All week, intra-party grumbling suggested House Republicans would have little choice but to make a change in its leadership. Yesterday, the party changed its mind. Republicans have decided that, after flirting with a leadership shake-up, they’ll have to stick with Dennis Hastert in the Speaker’s office, at least until the next bombshell.
As the WaPo put it, “For now, they said, it would be politically disastrous for Republicans to oust Hastert because it would be viewed as akin to a public admission of guilt in the scandal, as well as a pre-election victory that would buoy Democrats and help their turnout efforts.” It’s not about what’s right, of course; it’s about what will help them weather the storm.
Regardless, the one common theme to all of this morning’s news coverage is that the Speaker stepped up yesterday to accept responsibility for the scandal. That’s simply not true. Hastert said he was accepting responsibility, while in the next breath shifting the blame elsewhere.
A Washington Post editorial summarized the problem nicely:
“The buck stops here,” the speaker said yesterday, declaring that “we’re taking responsibility.” But announcing that doesn’t make it so.
Consider who Hastert has blamed over the last 24 hours.
It’s the Democrats’ fault:
Hastert asserted Wednesday that any Republicans urging his ouster were playing into the hands of Democrats and blamed his problems on the media and Democratic operatives, even suggesting former President Clinton might somehow be involved.
“All I know is what I hear and what I see,” [Hastert] said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune on the eve of the ethics meeting. “I saw Bill Clinton’s adviser, Richard Morris, was saying these guys knew about this all along, If somebody had this info, when they had it, we could have dealt with it then.”
It’s George Soros’ fault:
Hastert said “people funded by George Soros,” a liberal billionaire who has plowed millions into this and other election campaigns, want to see the scandal blow up. And he warned that when the GOP “base finds out who’s feeding this monster, they’re not going to be happy.”
It’s technology’s fault:
“For something like this to occur, our system obviously isn’t designed for the electronic age of Instant Messages.”
It’s the staff’s fault:
Some Republicans said they are most concerned about Fordham’s assertions. Scott Palmer, the speaker’s top aide, has denied the allegations and spent much of Wednesday night rummaging through old e-mails and files to determine whether he ever corresponded with Fordham, a source close to Hastert said. Palmer, who was described as very emotional, told Hastert that Fordham’s assertions are false, the source said.
Hastert’s office has been on edge. Deputy Chief of Staff Mike Stokke, who handles politics for the speaker, has offered to resign, two sources close to Hastert said, and several aides have expressed frustration that Ted Van Der Meid, the top counsel in the office, did not do a better job monitoring the Foley situation. Hastert did not accept Stokke’s resignation offer, the source said.
I’m curious, what does Hastert think “taking responsibility” actually means?