I called Jim Ryun's office to see where he stands on the Foley issue, and he said that, while what Foley did was "indefensible," he doesn't think all the facts are in. Should Speaker Hastert resign, as conservative activists like Richard Viguerie have demanded? Ryun isn't sure any laws were broken, nor that Hastert knew about anything.
It's always worrying when I know more than congresscritters, especially about the goings-on within Congress.
Meanwhile, a local radio host defends the Speaker by saying:
There is no excuse for what Rep. Foley did. But there is no indication that Speaker Hastert had any knowledge of the instant messages revealed by ABC last week.
It doesn't matter whether he knew about these particular IMs. It's clear that he did know about a pattern of predatory behavior by Congressman Foley. Even if there were no criminal violation, there's an ethical standard to be upheld. If Hastert covered up this behavior, protecting a sexual predator rather than his teenaged targets, he doesn't deserve to run the People's House.
It's too bad they could wait a little longer to break the story--maybe we could have watched Foley on the NBC reality show about child predators, telling the host just what he expected to do.
I don't think Hastert should step down because he knew Foley is a sexual predator. Hastert should step down because he is helping turn the USA into a fascist state.