A Lack of Leadership

A Lack of Leadership

October 4, 2006

Yesterday, the conservative editorial board of the Washington Times boldly called for the resignation of House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) over his failure to take action when he learned sometime in 2005 of former Rep. Mark Foley's (R-FL) inappropriate — and probably unlawful — communications with minors. "Either he was grossly negligent for not taking the red flags fully into account and ordering a swift investigation...or he deliberately looked the other way in hopes that a brewing scandal would simply blow away," the paper wrote. Hastert responded, saying he had no plans to "obey conservative calls for his resignation." Hastert and all the other conservative lawmakers who could have acted months ago have refused to take any responsibility for their inaction. "None of them reported it to the police. None of them opened an official investigation. None acted like the fathers they are. What if it had been their sons? What would they have done then?" asks Roll Call columnist Donna Brazile. "If these elected leaders can’t be entrusted with this most fundamental responsibility, with what can we entrust them?"

• Conservatives have made this scandal a political one. From the outset of this scandal, the House leadership has viewed the matter not as a concerned parent but as a political analyst. Hastert acknowledged Reynolds came to inform him of Foley's inappropriate emails "in the context of maybe a half a dozen or a dozen other things...that might have affected campaigns." Rather than address the issue in a bipartisan way that would have underscored a common desire to protect the young interns, the conservative chair of the House Page Board — Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) -- refused to inform the Democrat on the committee — Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI). The New York Times writes, "It is unclear why he withheld the information. The pages’ well-being should have been his primary concern, not partisan politics."
  
  
• This scandal only highlights Denny Hastert’s poor leadership over the House. Hastert’s refusal to acknowledge any wronging in the Foley scandal provides a stark example of the type of willful ignorance and poor judgment that has come to mark his reign over the House. Hastert just recessed his Do-Nothing Congress for the fall elections, concluding a term that American Enterprise Institute's Norm Ornstein described as "farcical" and "pathetic" for its failure to address key national priorities. At the same time that Congress has been inactive on legislative priorities, ethical improprieties have been thriving in the House chamber under Hastert's leadership, including scandals with former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (who is under indictment), criminal lobbyist Jack Abramoff (who has entered a guilty plea), and former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) (who also has entered a guilty plea).
  
  
• While some conservatives are outraged by House Leadership’s handling of the scandal, others are trying to place blame elsewhere. To their credit, some conservative activists embraced the Washington Times' call for Hastert's resignation yesterday. Richard Viguerie said, "We are not going to get to the political promised land until we have new leaders, and it's time for pretty much all of the leaders to leave." Paul Weyrich, chairman of the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation indicated, "I think it would be better if [Hastert] did [resign]." On the other hand, other self-described "moral majority" conservative activists who have campaigned to uphold traditional family values have been deafening with their silence. Tom McClusky, vice president of government affairs for the Family Research Council, said calls for Hastert’s resignation are premature. Tony Perkins, the head of FRC, instead blamed "tolerance and diverstiy" for the Foley scandal. Meanwhile, Fox News mouthpiece Sean Hannity is spreading conspiracy theories that liberals are behind the timing of the Foley release, a claim which the reporter who broke the story has rejected.