It certainly seems as though Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is sticking up for Speaker Dennis Hastert. According to a Sun-Times
story, via
TPM Cafe, Daley defended Hastert despite the Speaker knowing about Foley's behavior for
nearly three years.
Daley was asked about Hastert in which he responded:
"If you took the impropriety of every congressman and senator in Washington D.C. [as an excuse to demand resignations], I don't think anybody would be left."
"I've known Denny Hastert personally and publicly for a long time. He's been a great public servant, a great speaker of the House. He really has. He's been very fair to the city of Chicago, which he didn't have to. This idea of asking everyone to resign -- there would be no one left in Congress. They'd better be careful."
There are a lot of things going on with this scandel in D.C. Undoubtedly it will affect a lot of people, politicians and staffers alike, but Daley answered the question amid a reelection year himself. It could potentially be a tough election campaign for him as Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is considering run as he works on his exploratory committee. Congressman Luis Guiterrez is considering a run and already announced are two not so well backed candidates in Cook County Clerk Dorthy Brown and William Walls, a former aide to late mayor Harold Washington.
A race like this would take millions of dollars from the competitive candidates as well as a well organized grassroots organization. As a Chicago resident I look forward to this election.
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