With Foley Gone, House Republicans Scramble to Get on the Same Page
Pages: get 'em while they're hot
WASHINGTON—Still reeling from revelations of sexual misconduct by Rep. Mark Foley (R-Florida), House Speaker Dennis Hastert today warned that House Republicans “must get on the same page as quickly as possible.”
“Ever since this scandal broke, it seems like everyone around here has been on a different page,” Hastert (R-Illinois) said at a press conference on Monday. “But in a time of crisis like this, we can’t have every congressman trying to assume a position on their own. We need to come together, and the sooner the better.”
Other prominent Republicans have already voiced their support for Hastert’s initiative. At Tuesday’s emergency meeting of House Republican leadership, Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) pointed out the power vacuum left by the departure of Foley, who had formerly served as Deputy Whip for the majority. “Without Foley, we’re left with a gaping hole here on Capital Hill. It’s our job to fill it, no matter how many of us it takes.” Boehner said to the nodding agreement of his colleagues. He added sternly, “God knows we don’t want any Democrats jumping on this while we’re not paying attention.”
Not every Republican is pleased with the leadership’s new policy, however. Rep. David Dreier (R-California) told reporters that he believes Hastert may be moving too swiftly to bring the rest of the caucus in line: “I know Denny wants us all to get on top of this together. That’s always been his thing. But frankly, I don’t see the harm in letting everyone stay on their own page for a while. I mean, just because the Speaker feels good about the page he’s on doesn’t make it a good fit for all of us.”
Despite his opposition, Dreier said he is not surprised by Hastert’s new campaign, pointing out that the Speaker had been “trying to get everyone to try something like this for years,” but that he was, “just too insecure to ever make it happen.”
For his part, Hastert has vocally defended his plan against criticism, claiming that a swift move to fill Foley’s gap would put an end to the mounting pressures overtaking his party. In an internal memo released this morning, the Speaker assured Republicans that he is “aware of the tension and frustration that everyone is experiencing right now. But attempting to deal with it on our own wouldn’t be a pretty sight. Our entire caucus needs to take care of this together, and that means staying on the same page.” He concluded, “That’s what real men do.”
