As Republicans tried desperately to swat away allegations that the GOP
leadership had covered for a child predator in the halls of Congress,
this happened:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061004/NEWS01
/610040365/1002/NEWS


Rep. Tom Reynolds was embroiled again Tuesday by reports that his
chief of staff tried to persuade ABC News not to report the most
sexually explicit computer messages between former Rep. Mark Foley of
Florida and teenage congressional pages.

Democratic Party officials in New York charged that aide Kirk Fordham,
a Greece native, tried to limit the scandal involving Foley, for whom
he once was chief of staff.

Fordham called that assertion "absurd" and said he was just trying to
spare Foley's sister, Donna, and his ailing parents.


But within hours, Fordham was gone.

According to ABC News:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/top_gop_staffer.html


The chief of staff for Republican Congressman Tom Reynolds, Kirk
Fordham, resigned after questions were raised about his role in the
handling of the congressional page scandal, according to Republican
sources on Capitol Hill.

Those sources said Fordham, a former chief of staff for Congressman
Mark Foley, had urged Republican leaders last spring not to raise
questionable Foley e-mails with the full Congressional Page Board,
made up of two Republicans and a Democrat.

"He begged them not to tell the page board," said one of the
Republican sources.


Not that this news stopped Laura Bush from dropping in on the
embattled Reynolds campaign for a spot of fundraising:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/06/263_laura.jpg

Ladies and gentlemen, he loves to sweep child predators under the rug,
I give you Tom Reynolds!


Unfortunately, Kirk Fordham wasn't going to go quietly.

According to the Associated Press:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/04/D8KI176G1.html


A senior congressional aide said Wednesday that he alerted House
Speaker Dennis Hastert's office two years ago about worrisome conduct
by former Rep. Mark Foley with teenage pages.

Kirk Fordham told The Associated Press that when he was told about
Foley's inappropriate behavior toward pages, he had "more than one
conversation with senior staff at the highest level of the House of
Representatives asking them to intervene."

The conversations took place long before the e-mail scandal broke,
Fordham said, and at least a year earlier than members of the House
GOP leadership have acknowledged.


Yipes.

With their leadership in the hot seat, Republicans needed a plan - and
fast.

Both Tom Reynolds and House Majority Leader John Boehner had already
blabbed to the press that Hastert knew about the allegations a long
time ago, and Hastert's position looked tenuous.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/30/AR200609300126
5_pf.html

But there was a problem - if Hastert quit, there would have to be a
leadership contest.

The obvious choice would be John Boehner, who was already up to his
neck in the Foley scandal.

It wouldn't take much for some enterprising young GOP congressman who
fancied a shot at the Speaker's chair to ruin Boehner's chances by
using the Foley scandal against him, and that would cause a massive
rift in the Republican party while they fought it out amongst
themselves - with only a month to go before the elections, no less.

Are you having fun yet?

Hastert had already offered to resign:

according to Paul Weyrich, "He said if he thought that resigning would
be helpful to the Republicans maintaining the majority, he would do
it."
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Hastert_Ill_resign_if_it_helps_1005.html

Makes sense - Hastert wouldn't resign because it was the right thing
to do, but he'd do it if it would help Republicans retain control of
the House.

Now who's playing politics?

Meanwhile, in a compelling fit of minimalism, the Speaker's office put
out the shortest press release of all time:
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2006/10/shortest_congre.html


What Kirk Fordham said did not happen.


By EarlG
Democratic Underground
http://www.democraticunderground.com/