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While many issues Americans cared about remained trapped in congressional disputes, Hastert and DeLay made a point of pursuing legislation that was of great concern to the conservative base but either could not pass the Senate or was of little interest to the broader electorate. How out of step they could sometimes be was illustrated by efforts to intervene in the case of Terry Schiavo, who was determined by multiple doctors and courts to be in a persistent vegetative state, although her family disagreed with the diagnosis. State courts sided with her husband and his desire to allow her to die. Congress tried to reverse the ruling by forcing the issue into federal courts. The federal courts wouldn't play along, however, and embarrassed Congress by chiding it for overstepping its bounds.
As the disconnect between GOP leadership and public priorities grew, so did voter anger and mistrust. Hastert quit the leadership after the party's loss a year and half ago and resigned in mid-term. But it seems apparent with the demoralizing loss of Hastert's seat, Denny's seat, that the woes he helped heap on his party may go on a lot longer. Especially if conservatives and GOP leaders display no understanding of how they got in this fix in the first place.
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