Folks: Do NOT call for Hastert's RESIGNATION!

[matcom]

not here on DU. stop it.

the longer ole Denny is being pummeled BY HIS OWN PARTY and the longer ole Denny CONTINUES TO DENY AND LIE, the BETTER this will get.

do NOT call for the Repukes to make him resign. do NOT support Repukes who are calling for it today.

this can get swept under the rug too quickly if they successfully make ole Denny their "See, WE take our OWN criminals SERIOUSLY"

Look. Foley is gonna be hiding out with Tom Cruise in rehab until AFTER the elections (either that or there is a small aircraft 'mishap' in his future) and could be a secondary story all together as long as the 'leadership' is in denial.

Denny is (currently) the big fish here. The longer he stays hold up in his Capitol Hill Bunker the better for us.

Instead of praising the likes of Bay Buchanan, turn down the volume and grab some extra :popcorn:

peace.

[MrCoffee]

1. K&R...couldn't agree more.

[cynatnite]

2. Did I read right that with Hastert staying on could cost up to 50 seats?

:popcorn:

[Pachamama]

62. You read correctly...And I think what we should be calling for is for the

fine citizens and voters in Hastert's district to take matters into their hands and do what America needs and vote that fat corrupt bastard out of office completely.

PS: If you haven't done it, please donate to John Laesch, the Democrat who is challenging Hastert! Even it its just $10, you can help him in the next 30 days counter Hastert and really challenge him - AND WIN! http://www.john06.com If you haven't seen this guy speak (I saw him on Hardball - he's great!) and read his background, he's exactly the kind of person that should be replacing Hastert!

:kick:

[greyl]

3. I disagree.

He doesn't deserve the position, for one.
Second, it's not like we'll be out of issues if he resigns, regarding Foley or otherwise.

[matcom]

5. there is NO OTHER issue as long as Hastert remains in power

not in the media eyes anyway. THEY won't let US debate the real issues. the longer THEY run with this the BETTER

[greyl]

8. That's not what I'm seeing at all.

The Republicans losing the House and Senate is a huge story.

I think you're making some hasty conclusions based on insufficient evidence.

[MrCoffee]

They have to lose the House and Senate first...this is how that happens.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. there is no other issue as long as Republicans remain in power.

Hastert resigns then we go after Boehner.

Boehner resigns and we go after Reynolds.

Reynolds resigns and we go after LaHoot.

LaHoot resigns and we go after the WH.

On edit: fixed the subject.

[matcom]

19. WE don't have to do any such thing

the CHRISTIAN REPUKES WILL/ARE GOING AFTER ALL OF THEM FOR US!

it is a beautiful thing to watch really

[greyl]

21. Then don't ask us to not call for his resignation. ;) nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

22. Oh, I disagree there too.

I think most christian repukes will look the other way as long as we let them.

They want to believe their party is moral.

[LSK]

11. but this issue is reaching a whole group of voters not touched before

Upper white class suburban soccer moms are not affected by the economy or the Iraq war. But sex predators and kids hits home hard.

[greyl]

18. Have you seen Republican approval ratings before Foley?

I don't think it's bad for Democrats if Repubs start resigning a month before elections.

[MrCoffee]

20. The call isn't to resign his seat, just the Speakership.

[warrens]

29. If he resigns as speaker, he will lose his seat

A lot of people in his district are REAL sick of him; he keeps winning through pork. But a suspicious land deal, old rumors about his own affection for young boys, and this might add up to the ol' coach stumping off into the sunset.

[MrCoffee]

33. That's for the voters to decide, and I hope they send him packing.

What the OP was about, however, was resigning the Speakership.

There's no way in hell Denny resigns his seat over this.

[greyl]

30. So? They're cutting and running, how is that bad for us? nt

[MrCoffee]

36. It puts the brakes on a runaway trainwreck of a story.

Repubs get to crow about how they police their own, Denny issues a contrite little statement about how sorry he is, and then WE get to look bad for bringing it up.

[LSK]

27. yes and now former "safe" GOP seats are now in play

:popcorn:

[Nickster]

59. Just the other day he was talking about how he's going to stump in 30 some

other races. Surprise, surprise, he had his first cancelation from one of those candidates today. He's toxic and now he's gotta worry about John Laesch in his own backyard. Hell, he might just lose his own seat after all.

[MrCoffee]

14. Two responses...

First: Of course he doesn't deserve the position, but as far as I know, no one in here is claiming that he does. What he does deserve is the white-hot media spotlight burning a hole in him, which is what we have right now. He resigns the speakership, and we lose that.

Second: Foley is the key to so many things. He's the key to getting media access (which we are in short supply of). Show me one news director (not at Fox, i said news) who's going to turn away a Democratic candidate/spokesman who wants to talk about Foley. Use him to get in the door and bring up ALL the other issues. It's the perfect springboard: "What else are they covering up?" The longer Denny stays and fights, the longer window we have to use the cover-up segue to talk about Woodward, the NIE, the MCA, all of it.

[sandnsea]

37. Yes, a springboard to lack of accountability

That's what should be done, a few words about Foley and then change the subject to this scandal ridden Congress that covers things up and leaves our kids and country at risk.

[MrCoffee]

42. Absolutely. Which is why Denny's not resigning is a friggin godsend.

[Nickster]

56. Don't stand in the way of a perfectly good train wreck. The longer this

stays in the newscycle the better. I'm surprised that it lasted as long as it has. We've had the issues for the last 5-6 years and we didn't get nearly as much attention as this is getting. Denny doesn't deserve the leadership post, but then again no other Pub in the House deserves it either. Let Denny stay on the Titanic as long as possible. If he jumps ship now, then everyone can say "see our leaders took responsibility, now nothing to see here, move on." Let these bastards eat themselves, we don't need to add any fuel to this fire at all.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. Disagree.

Yeah, staying in office will hurt the GOP, but only as long as there's a large and vocal community calling for his ouster.

[Rex]

6. Hmmm...is this the real matcom?

I don't see Mr. Smiley Ass walking up and down the green stairs at the bottom of the post. :evilgrin:

EDIT - thanks matcom, I swear I have that image burned into my retina (I even have the timing down in my head for Mr. Smiley Ass.) I know, I know, I need help.

[truebrit71]

7. Absolutely spot on.

The longer this drags out the better for us, because the 'thuglicans will be in damage control instead of spinning their usual lies and bullshit about us.

I say STAY DENNY, STAY!!!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

9. He has to stay!

He's just so cute and roly-poly! He's like a big teddybear, albeit one that eats a side of beef at one sitting!

No, our Reptilian Friends on The Right need to keep him there. Denny is a man of gravitas, acumen and keen attention to detail. He's just playing rope-a-dope on the Dems. He will spring his nefarious trap on Nov. 6th and the Dems will be wiped out forever!

:yoiks: :scared:

[xultar]

10. SO FREAKIN TRUE. Been saying it for days now.

[fishnfla]

12. yeah, but with him gone, the fun really begins

big huge game of king of the hill

[bryant69]

13. I don't know

One the one hand, I certainly hope he doesn't resign - I want him to hold onto his position of power as long as possible, because he's agreat example of how Republicanoids govern, i.e. poorly.

On the other hand, I do think he should resign, and if you strip out the political advantage to having him up there as a punching block, most people here probably do think he should resign. Should we say what would be best for the country or what would be best for our electoral chances?

But of course it would be best if we won in '06 - and us winning in '06 would be a damn sight better than even getting rid of just Hastart.

Hell I don't know. Give me some of that popcorn.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[underpants]

15. BOOKMARKED KICKED AND RECOMMENDED

:popcorn:

[Jacobin]

17. Its funny that some DUers

think Hastert is 'distracting voters from more important issues'


Well fuck of course it is, but those aren't the issues american voters give a rats ass about.

They want to go to the polls and toss out those congressional molesters, because, by damn, that's easy to figure out, and by damn, no republican is gonna be fondling my neighbor's kids, etc etc etc

[LSK]

23. exactly

Surburban soccer mom doesnt follow the economy or who said what regarding 9/11 or whats happening in Iraq.

[MrCoffee]

24. yes, yes, and yes again.

THAT'S the issue, and the point, behind keeping Denny on the hot seat for as long as humanly possible.

[longship]

25. I disagree. Let whatever happens, happen.

I take no position on this. Why? Because if Denny the Hut does resign, it will reap huge benefits for Dems. That's clearly why he *didn't* resign.

Consider the mess if he resigns his leadership. Who are they going to get to replace him? Boehner, who is likewise implicated? How about Reynolds, who is *also* implicated? How about Shimkus? These guys are in *huge* trouble. They can't throw Denny under the bus because they *know* that it will only keep the Foley mess on the front burner throughout the rest of the month. That's all the Democrats need to further insure a electoral sweep next month.

Now, if Hasturd stays, we'll have a perpetual target.

It's win-win for the Dems. It's lose-lose for the Repukes.

But if Denny goes, it's really beautiful. The Repukes might have to put a back-bencher in as Speaker to avoid the inevitable screams.

[sandnsea]

26. Exactly

That would be the worst thing possible. There's a fine line between calling it all "damage control" at this point, which it is; and overreaching into a completely distasteful feeding frenzy that will just turn voters off to everybody.

[mopinko]

28. i like seeing him twisting in the wind myself

he won't really rot before election day, i don't think.
i agree, grab the popcorn.

[graywarrior]

31. I agree. Let him swim around in shit for awhile.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

32. I'm going to call Congress. Right FUCKING now!

Take that, "Matcom"...if that's even your real name...

:rofl:

[matcom]

35. RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!!11

:rofl:

:popcorn:

:D

[MrCoffee]

39. ARe you SERIES!!11!!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

41. I"M SERIES!!!11!!!!!111 THIS IS HUGH!!!!111111111!!!!!

[MrCoffee]

44. I've got Cantwell on the phone...what now???

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

45. Duh. Tell him not to fly anywhere.

[MrCoffee]

46. She yelled at me for calling her "him"...and her refrigerator is running.

edited because i spell like a fucking freeper.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

47. Yelled at you? That was an unseemly jester.

[MrCoffee]

49. i was shoked. Shoked i tell you!!1!1

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

50. She has NO MORELS OR BRIANS!!!!111!!!!!!111

[MrCoffee]

51. what a MORAN!!11!!1

[Justice Is Comin]

34. Boy, I'm mixed over this decision.

It's got Christmas lights all over it either way.

[MrCoffee]

40. Agreed. for me, the deciding factor is which set of lights show best on TV

[enki23]

38. not sure i agree

what they want most is for this to blow away as soon as possible. they know there's no winning position for them on this, and the best they can do is try to minimize the damage by trying to confuse everyone in the short term, hand a few lifelines out for the true believers to cling to, and generally bullshit for a while till it blows over. if hastert can hang on a while till the calls for his resignation end, most people will simply forget about it. it'll just be "old news". and if he *doesn't* resign, that will in itself be considered evidence that he didn't do anything wrong. after all, if he'd done something wrong he would have had to resign.

that's how the republican party works. if nobody ever gets fired, then clearly nobody ever really did anything wrong. they create their desired reality by pretending it's already real. and it'll work, to some extent. our job is to minimize that extent. the democrats' job is to appear as outraged as they can possibly be, so long as that outrage isn't so over the top that the average idiot finds it hard to swallow. average idiots will swallow *almost* anything, it seems, so it's hard to go overboard on this one, so long as nobody pulls a dan burton and gets caught with their *own* pants down. obviously, the republicans are DESPERATELY digging for some of that dirt, to spread the hypocrisy around a bit. that's about all they have to work with right now.

anyway, i think we should ALL be shouting for hastert's head, in a collective sense, though the more obvious philanderers among the elected dems might want to let some of the less sullied do the loudest shouting. NOW is the time to hit these fuckers with this scandal as hard as we can, because our window of opportunity will not really be that long. i'm sure there are some terror alerts coming our way very soon.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

43. Dense Assturd is such a partisan, ugly, and divisive person

that I don't mind having him continue being the face of the Republican Congress. I don't think one resignation more or less will make a difference in November. Instead, I think having Dennis Hastert's face in the news keeps Foley's transgressions in the public mind. I therefore tend to agree with you. Either way, though, it's bad for the GOP.

[Parche]

48. Hasdirt

Matcom you ignorant slut, why do you have to be right all the time!!!!!!!

[OregonDem]

52. Call for his resignation after the election

After the investigation which will be after the election we should call for his resignation. That way Fat Bastert will pull a large number of house members down with him. When Republicans lose a large number of representatives they will cast blame on Hastert and will make our job easier of getting rid of him. After that the republicans will eat their own as they fight for their minority leadership position in the house.
I know how some Democrats are often too timid to attack their Republicans opponents, but this time it actually might make sense to restrain ourselves a little bit before we pull the knives out.

[mcscajun]

53. I agree. We've got him RIGHT where we want him: In Plain Sight

for the whole country to see. Let him flail away from now until election day, dragggin' the Republicans down in droves across the land, on ballot after ballot: A thing of rare beauty.

Schadenfreude!!!

Stockin' up on popcorn...
:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

[peacetalksforall]

54. You're right! nt.

[girl gone mad]

55. How about doing the right thing?

The right thing is to demand accountability. Hastert doesn't need to be the sole focus, but he does need to be held accountable.

[Nickster]

58. We aren't the party in power and they damn sure aren't going to hold Denny

accountable. So put on a helmet and enjoy the fireworks. It ain't pretty and it necessarily right, but it's what we have right now and it's a real easy issue for those "value" voters to focus on.

[malaise]

57. Agree 100%

[Swamp Rat]

60. It's savory schadenfreude watching that sweaty sausage-sucker stew.

OINK! :D

[matcom]

61. "savory schadenfreude"

DA BEARS!

:rofl: