RFFM.org Commentary by Daniel T. Zanoza
On Thursday, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert gave an emotion-filled speech, announcing his farewell to the august body on which he is seated. The event was filled with all the hyperbole and political disingenuousness we have all come to know and despise about Washington, D.C. Even the queen of darkness herself, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, talked about how Hastert and his dignified presence will be missed in the halls of Congress.
I guess we are all supposed to believe the verbal daggers thrown at Republicans by Ms. Pelosi since her coronation were only bits of expected dialogue meant to supply raw meat for her Democratic base. It was an irritating show for those of us who care about America and wish others would care as much.
But for a moment let's put Ms. Pelosi and the Democrats aside. Mr. Hastert needs to answer some serious questions as to what his plans are concerning his retirement.
Something very important was missing from Hastert's speech. He simply must have overlooked the fact that none of us know when he is leaving. Yeah, that's it. There's nothing sneaky going on, there couldn't be. Could there?
Earlier this year, on March 19th, I predicted Hastert's expected retirement in a column I wrote[http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2007/11/lauzen-should-b.html]. I wasn't claiming some sort of monumental scoop because the former Speaker had hinted about his leaving the House of Representatives back in 2006 and reports indicated George W. Bush himself talked the former high school coach to stay on for one more term. On March 20th, I was contacted and chastised by Hastert's press secretary, Lulu Blacksmith who told me Hastert had not announced his retirement, but I would be one of the first to know when and if he would. But some strange things have transpired since I wrote that column and the subsequent correction for my technical error three days later [http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2007/11/hastert-has-not.html].
In the early fall, all the major news outlets were reporting Hastert was ready to announce his retirement. Now without going into the minutiae of how the dominant media works, the story was a definite plant or leak because headlines appeared on the front page of numerous Illinois newspapers the first thing the next morning. But still no announcement came from Hastert. It was all simply a misreading of signals, according to some sources, and we would all have to wait even longer for the inevitable.
However, let's put this whole scenario into perspective. There is a heated race going on to see who will be the Republican nominee to represent the 14th U.S. Congressional District in the general election. Those sitting on the sidelines are state Senator Chris Lauzen, millionaire milkman Jim Oberweis and a lesser player. I'm sure all of these individuals would like to know what Mr. Hastert's plans are, don't you think? But as Hastert's kabuki dance continues, regarding the day he will walk out of the U.S. Capitol building for the last time, the cheese is beginning to ripen and the odor of something that may be less than forthcoming begins to fill the political spaces. With all this feigning into the line from a seasoned politician, I get the clear impression there is another agenda being played out here and social conservatives, like myself, will intentionally be the last ones to know.
The hard facts are the Illinois Constitution demands that an early retirement by Hastert requires both a special primary and a special election. The longer Hastert waits to give a hard date for his leaving, the more pressure it puts on certain candidates. No one can tell me Hastert's balking is a result of his reluctance to experience the associated pain when he leaves his brethren on Capitol Hill. I believe there is a political motive behind the former Speaker's hesitation and I'll go out on a limb by saying it may be meant to help one candidate.
Here are more facts. Many of Hastert's campaign staff have joined Oberweis' team. One would be a fool to look at this development as something that carries no meaning. Could we soon expect a press conference with Hastert endorsing Oberweis made at the most strategic time for Chris Lauzen not to be able to fight back? I personally don't like this type of politics, but to date there's no proof some sort of manipulation of the democrat process is at work...except for the obvious.
Mr. Hastert, please tell us when you're going to leave office. Some of us out here would like to know. And, by the way, I've never received any promised press releases from Ms. Blacksmith and neither have other conservative web sites and blogs, including Dave Diersen's GOPUSA Illinois and Cal Skinner's McHenry County blog, two very popular Internet sites visited by literally thousands of people every day. For that matter, I've never received any press releases from Oberweis either, although I have had the pleasure to get an occasional phone call from the millionaire milkman, which resulted in some very stimulating conversations that gave me insight as to his qualifications to be a member of the U.S. Congress. I'll write about some of those interesting chats at a latter date.
So it's time to cut through the proverbial cheese and get down to brass tacks to use some well-worn clichés that I would hope would be well beneath my literary prowess. When are you leaving, Mr. Hastert? We do have a right to know.
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