The Jack Abramoff scandal has clearly rattled House Speaker Dennis Hastert, so much so that he’s not making a lot of sense while defending his caucus.
QUESTION: Mr. Speaker, if I could ask you a question, the Abramoff scandal is what has forced you into this position. A year ago, the things that you’re proposing would not have been politically possible for you to talk about. Why is the Congress reacting and why didn’t it act initially if all these are good ideas?
HASTERT: Well, you know, a year ago most people around Congress couldn’t tell you who Jack Abramoff was and didn’t know who his associates were or what connections there are.
If there’s a worse response to that question, I can’t think of it. As Josh Marshall explained, Abramoff “was one of the biggest lobbyists in DC, moved huge amounts of money around Capitol Hill, was close to most of the key Republican power-brokers in and out of Congress.” For Hastert to suggest now that most of the Hill didn’t know who Abramoff was is wildly wrong.
For that matter, Hastert must not be paying too close attention to the news. As far back as September 2004, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee held hearings that helped expose Abramoff and some of his crooked deals. The hearings generated plenty of media attention and started making lawmakers very nervous.
But the oddest thing about Hastert’s response was the underlying message. A reporter asked why House Republicans have resisted lobbying-reform initiatives until now, and Hastert responded that they didn’t know who Abramoff was until recently. But that’s not the point, or at least it shouldn’t be. Hastert’s answer suggests the House GOP is finally on board with curtailing lobbyists’ influence because they finally know about a corrupt lobbyist with ties to as many as 60 lawmakers.
In other words, Congress got caught, so now it’s time to do something. Abramoff may be in a league of his own, but abuses and borderline-corrupt lobbying controversies aren’t new, GOP interest in addressing them is.
The reporter asked Hastert why Congress did nothing if all the reform measures are good ideas. The truth, which the Speaker obviously can’t say, is that Hastert and his colleagues liked the system just fine and are forced to act because they’re worried about losing their majority.