During final election push, scandal sidelines Hastert
"I'm going to be in 30-some districts," the Illinois Republican said in early October. "We're going to be continuing on the trail. We have a story to tell."
But that was before the full impact of the Mark Foley episode sank in -- and before the House ethics committee began investigating what Hastert and other Republican leaders knew about the Florida congressman's inappropriate communications with teenage male pages.
Now, two weeks before the November 7 midterm elections, the speaker is a symbol of the scandal -- and, as such, a potential liability -- for many of his endangered rank-and-file Republicans fighting to win re-election in a campaign environment favoring Democrats.
"It's not that he's toxic. It's just that the situation is," said longtime GOP consultant Rich Galen, lamenting the headwinds Republicans face as they seek to hang onto power. "Even if he's benign, benign ain't enough if you're five points back."
So, instead of campaigning across the country for Republicans and demonstrating the full range of his fundraising prowess, Hastert has spent much of the month in his own upstate Illinois district weathering the Foley fallout and fending off calls for his resignation.
Affable and avuncular, the former high school wrestling coach returned to the Capitol on Tuesday to testify before the ethics committee, and, a spokesman said, he will step up his campaigning in the election homestretch.
"The speaker is working to help get our message out," said spokesman Ron Bonjean, adding that Hastert has visited nearly 200 districts this year and that campaign schedules always fluctuate. "He will do more political travel before the election."
Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Source: www.read1stnews.com
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