Your author was pleased to see a recent resignation. No it wasn't the announcement from the Bush camp that chief of staff Karl Rove was exiting but rather a figure your author called to the carpet on numerous occasions to place partial blame on the out of control spending of the previous dominant Republican Congress. This past week while the skewed media machine speculated over Rove's resignation they failed to highlight the Republican Congressman and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's bow out. Hastert has stated he will not seek reelection in 2008.
It was Hastert that allowed out of control spending from his rank and file. When disgraced former Florida Congressman Mark Foley attempted to resign prior to the sex scandal that would end career; it was Hastert that pressured him to stay. Finally it was Dennis Hastert that stepped aside and gave his blessing to allow Tom DeLay to be elected House Speaker. These events, coupled with DeLay's ties to infamous lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the eventual corruption scandal that followed, created a storm that all but guaranteed a defeat in 2006. All the while Hastert stood motionless.
Besides what he failed to squash, because Hastert had the power to curb the inevitable, it was also what he failed to initiate that is often forgotten. Hastert was part of the Republican team that was led by House Speaker New Gingrich in the Republican Revolution of 1994. Their objective was clearly stated in a creed known as Contract with America. This gem of conservative and libertarian philosophy has all but been forgotten. In 1994 America spoke loudly when mid term votes ousted Democrats after a 40 year reign over Congress. While the Contract sliced our welfare state in half, which is what the creed is best known for, it failed to limit Congressional terms. Your author has previously argued that such term limits would curb the influence of lobbyists and ensure that we don't create careeer politicians.
Hastert himself has two serious marks against him, which your author has previously discussed. The first being his son Joshua who is a known lobbyist in the beltway and the second involving land transaction where Hastert benefitted from proposed highway spending.
In 2004 Hastert penned his memoirs in Speaker: Lesson from 40 Years in Coaching and Politics. While the book contains his thoughts and insight at various times during the Reagan, Bush, Clinton and the current Bush's terms; he devotes a portion of the text to the fair tax or national sales tax in replace of the current tax structure. Your author along with many other pundits agree that scrapping the current tax code and the IRS while replacing such function with a national sales tax would better serve America; Hastert did little in the way of initializing such legislation. Hastert discussed the idea while making rounds on talk shows and in the news rooms to promote the work but never attempted to act upon it. Failing to act, given the scandals that pushed the Republican Congressional majority out, may best sum up Hastert's political legacy.
