Free Republic

see, two landslide elections did accomplish something. ... the “doc fix” is simply and end run around the deficit accounting process. What is more unsettling is the way this piece of legislation came about. It seems to signal that the era of the “Hastert Rule,” where the Speaker will not entertain legislation without the consent of the majority of his caucus, is dead. ... The fact that the Speaker went to the Democrats first to get votes on this spending deal shows the extent to which Boehner has been mortally injured as a leader. It also tells us that the...

House Speaker John Boehner at his Jan. 8, 2015 press briefing. (AP Photo) (CNSNews.com) – House Speaker John Boehner has passed legislation opposed by a majority of his own party nine times since becoming speaker in January 2011.That places him ahead of his predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, and four votes shy of the record for violations of the “Hastert Rule.”The Hastert Rule, described by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert in 2004, refers to the idea that the House speaker will only bring legislation to the floor for a vote if it has the support of “the majority of the majority.”...

GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma .. said he doesn't think relying heavily on Democratic votes is a "new normal." But he conceded the Republican-led Congress faces even tougher choices ahead, including another debt limit showdown this year, in which scores of conservatives are unlikely to help. ... Tuesday's vote was perhaps the final coffin nail in the "Hastert Rule," promulgated by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. He said a speaker should not allow votes on major bills opposed by most of his caucus. More than two-thirds of House Republicans voted against the DHS bill Boehner offered Tuesday.

A bill that reauthorized the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, which was criticized on the right as unnecessary interference by the federal government in the free market, passed the House in violation of the so-called “Hastert Rule” Thursday. The bill passed 297-117 overall. 106 Republicans voted “yea” while 116 Republicans voted “nay.” One Democrat, embattled Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), voted no as well, while 191 Democrats voted yes. The Hastert Rule, the operating principle of former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, requires support from a “majority of the majority.” Hastert has criticized Boehner for relying on Democratic votes on...

Former U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert speaks at St. Xavier University in Chicago Wednesday, March 21, 2012. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media There were jabs at Newt Gingrich, kudos for Mitt Romney, connections between driving a school bus and serving as speaker of the U.S. House and opinions on the wars in the Middle East. Denny Hastert, who went from teacher and wrestling coach at Yorkville High School to become the longest-serving Republican House Speaker ever, shared thoughts as wide-ranging as his background last week in a speech at St. Xavier University in Chicago. Hastert, who was raised...

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, of Illinois, today endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. “During my years in the House, I was an advocate for balanced budgets and low taxes,” Hastert said in a statement. “Mitt Romney stands up for these principles….From his success in the private sector, Mitt Romney understands how to create jobs and turn around this economy.” Hastert was speaker from 1999 to 2007.

During the January 14 Republican meeting and candidate forum in Geneva Township a question was raised by speaker Chris Lauzen (R, Aurora), State Senator from the 25th State Senate District. That question focused on all the support not only from outside the district but outside the entire state that is streaming in to shore up the campaign for Congress of the young Ethan Hastert. Senator Lauzen questioned the propriety of all this outside money pouring into the 14th District when there was already a worthy, proven candidate in the person of Randy Hultgren running for that seat. (Note: I'd have...

Friday, November 20, 2009 GINGRICH TO HEADLINE HASTERT FUNDRAISER from Ethan Hastert for Congress campaign GENEVA, IL – Ethan Hastert will welcome Newt Gingrich to the 14th Congressional District on Friday, December 11, 2009 for a fundraising event at Pheasant Run in St. Charles, IL, to benefit the Ethan Hastert for Congress Campaign. The breakfast event will begin at 8:00 a.m. “I am proud to welcome Speaker Newt Gingrich to the 14th Congressional District. Newt Gingrich lead the Republican Revolution in 1994, resulting in the first Republican majority in 40 years, said Hastert. “As Speaker, Newt Gingrich insisted on...

Vargas to challenge Hastert in the 14th Illinois Review - 23 July 2009 [This article was syndicated via RSS from Illinois Review. The views represented do not necessarily represent those of the Chicago Daily Observer.] A 27 year old graduate of Elgin's Judson College is close to announcing his intention to run in the 14th CD, taking on attorney Ethan Hastert for the Republican bid to regain Congressman Bill Foster's seat back from the Democrats. Mark Vargas , who grew up in St. Charles, has been working for the past few years in Iraq for Defense Secretary William Gates....

Issa unloads: Says GOP must address 'failures' of Bush and Hastert @ 1:15 pm by Michael O'Brien Republicans have a responsibility to reflect on the "failures" of leaders like former President George W. Bush and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), a prominent House Republican said Tuesday. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, argued the GOP must "throw everything we did wrong under the bus" — even if it means alienating some members of the party. Issa said that his committee and Republicans in general wouldn't be doing their jobs "if we're...

Former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's son, Ethan Hastert, has announced he'll run for his father's Chicago-area seat in Congress. The 31-year-old Hastert said Monday he would begin campaigning and fundraising for the 14th District seat. Dennis Hastert held the seat for 20 years and was the longest-serving Republican House Speaker. He announced in August 2007 that he would not seek reelection. Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Batavia won the seat in the November general election. The younger Hastert has never held elected office. The self-described economic and social conservative grew up in Yorkville and now is...

Illinois’ Republican national committeeman said that state Sen. Chris Lauzen of Aurora should “take a deep look” to see if he wants to say in the GOP and shouldn’t make another bid for Congress in the far west suburbs. Pat Brady, who last summer became Republican National Committeeman from Illinois to replace the controversial Bob Kjellander, also said he expected a GOP primary contest next year for nomination to the 14th Congressional District seat won last year by freshman Democrat Bill Foster of Geneva. Among those considering a bid for the seat formerly held by longtime Republican U.S. House Speaker...

"Where is she heading? She is going to get her own reality show, not the White House," said John Feehery, a Republican consultant. "There a lot of big challenges in this country and how can she handle them if she can barely handle her own family?" And there we have it – those powerful Republican circles, none more influential than John Feehery. Mr Feehery was, of course, a staffer for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who endorsed Mitt Romney last year. Though retired from politics he is still the Don Corleone of the GOP, a man who can make or...

Could another Hastert be in line for a run at the 14th Congressional District seat? Ethan Hastert, the 31-year-old son of former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, confirmed Friday that he has started meeting local leaders and introducing himself as a potential candidate. He said he has made no decisions yet. Hastert's father held the far west suburban seat for nearly 21 years, serving as speaker from 1999 to 2007. Ethan Hastert is an associate at Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago. He worked for more than a year in then-Vice President Dick Cheney's office.

A number of U.S. congressmen and their families — including former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert — have personally profited from congressional earmarks they slipped into federal legislation, a FOX News documentary reveals. The documentary, “Porked: Earmarks for Profit,” hosted by Chris Wallace, premieres Sat., May 31, at 8 p.m. EDT on FOX News Channel. Budget earmarks became a national scandal — and a national joke — after some wasteful schemes made headlines recently: a $223 million “bridge to nowhere” in Alaska, a $500,000 teapot museum in North Carolina, a $10 million extension to Coconut Road in Florida. Many...

Mar 11 2008 Loss of Hastert Seat is Proof Conservatives Are Prepared to Sit Out This Year …It’s a wakeup call for John McCain… By Richard A. Viguerie Republicans’ loss of the House seat held for two decades by former Speaker Dennis Hastert is proof that conservatives are prepared to sit out the 2008 elections. Instead of contributing and volunteering, conservatives are closing their checkbooks and staying home.  Liberals and Democrats are enthusiastic to a degree not seen in decades, and grassroots conservatives are sitting on their hands. This is a wakeup call for John McCain.  Since securing the nomination,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The disgraced Eliot Spitzer had hardly resigned as governor of New York when Republican strategists began calculating a return to power in Albany via New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Lt. Gov. David Paterson, Spitzer's successor as governor, is considered a weak prospect for the 2010 election and might not even be the Democratic nominee. Bloomberg, finishing two successful terms as mayor in 2009, might find life as a private citizen boring enough to try for governor. Bloomberg, who changed his affiliation from Republican to independent, could obtain the Independence Party nomination for governor, and then be endorsed...

Saturday's special election has left area Republicans stunned, and some of them are directing their ire at Jim Oberweis and his campaign. Democrat Bill Foster defeated Oberweis by roughly 5,000 votes Saturday to become the new congressman in the 14th District. That seat has only been held by a Democrat once, immediately after Watergate, and has been in the hands of retired Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert for the past 21 years. The 14th District has long been considered a Republican stronghold. So how did Foster, a scientist and businessman from Geneva, muster enough votes to win?

CHICAGO -- Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today named two of the state’s most influential leaders, former Speaker of the U.S. House Dennis Hastert and Southern Illinois University (SIU) President and former U.S. Congressman Glenn Poshard, as co-chairs of the newly created Illinois Works Coalition. The new bipartisan working group will draw expertise from business, labor and local leaders across the state and will focus on helping pass a statewide infrastructure plan in Illinois. Last month in his annual budget address, Gov. Blagojevich proposed Illinois Works, a $25 billion capital plan, as the central piece of a statewide stimulus package aimed...

Democrat Bill Foster’s victory over Republican Jim Oberweis in Saturday’s special election in Illinois is evidence of the clamor for change in the countryside? Perhaps. Are exurban Chicagoans disgusted with Washington? Yes, they are. But there were some uniquely local factors that were more decisive. This was Oberweis’ fourth run for high office since 2002. Over the past six years, he has turned in more stale, lackluster, straight-to-video performances than Matthew McConaughey. The dairy magnate’s gaffe-filled campaigns have demonstrated one thing clearly: he has exponentially more personal wealth than good sense. He burst onto the scene in 2002 running for...