Internal Polling Suggests Hastert Could Devastate GOP

The force is with you, Dexter!

 

You are correct, sir. I am extremely hard-press to argue with the logic in this column. For there isn't any!

 

It took me about 0.28 seconds to skim the first six graphs, until the money graph arrived...

Bill Clinton!! Blowjob!! Blowjob!!! Clinton!!!! Blowjob!!!!



Never mind your own homopedophile, let's jump back on the dead horse of the Clinton blowjobs. Clinton!! Blowjob!! Blowjob!!! Clinton!!!! Blowjob!!!! Clinton!! Blowjob!! Blowjob!!! Clinton!!!! Blowjob!!!!

 

I covered Ron Lewis -- the guy who initially set the stage for the '94 Republican Revolution -- for a couple years. Nice guy, but extremely conservative. He was one of the few members who walked out on Clinton's State of the Union during the Lewinski scandal.

Considering how quickly he bailed on Hastert, I think it's indicative that the rest of the House GOP feels similiarly. Whether it's enough to force Hastert out as speaker is uncertain. However, I don't think it'll make a lot of difference. The GOP lost a lot of points it won in the last six weeks.

 

Gold I'll answer your question but first let me explain where I stand on this issue.

I think Foley is a creep. Most creeps you meet can't hide their creepyhood. I'm betting that almost anyone who dealt with Foley had a gut feeling that he was a pederast or at the least a very creepy dude. If I were a congressman I probably would have found myself avoiding him.

Now the question becomes what could Hastert have done? If he did all in his power to punish Foley when this was first raised then the gay rights folks would have been all over Hastert for punishing Foley. There was precedent here (although Fenian is loathe to acknowledge it). Gerry Studds has SEX with a 17-year old male page and all he got was censure (and then he won 5 more terms). If Studds did the deed and only got censure - what punishment could Hastert have meted out for just acting creepy? As it is - Foley has resigned - which is more punishment that Studds received in the end (no pun intended) for having SEX with a 17-year old page.

I'm no fan of Hastert. I think he's a bit of a weasel but I'm no fan of caving into "gotcha" politics which is what this is. That's why I would still support keeping Hastert.

 

Let's try this again Chris ... we're not talking about whether or not Hastert is a good guy or serves the GOP well. He is, first and foremost, a representative of the people who elected him. Therefore, in the wake of all this, is Hastert a lawmaker you'd want to keep in office, were he your rep? Can he serve your needs as a citizen?

 

Jonah Goldberg is either a liar or can't get his facts straight.
While it is easy to say a 21-year-old (now 19, according to Fox) intern. Monica Lewinsky was, in fact, neither. She was actually 22 and a White House employee.
Now none of that takes away from what Clinton did and you could say this is a minor point, it actually isn't. It is a classic example of how factual distortions can turn into conventional wisdom.
And either Goldberg is either intellectually dishonest or just plain lazy since he can't be bothered to actually look up facts.

 

Chris, Chris, Chris --
Please, don't mention the Studds affair in comparison to this until you know what you're talking about. As soon as the evidence of the affair hit Tip O'Neill's desk, he started the investigation that culminated in the censure of Studds, and of family-values hetero rightist Dan Crane. He didn't wait two (or four) years until a television network broke it. His first call wasn't to the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. His first impulse wasn't to keep the Republican members of the House in the dark.
All of the latter is why Hastert's in trouble.

 

Fair enough, Chris L. If I didn't make it clear, I mean strictly as Speaker of the House - I'm not talking about resigning from Congress. The voters of his district will make that decision.

That's what I thought you would say and loyalty is admirable. Protect your own and don't be bullied.

However, if you were a Republican congress member, how was Hastert looking out for you? I heard of a Republican congress member in Kentucky who cancelled Hastert's appearance at a fundraiser.

How can the Republican congress members respect and trust this guy? With Hastert, it isn't a question of his morality, it's a question of his leadership.

Is this worth losing control of the House of Representatives?

Do you see the problem?

 

Great post

 

I don't trust internal polling.

Foley insists on it.

 

Fenian here are the facts and the facts are undisputed:

- Tip O'Neill was House Speaker and multi-term Congressman from Massachusetts and Gerry Studs was also a multi-term Congressman from Massachusetts. Are you suggesting that O'Neill knew nothing about Studds and his proclivities before the smoking gun (or bleeding anus as it was) was placed on his desk? Are you suggested that O'Neill was such a poor judge of character that he could work side by side with a pederast and not have the slightest inkling? You should give O'Neill more credit than that.

- An investigation was launched but that also opened the door for Studds to get off (no pun intended) due to lack of evidence.

- Even when found guilty of using his position to have sex with a 17-year old page - Studds gave a big fuck you to Congress by turning his back on Congress during the proceedings.

- Yes he was centured but he kept his seniority and his positions on various committees. In fact he became a bit of a cause celebrity for the gay community. (The gay community seems awfully silent here - even though both guys were just as creepy - I guess as long as you spout off the right things you can be a pederast or a member of NAMBLA like Allen Ginsberg and people of your ilk will toast their names).

- Asking anyone to measure up to Tip O'Neill as Speaker of the House is putting a very big load on someone's shoulders and is loaded with expectations which probably can't be met. Like expecting Mike Greenwell to be the next Yaz just because they both played left field for the Red Sox.