who knew what when.”
No resignation. Infuckingcredible!

Whoever outed the scandal should get a reward for doing the right thing.

Hey Firedogs -

(via raw story)
Exclusive: ABC returns fire as Drudge
questions Foley story… Developing…

apologies if prev linked

Mindy Meacham @ 160

citizensue @ 48

Last night Denny Boy blamed this on ABC and people close to Bill Clinton for pushing the reveal. So what?.. how does it help them to paint the Dems as concerned to get this into the light? I tbegs the question: How long did you plan to hide the scandal?

“Hastert right now, “I don’t know who knew what when.”

No resignation. Infuckingcredible!

Whoever outed the scandal should get a reward for doing the right thing.

Perhaps the freedom medal .

“I’m deeply sorry that this has happened. Ultimately, we’re taking responsibility for this. As someone said before in Washington, the buck stops here.” (emphasis added)

That’s the word that sticks out to me: Yeah, if nothing better works out and we can’t blame the dems or someone else, we’re resigned (no pun intended) to, ultimately, someday in the future, if ever, sorta, take responsibility. Maybe.

Mindy Meacham @ 160

citizensue @ 48

Last night Denny Boy blamed this on ABC and people close to Bill Clinton for pushing the reveal. So what?.. how does it help them to paint the Dems as concerned to get this into the light? I tbegs the question: How long did you plan to hide the scandal?

“Hastert right now, “I don’t know who knew what when.”
No resignation. Infuckingcredible!

Whoever outed the scandal should get a reward for doing the right thing.

Of course, Republican Senate Candidate Katherine Harris claims that both the media and “the other side of the isle” actually concealed the Foley scandal from the Republicans…talk about not having your stories straight.

Constitutional signing statements…../snore
Illegal Wiretapping…..ZZZzzzzZZ
Indefinite Detention……/huh? groggy
Torture……./falls asleep again

Sex Scandel involving tittilating IMs …..OMFG let’s get the subpoenas rollin folks!!! Pressers galore! Heads will rolllll!

Makes me fookin ill.

neurophius @ 164

Mindy Meacham @ 160

citizensue @ 48

Whoever outed the scandal should get a reward for doing the right thing.

Of course, Republican Senate Candidate Katherine Harris claims that both the media and “the other side of the isle” actually concealed the Foley scandal from the Republicans…talk about not having your stories straight.

Oh Man!

I like it that Hastert is refusing to quit. The longer this individual remains, the better for the Democrats. Same with Boehner.

neurophius: “Of course, Republican Senate Candidate Katherine Harris claims that both the media and “the other side of the isle” actually concealed the Foley scandal from the Republicans…talk about not having your stories straight.”

I should have also identified Harris as a current member of the House of Representatives. So the people she’s casually flinging that unsubstantiated accusation at are her Democratic collegues. Don’t they have rules or an honor code about that sort of thing? Maybe we should ask Mean Jean.

[Bong picky-o-meter]

“the other side of the aisle

[/Bong picky-o-meter]

:-)

Oklahoma kiddo @ 167

I like it that Hastert is refusing to quit. The longer this individual remains, the better for the Democrats. Same with Boehner.

Oklahoma kiddo @ 167

I like it that Hastert is refusing to quit. The longer this individual remains, the better for the Democrats. Same with Boehner.

They had two choices- The axe or the iron maiden.
Bleeding it out in a box of their own construction was their choice.

This story has better legs than me.

Dr. Bong @ 169

[Bong picky-o-meter]

“the other side of the aisle

[/Bong picky-o-meter]

:-)

Darn. I knew that. Once again, typing too fast.

No commenter is an island. Ask not for whom the Bong picky-o-meter bongs, it bongs for thee.

You know, I didn’t think Hastert could make this any worse for himself. Then he managed to link it all to Katrina. Who’s advising this guy? Jim Carville? He’s the only one I can think of that would do this. “Mary’s busy, but I hear her husband is a brilliant PR strategist.”

Oklahoma kiddo @
167

I like it that Hastert is refusing to quit.

i heard that he is waiting for the announcement that he will be on the new season of VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club — his team, THE ENABLERS, will also incude RUSH, SAVAGE, and TURDBLOOSM.

Pixie @ 165

Constitutional signing statements…../snore
Illegal Wiretapping…..ZZZzzzzZZ
Indefinite Detention……/huh? groggy
Torture……./falls asleep again

Sex Scandel involving tittilating IMs …..OMFG let’s get the subpoenas rollin folks!!! Pressers galore! Heads will rolllll!

Makes me fookin ill.

It’s more than a sex scandal now. Now it really is about accountability because it’s the base’s kids that got hit on. So gay sex got us to this point-all the better. Most people, homophobic or not, don’t want their kids getting hit on by a fifty year old politician. Everbody (on the left and the right) gets oogied out by that.

I still want to know if Hastert handled news of inapropriate behavior like this in his teaching or coaching career.

See my 12:11 p.m. above. I believe by Katrina, Hastert was referring to the content of the e-mail. But it was an incredibly poor choice of words, Katrina being both an enormous disaster and a glaring example of Republican incompetence.

Hell, I’m 53 and I wouldn’t want to get hit on by a 50 year old politician (well, I might make an exception for George Clooney, but he’s not 50 yet and not a politician, either, although I hear he’s considering a run for office).

Someone said this earlier; I wish I could remember who it was because it was freakin’ brilliant:

“Nobody anticipated the breach of the Levi’s.”

ROTF LMAO

Dr. Bong @ 169

[Bong picky-o-meter]

“the other side of the aisle

[/Bong picky-o-meter]

:-)

Actually Katie is cast away on an isle of her own (making): like the cartoons in the New Yorker, with a single coconut coo-coo nut tree and a message in a bottle

punaise @ 180

Dr. Bong @ 169

[Bong picky-o-meter]

“the other side of the aisle

[/Bong picky-o-meter]

:-)

Actually Katie is cast away on an isle of her own (making): like the cartoons in the New Yorker, with a single coconut coo-coo nut tree and a message in a bottle

Aisle agree with you there, punaise.

I just reteurned from the barber shop, were the old repug farts hang out.I live in (republican) Missouri, As I walked in, I ask, What you guys think about this FOLEY/HASTERT mess. The only answer I got was, “it’s sickening shit”.Then, to my surprise, one of the old farts said,” the war is sure getting bad”.

I couldnt believe they wanted to talk about the war.After I unloaded the NIE and Woodwards book, they decided to discuss the upcoming Octoberfest.

That is my first time in there since 9-11, that these old farts never wanted to talk about politics at all?

Now, it might be me, but I’m seeing an embrassment here that usually ain’t there?

I’ve been working all afternoon so forgive me if this has been covered - but has anyone got info on the “prank” defense going on over at Drudge?

New thread: Blue Army General Pach’s boots are made for walking precincts

Re: The Drudge “scoop”: This is another major misstep. Drudge loves a scoop, which is why he’s running with it. My take on it is that the now-revealed page, a conservative Republican with political ambitions, has to come up with some sort of story to explain why he was having cybersex with another man. He should have just gone with, “Look, I’m not proud of it, but I needed a good letter of rec, and the guy started sending me dirty messages. I figured talking dirty to an old man was a small price to pay to get a letter of rec from a sitting Congressman.” I think most people would’ve bought that. He probably would’ve been able to dodge questions about his sexual orientation. Instead, we have the “prank” scenario. This does nothing to help Foley (he still took the bait), and it makes the page look both vicious and culpable for the whole scandal. I understand that the ploy is to shift blame to “enemy political operatives”, but I just don’t see how it’s going to work. Now people are going to start asking the page what he did with the IMs. How did they get from the page to these “enemy political operatives”? You’re in a jam, kid. And you sure as hell can’t tell a whopper like that to the FBI. I think this page is going to be the first kid outed as a result of this scandal.

I thought Katrina was a female page who also received an improper message from a Congressman. snl

Hastert: The buck stops here, especially the young bucks.

Whether it’s killing our teen soldiers in Iraq or exploiting them in Washington, that’s today’s Republican party.

At least this distracts our attention from all the outright theft and incompetence.

The dubious claim has been raised that since Foley did not actually make proximal contact with the pages, not necessarily physical, he did not commit a crime. What about the Dateline Predator series that has run time and time again? Weren’t those men doing the same thing Foley was? Aren’t these guys immediately swarmed by the SWAT team when they leave the house and subsequently found guilty?

I ask this in Christy’s post because she’s the resident legal expert at FDL. What am I missing about the legality of what he was doing?

Redshift @ 150

“Someone”? So Hastert doesn’t know the words to the national anthem and doesn’t know (or doesn’t want to admit) who had the famous sign saying “The Buck Stops Here.”

I’m sure he doesn’t want to admit that, unlike Mark Foley (R-NAMBLA), that individual really was a Democrat.

Evil Parallel Universe @ 163

“I’m deeply sorry that this has happened. Ultimately, we’re taking responsibility for this. As someone said before in Washington, the buck stops here.” (emphasis added)

That’s the word that sticks out to me: Yeah, if nothing better works out and we can’t blame the dems or someone else, we’re resigned (no pun intended) to, ultimately, someday in the future, if ever, sorta, take responsibility. Maybe.

Remember that, originally, “ultimate” simply meant “last.” So what Hastert is saying is that the last thing he’s going to do is take responsibility. A very Republican sentiment!