Clearing the Decks
BARNES, FRED
Clearing the Decks The new GOP formula: purge and elect. by Fred Barnes Republicans are so intent on pushing scandal-plagued members of Congress out of office and far from the media spotlight that...
...He and his wife have ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, among other problems...
...Republican officials say this explains the hands-off approach...
...After the office of his wife's insurance business was raided by the FBI, he gave up his post on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence...
...In 2006, four House members resigned (two later went to jail...
...Republicans are desperate not to have another corruption-driven defeat in 2008...
...And with at least one more forced retirement expected, the corruption issue was being taken care of, belatedly but decisively...
...Boehner came up with a vague phrase for the sort of scandal they had in mind...
...The message was clear...
...A poll last month found his positive rating had dipped...
...These include Gary Miller of California and Don Young of Alaska, both in trouble over earmarks that aided backers or business associates...
...So when House Republican leader John Boehner, whip Roy Blunt, and others in the hierarchy met in a private retreat outside Washington last December, the corruption issue headed their agenda...
...An FBI raid on the Virginia home of Rep...
...What made the Craig case all the worse was its echo of the Mark Foley scandal that sideswiped Republicans a month before the 2006 election...
...It's one with "a clear indication of serious transgressions...
...For Craig, the string had run out, in Idaho as well as Washington...
...That all but assured Republicans would lose control of the House...
...If all else fails, the ultimate tool to force a retirement or resignation is to inform the House member or senator that the national party will provide no campaign funds and perhaps even will finance a primary opponent...
...by Fred Barnes Republicans are so intent on pushing scandal-plagued members of Congress out of office and far from the media spotlight that the entire party—from the White House to congressional leaders to the Republican National Committee to various campaign committees— was instantly united last week in the effort to force Senator Larry Craig of Idaho to resign...
...But the Craig case suddenly overshadowed the house-cleaning drive...
...His arrest had "global implications," a Bush administration official says, because everyone has heard of it and knows the sordid details...
...They found no support for Craig, only a strong feeling that he should resign his seat immediately...
...In Boehner's mind, an FBI raid on your home or your wife's office is such an indication...
...Presidential aides checked with leaders of the Bush reelection campaign in Idaho in 2004 and with Republican officials...
...Republicans are confident they can hold the Idaho seat in 2008...
...At another time, Republicans might have cut Craig some slack, allowing him to finish his term and not seek reelection...
...Rick Renzi of Arizona into announcing his retirement next year...
...Arizona's Renzi is under investigation by the U.S...
...They were already doing so when the story broke last week of Craig's arrest and subsequent guilty plea for disorderly conduct in an airport men's room notorious as a spot for anonymous gay sex...
...That wasn't enough...
...In an unprecedented move, the national committee was prepared to urge Craig's immediate ouster...
...Many friends and ex-aides appear to have benefited from his earmarks, either directly or indirectly...
...Former supporters and financial backers have begun announcing (with the tacit approval of Republican leaders) their desire for him to retire...
...But after suffering crushing losses in last year's midterm election—spurred in part by highly publicized GOP corruption in Congress—Republicans are not in a mood to tolerate another nasty scandal...
...After the Florida congressman's lewd emails with teenage Capitol pages were revealed, Republican House candidates across the country saw their poll numbers drop as much as 10 points...
...John Doolittle of California has put him on the pariah list...
...Rarely have Republican leaders acted so swiftly as they did in sending the matter to the Senate Ethics Committee and stripping Craig of his seniority and ranking position on committees...
...And it's because of them that his home was raided by a joint IRS and FBI team on July 30...
...Under pressure from Republican leaders, he announced his retirement in 2008...
...Boehner has vowed to "act swiftly and decisively" to push corruption-tainted Republicans out of office...
...Things are less clear in the clubby atmosphere of the Senate...
...But unlike Craig, Stevens hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing or pleaded guilty...
...While Republicans quickly moved against Craig, they have held back from taking action against Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska...
...This tactic was used against Craig, along with the threat that Senate Republican leaders would, publicly and noisily, demand he resign...
...They want no House candidates with corruption problems on the ballot...
...attorney for land-swap legislation that might, if passed, have aided a political ally...
...They adopted a zero tolerance policy...
...Stevens is running for his eighth term next year, and he's a strong favorite to win...
...The White House got involved, too...
...That was accompanied by calls for his resignation by John McCain and Norm Coleman and the promise that more of their Senate colleagues would follow suit in drumbeat fashion...
...But he's no longer unassailable in Alaska...
...House Republicans had quietly coaxed Rep...
...The common expression among leaders is that they must "clean house...
...In the House, Republicans have an informal watch list of members who've been reported to be under investigation but haven't been raided...
...Within hours of the disclosure of his arrest, Fred Barnes is executive editor of The Weekly Standard...
...Republicans decided Craig must go...
...Stevens is renowned for splurging on earmarks...
Vol. 12 • September 2007 • No. 48
