Posted on 11/08/2006 10:56:05 AM PST by West Coast Conservative
Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., told fellow Republican lawmakers on Wednesday he does not intend to run for minority leader when Democrats take control of the House in January, officials said.
Hastert conveyed word in a conference call one day after Republicans lost control of the House in midterm elections.
The officials who described Hastert's plans did so on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt a formal announcement.
His decision to step down cleared the way for a likely succession battle. Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the majority leader, is expected to run, and Reps. Mike Pence of Indiana and Joe Barton of Texas have also signaled they may make a bid for leadership positions.
If there was ever an absolutely, blindingly super stupid move it was Hastert's coming to Jefferson's aid when the FBI raided Jefferson's office. It sent a horrible, unmistakable message: "We're all a bunch of crooks who can't stand daylight but, because we're Representatives and better than all the rest of you, we can use our House offices as HQ for criminal conspiracies and there's nothing anybody can do about it." If he'd stayed up ten nights straight thinking of how he really could prove the DemonRats' "culture of corruption" charge against the Republicans, he couldn't have come up with anything better.
Hastert kept his position for too long. He became majority leader amid sex scandals (Bubba, Gingrich, Livingstone, and threats of others). He should not resign from the House of Reps.
Heh... we saw a lot of such districts go down in flames. Let's not help.
I like the way you're thinking.
Yea. It would be funny if Steele said something like "Check me out, I broke the chains of the liberal plantation, ran to the border where real freedom for minorities exist, the republican party."
So begins the winter of our discontent.
That was a big GOP "Jump The Shark" Moment. That's when I truly realized that 1994 was for nothing.
Tom Tancredo. A dream, I know, but....
"Hastert was the lamest Speaker ever."
Hassert was nothing but a prop for the Check-Pants Republicans.
Thank goodness. We don't need his face on camera to remind the voters why they threw the pubs out.
OK lets it put this way, in his good years Hastert gets 70%+ in that district.
In a bad year like last night, he gets 60%.
Simply put, Hastert needs to go.
Good!
I like Pence.
Duhhhhh?
Good! We never knew he was there in the first place.
Off With John Bohnier's Head
Off With Roy Blunts's Head
Off With Tom Reynolds Head.
reject them all!
He should have announced a MONTH ago that he wasn't running again for leader, just to get that off the map so we could get back to the election.
I thought I heard yesterday Mitch McConnel was next in line for leadership in the Senate. How agressive is he (compared to Frist)?
I really like Steele, he would make a great VP candidate.
Newt -- Hastert ----- no comparison.
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