Herseth calls for Speaker Hastert to resign leadership

By Kevin Woster, Journal Staff Writer | Wednesday, October 11, 2006

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RAPID CITY — U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert should resign his leadership position for failing to act on reports of inappropriate electronic messages from a Florida congressman to underage House pages, Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., said Tuesday.

Former Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida resigned Sept. 29 after news organizations published inappropriate electronic messages — ranging from suggestive to sexually explicit — that Foley apparently sent to pages. Since then, Hastert, R-Ill., has come under fire for failing to act when reports of inappropriate behavior by Foley began to circulate.

At least two House Republicans have said they told Hastert about Foley’s e-mails, apparently dating back several years. The House ethics committee is trying to determine, among other things, what Hastert knew and when he knew it.

Whatever the committee investigation turns up, Herseth said, it is already clear that Hastert failed in his leadership responsibility and duty to safeguard the pages.

“I believe that Speaker Hastert should resign,” the Democratic congresswoman said during a meeting with the Rapid City Journal editorial board. “I think there’s enough that we know that there was insufficient action taken on his part.”

Herseth said she doesn’t know Foley well and hadn’t been aware, until the recent scandal emerged, of his alleged inappropriate e-mails and instant messages in the past. But she said Foley’s behavior was a violation of the trust that pages and their families place in the institution of the House of Representatives and its members.

“These young people are brought under our fold. They’re under our protection and safety,” she said.

Herseth said teenagers who work as pages are excited about the experience and impressed by congressional members, which might make them vulnerable to unscrupulous actions.

“I believe that Congressman Foley took advantage of that,” she said.

Even if Foley’s interaction with pages didn’t go beyond inappropriate electronic exchanges, that was serious enough to justify the intense media coverage and his resignation from the House, Herseth said.

“I think it does warrant this attention,” she said.

Herseth said she isn’t calling for Hastert to resign his House seat. But she said he should not continue to serve as speaker.

When asked how Foley’s behavior compared with former President Bill Clinton’s past sexual relations with an intern, Herseth said both were inappropriate. But the fact that the pages were minors made Foley’s actions more serious, she said.

“I’m not going to become and apologist for President Clinton,” she said. “But this was a page who was underage.”

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com