Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/state/15670684.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
JEFFREY McMURRAY
Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Tuesday that his successor, Dennis Hastert, appropriately handled the aftermath of a scandal involving a Florida congressman and salacious, explicit instant messages to underage male pages.
Gingrich on Tuesday dismissed a call for Hastert's resignation by The Washington Times, a conservative newspaper whose editorial page editor is Gingrich's former press secretary, Tony Blankley.
"I do not agree with that, and I think it's very premature and very inappropriate," said Gingrich, who was in Lexington to give a speech to the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Foundation.
Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., abruptly resigned Friday after news reports surfaced that he sent inappropriate instant messages to teenage boys who once worked as House pages.
On Tuesday, House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Hastert told him last spring that a Louisiana page's complaint about Foley had "been taken care of."
Gingrich, a Republican who represented a district in Georgia, said it appeared Hastert did all he could by sending another congressman to confront Foley about the charges. Beyond that, Gingrich said, the information he had at the time wasn't "actionable."
"You look him in the eye," Gingrich said. "You say, 'This is dangerous. It's inappropriate. You can't do it.' And, in this case, we now know that U.S. Rep. Foley lied. Now, when you catch him in the lie, you then take stronger action. But until you catch him, you can't presumptively do that."
Gingrich suggested there is a double standard that Republican scandals reflect badly on all Republicans while Democratic scandals, such as Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky, don't affect other Democrats. He also questioned the timing of the release of the information, just a few weeks before the midterm elections.
Even if there was suspicion about Foley, Gingrich said, there is little that could have been done legally.
"You just had the Democrats vote against wiretapping for the purpose of getting terrorists, but it's OK to wiretap for the purpose of getting Republicans?" he said. "I don't understand the double standard."
As a freshman member of Congress in 1983, Gingrich took a hard line approach against two congressmen who were accused of having sexual relationships with congressional pages. Gingrich tried to get the congressmen forced out of office, but the House voted to censure them instead.
He said treatment of the Foley situation is a testament to how far the country has come in child protection cases.
"The mood was that it was almost a joke," Gingrich said. "I'm glad the House, in fact, is taking this much more seriously. I think it's a healthy sign for the country that we realize that these kinds of behaviors are dangerous and that we are prepared to protect young people."
JEFFREY McMURRAY
Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Tuesday that his successor, Dennis Hastert, appropriately handled the aftermath of a scandal involving a Florida congressman and salacious, explicit instant messages to underage male pages.
Gingrich on Tuesday dismissed a call for Hastert's resignation by The Washington Times, a conservative newspaper whose editorial page editor is Gingrich's former press secretary, Tony Blankley.
"I do not agree with that, and I think it's very premature and very inappropriate," said Gingrich, who was in Lexington to give a speech to the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Foundation.
Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., abruptly resigned Friday after news reports surfaced that he sent inappropriate instant messages to teenage boys who once worked as House pages.
On Tuesday, House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Hastert told him last spring that a Louisiana page's complaint about Foley had "been taken care of."
Gingrich, a Republican who represented a district in Georgia, said it appeared Hastert did all he could by sending another congressman to confront Foley about the charges. Beyond that, Gingrich said, the information he had at the time wasn't "actionable."
"You look him in the eye," Gingrich said. "You say, 'This is dangerous. It's inappropriate. You can't do it.' And, in this case, we now know that U.S. Rep. Foley lied. Now, when you catch him in the lie, you then take stronger action. But until you catch him, you can't presumptively do that."
Gingrich suggested there is a double standard that Republican scandals reflect badly on all Republicans while Democratic scandals, such as Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky, don't affect other Democrats. He also questioned the timing of the release of the information, just a few weeks before the midterm elections.
Even if there was suspicion about Foley, Gingrich said, there is little that could have been done legally.
"You just had the Democrats vote against wiretapping for the purpose of getting terrorists, but it's OK to wiretap for the purpose of getting Republicans?" he said. "I don't understand the double standard."
As a freshman member of Congress in 1983, Gingrich took a hard line approach against two congressmen who were accused of having sexual relationships with congressional pages. Gingrich tried to get the congressmen forced out of office, but the House voted to censure them instead.
He said treatment of the Foley situation is a testament to how far the country has come in child protection cases.
"The mood was that it was almost a joke," Gingrich said. "I'm glad the House, in fact, is taking this much more seriously. I think it's a healthy sign for the country that we realize that these kinds of behaviors are dangerous and that we are prepared to protect young people."
) left in the Republican camp who say: he did it and now he has to pay the price!
