Dennis Hastert rose to the Speaker's chair nearly eight years ago with a promise to first and foremost restore the public's trust in Congress. Republicans had seen his two predecessors chased out on the heels of scandals, Congress' approval rating had hovered in the mid-40s, and the House was badly damaged in the public's eyes from an ugly fight over impeachment that a vast majority of people saw as politically motivated. The Speaker's job was viewed as a big challenge, but members of both parties expressed optimism. And after Gingrich, impeachment, a government shut-down, and Bob Livingston it looked like the House had bottomed out and the only way to go was up.
Hastert proved them wrong. Today, public confidence in Congress is at an all-time low -- roughly half of what it was when Hastert took over. One member close to Hastert has pleaded guilty to bribery, a second has been indicted, and a third named as a co-conspirator to illegal activities, and still more indictments are likely. Hastert himself has had to fight back stories that he is "very much in the mix" of a federal investigation. But Hastert has avoided practically any scrutiny from the media, and even Democrats have given him a pass -- Minority Leader Pelosi yesterday praised Hastert, saying he earned the title "honorable" because of his character, as if Hastert were a mere bystander to the culture of corruption that has festered under his watch.
"Coach" Hastert has not been standing idly on the sidelines. Hastert and his lieutenants have virtually stripped the minority of power to control the agenda, or even take votes on key issues. His personal rule of only allowing votes on proposals that have the support of "the majority of the majority" might sound collegial and consensus-building, but in fact they've virtually stopped efforts to build a moderate consensus. And Hastert has passed over the traditional seniority system and used term-limits rules on committee chairs to appoint Appropriations Committee chairs loyal to himself and Tom DeLay.
These moves have given Hastert considerable power over the House, and he's spent the past seven years to concentrate power in the hands of a few loyal members. However, this has actually made it that much easier for lobbyists like Jack Abramoff to thrive by living off the favors and access to now-infamous hand-picked Hastert loyalists DeLay, Ney and Blunt. And in a move that only a Republican can love, Dennis Hastert, a Speaker who took office under rules limiting his service, changed the rules, just became the longest-serving Republican in the job, and has no plans to leave voluntarily.
Hastert's ties to DeLay alone should give those evaluating the Speaker reason to pause. DeLay, who recently resigned after being indicted for felony money laundering in Texas, owed his position as Majority Leader directly to Hastert, and Hastert in large part owes his Speakership to DeLay. In 1997, DeLay tried but failed to oust then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Gingrich backers were furious. But when Gingrich supporters proposed retaliating by booting DeLay out of leadership in favor of Hastert, it was Hastert who scuttled the plan and protected DeLay's leadership position. DeLay would later repay the favor by allowing Hastert to take over as Speaker -- a job he desperately wanted, and may have had enough support to win.
Hastert paid DeLay back last year. In the wake of three admonishments from the House Ethics Committee, Hastert fired the Ethics Committee chair and then stacked the committee with DeLay loyalists. Chairman Joel Hefley was replaced with the more loyal Rep. Doc Hastings, and two DeLay allies -- Melissa Hart and Lamar Smith -- were added to the panel. Smith had already hosted fundraisers for DeLay's PAC (a subject of potential ethics complaints) and had already contributed $10,000 to DeLay's legal defense fund. Hart had accepted $15,000 from DeLay's leadership PAC and voted to allow him to serve as majority leader, even if he was indicted. Hastert then allowed a change in the ethics rules to make it more difficult for the panel to launch investigations. Hefley complained bitterly of the threats he received from Republican leadership because of his role in the Ethics investigations, and announced in February that he was quitting Congress.
The protection Hastert gave DeLay is just one example of how Hastert's decisions have fostered the Republican culture of corruption. Reaching back to his earliest days as Speaker, Hastert has placed loyal soldiers in key positions, and shown remarkably poor judgment in the individuals he selects. In 2001, after Democrats tired of the antics and allegations of corruption swirling around Rep. Jim Traficant booted him from their caucus and took away his committee slots, Hastert offered to beam him aboard the Republican side and offered him a seat on the Transportation Committee if he'd both vote for Hastert for Speaker and leave the Republican Party. Traficant was expelled from the House one year later. Hastert also hand-picked Randy "Duke" Cunningham for a position on the Select Intelligence Committee. Cunningham was forced to resign, and went on to plead guilty to four felonies and admit taking bribes including free use of a yacht, a Rolls-Royce, antique furniture, Persian rugs, and jewelry. The Intelligence Committee is currently investigating whether Cunningham abused the position Hastert gave him by compromising classified information or if the bribes he took improperly influenced any of the committee's decisions.
Bob Ney -- who you might know as "Representative Number One" from such court documents as Jack Abramoff's guilty plea -- is another beneficiary of Hastert's consolidation of power. Among other allegations are charges that Ney used his position as chair of the House Administration Committee to award a contract for wireless equipment for the Capitol and House offices to an Abramoff client. Meanwhile, Ney accepted, and may have solicited, favors from Abramoff, including golf trips to Scotland, dinners at Abramoff's restaurant, and campaign contributions. But without Dennis Hastert, Bob Ney would never have been in a position to trade favors like this. The Chair of the House Administration Committee was one of three appointments that Hastert made directly and unilaterally in 2001. "I'm fully aware that I'm an appointee by the Speaker and by the Speaker only," Ney was quoted as saying at the time of his appointment.
If you need more examples, just stick around, because they seem to be emerging daily. Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that a federal grand jury has subpoenaed records connected to Rep. Jerry Lewis' relationship with lobbyists and his role in steering earmarks to their clients. Hastert especially has attracted notice for his willingness to cherry-pick loyal Appropriators, often passing over more senior members in favor of those more loyal to him. And while Hastert and the Republican caucus had relaxed their strict rules limiting terms of key house leaders, the limits on the Appropriations committee were kept in place, allowing Hastert to wield considerable power in replacing every outgoing chairs and subcommittee chair. Last year, Lewis joined the club, leapfrogging a more senior member to assume the chair of the full Appropriations Committee. While Minority Leader Pelosi has asked Bill Jefferson to step aside from his Appropriations Committee position while he is under federal investigation, Republican caucus rules allow Lewis to keep his job right up until the time he is indicted.
Finally, there are still unanswered questions swirling around Hastert's own personal ethics problems. He dismissed a report saying that he was "very much in the mix" of a federal investigation as retaliation by the FBI. However, the basic facts that would be the basis of an investigation are not really in question. Hastert, along with DeLay and Roy Blunt, are known to have written letters opposing the efforts of the Jena Choctaw tribe to build a casino in Shreveport, Louisiana. Coincidentally, this was a cause championed by Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist for a rival tribe. Hastert received $118,500 from Abramoff, his lobbying partners, and tribal clients between 2001 and 2004, including $21,500 during the period in which the letter was sent. Hastert also accepted the use of Abramoff's restaurant and failed to disclose it for two years. While the Justice Department has said that he is not formally under investigation, ABC is standing by their story, saying that its sources have reconfirmed that their original "in the mix" characterization was accurate.
Hastert has eked out a term as the longest-serving speaker of the House. But his seven-plus years have been more a bonanza for lobbyists and the lawmakers he's put in key positions than a restoration of public trust in the people's House. His term has been marked by a consolidation of power in the hands of a few positions, then a pattern and culture of abuse of that power by people he put in those positions. Without the cycle of concentration and then abuse of power, the Republican culture of corruption in Washington might never have reached the levels it has today. And none of that would have happened without Speaker Dennis Hastert.