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Is he the worst? I don’t know. One thing you have to realize is that this article is from the nation and even I as a Democrat know it’s a liberal publication. It does make for an interesting read.
Written by GussDennis Hastert, who served eight years as the most lamentable Speaker of the House in the chamber’s history, began a slow exit from the Congress Friday. It was on that day that the former wrestling coach, who attained the speakership not on the basis of any political skills or policy expertise but because he was willing to front for the unpalatable Tom DeLay, announced his decision not to seek reelection from the Illinois district that has elected him since 1986.
Among the fifty men and one woman who have held the speakership since a German-born pastor named Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg filled the position for the First Congress, there have been more than a few disappointments. Aside from the indicted, the disgraced and the disreputable, there have been the indefensible — like Howell Cobb, who used his pre-Civil War speakership to promote the extension of slavery. Cobb would eventually find his true calling as the speaker of the Provisional Confederate Congress and the acting president of the southern states that seceded from the U.S. in treasonous defense of human bondage.
Could the shambling, ineffectual and frequently inarticulate Hastert really have been a worse Speaker of the House than a crude proponent of slavery, or a crook like Jim Wright or a conniving partisan like Newt Gingrich? Absolutely.
~J~ Says:
August 20th, 2007 at 7:40 amVisit ~J~
Since I haven’t studied all the Speakers of the House I would reserve judgment on this.
Hastert did get a lot done in his first few years as Speaker, even with a Democratic senate and president.
He’s not been accused in any scandal, so that’s one thing in his favor, but he thinks Congress is above the law as evidenced by his outrage over William Jefferson’s office being searched.
Certainly not one of the greatest, but no harm was done.
Guss Says:
August 20th, 2007 at 7:42 amVisit Guss
No what was done?
Guss Says:
August 20th, 2007 at 7:44 amVisit Guss
I guess it depends on how you look at it.
~J~ Says:
August 20th, 2007 at 7:44 amVisit ~J~
Then if harm was done please spell it out and I’ll either agree with you or not.
Guss Says:
August 20th, 2007 at 7:47 amVisit Guss
J, I think if you want to take the time to read the article then do some research, you could probably find out. I’m just not interested enough. I’ll accept their research while realizing that they are a liberal publication.
Big Mo Says:
August 20th, 2007 at 2:17 pmVisit Big Mo
This was just dumb. They’re calling Hastert the worst ever over largely political differences. No, the worst ones were those from the 1830s and 40s who permitted the travesty of the “gag rules,” which forbade members from even discussing slavery on the floor of the House. Any petitions, memoranda, etc. received from the people were tabled, e.g. “gagged”, and never discussed, thereby denying the people the constitutional right to petition Congress. It was thoroughly unconstitutional, and former president John Quincy Adams, who wasn’t that great of a president, had his greatest moments in government as a congressman fighting the gag rules.
Sorry, but if they are going to claim that some were indefensible then turn around and call Hastert the “worst ever,” then this is just a lousy hit piece. I’d say the same thing if, say, the American Spectator did the same for Tip O’Neill or Jim Guy Tucker.
And besides, many of the abuses that the author talks about? Similar stuff occured under Democratic speakers.
Guss Says:
August 20th, 2007 at 2:24 pmVisit Guss
Like I said, it’s from a liberal magazine. Take it for what it’s worth like you would any other partisan Republican or Democratic publication.
Big Mo Says:
August 20th, 2007 at 5:13 pmVisit Big Mo
Guss - Oh, I know. I have nothing against partisanship.
I just dislike intellectual stupidity — from all sides.
Guss Says:
August 20th, 2007 at 8:29 pmVisit Guss
Intellectual stupidity is the best-known symptom of partisanship.