Posted by
Bruce Armstrong on Wednesday, October 04, 2006 1:08:01 PM
Denny Hastert's record as Speaker of the House is not all roses & lollipops:
- The DeLay scandals, resulting in his indictment and subsequent resignation
- The Duke Cunningham scandal, resulting in his indictment, resignation, plea deal and jail sentence
- The Bob Ney scandal, resulting in his indictment, resignation, and plea deal
- His refusal to cooperate with the FBI in the investigation of Representative William Jefferson (D-LA), resulting in an FBI raid on Congressional offices and a separation-of-powers showdown
- The Foley scandal, resulting in his resignation
Particularly in light of his intransigence in the Jefferson matter, one must question Speaker Hastert's forthrightness when he called for a DOJ/FBI investigation of Foley's misconduct.
Now, the obvious response from the Kool-Aid drinkers (Hewitt, Limbaugh, Hannity, etc.) will be: "But there were plenty of scandals and such during Tip O'Neill's speakership, and the Democrats didn't make him resign!" To which I say, "Yes, and part of the reason Democrats lost the House in 1994 was their culture of corruption (banking scandal, post office scandal, Jim Wright, and so on)."
Democrats want power at all costs and are willing to overlook significant moral, ethical, and legal problems amongst their members and leaders.
Republicans have followed a higher standard, a more honorable standard.
At least 'till now.