What's Dennis Hastert Waiting for?

When it comes to the ethical behavior of his fellow Republicans, House SpeakerDennis Hastert sees no evil, hears no evil and if by chance he knows something, he ain't speaking. The Foley scandal is only one example of a House leadership that looks the other way when Republicans are playing games or doing things they shouldn't. This is no way to run a Congress. It's time for Hastert to step down.

Charles Babington of The New York Sun wonders though who would replace Hastert:

The House speaker, Dennis Hastert, a Republican of Illinois, shows no sign of resigning over the Mark Foley-House page scandal. But the mere suggestion that he might do so raises an intriguing political and constitutional question: Who would replace him while Congress is in recess?

The answer, it appears, is on a piece of paper locked away in the House clerk's office. In a little-noticed action taken nearly four years ago, the House amended its rules dealing with the "continuity of Congress" in emergencies and the succession of speakers. The rule, cited recently in Roll Call, directs the speaker to "deliver to the Clerk a list of Members in the order in which each shall act as Speaker pro tempore ... in the case of a vacancy in the office of Speaker."

Now Babington is talking about a legal document that dictates the succession if something happens to the Speaker during a recess. But think about it for the moment. The Republican leadership under Hastert is nothing to brag about. In fact, it's embarrassing. Hastert doesn't run the House by himself. In fact, when DeLay was around, he left no doubt that he and not Hastert was in charge. Not much has changed since the departure of DeLay. We need some accountability in Congress and we need a change. If there is to be reform in Congress, Hastert isn't the only one that needs to go.