http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061009/ap_on_go_co/congress_pages;_ylt=Ah.m0ur_NaKRWHYOcIIoPUGs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OTB1amhuBHNlYwNtdHM-GOP lawmakers seek to defend Hastert
By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Republicans rallied behind House Speaker
Dennis Hastert this weekend as they tried to present a united front to deal with the congressional page sex scandal that's rocked the GOP a month before midterm elections.
A claim by Rep. Adam Putnam (news, bio, voting record), R-Fla., that "the dirty laundry in our conference is gone" may be premature.
Putnam sat in for New York Rep. Tom Reynolds, who canceled an appearance on ABC's "This Week" because, said an aide, he was suffering from a "flu-like" ailment. Reynolds is facing a tough re-election fight against Democrat Jack Davis.
Reynolds has been criticized by Democrats who say he did too little to protect a male teenage page from Rep. Mark Foley (news, bio, voting record), the Florida Republican who resigned Sept. 29 after disclosure of his inappropriate electronic messages to former congressional pages. Foley is now under investigation by federal and Florida authorities.
Putnam, who heads the Republican Policy Committee, sought to make the case that Hastert's office "acted proactively, they acted aggressively, and within hours of the explicit e-mails coming to light, they demanded Foley's resignation."
....