Scandal Sidelines Hastert, Reynolds

Fellow Republicans have canceled campaign events with House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (Ill.), left, and Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (N.Y.). (Dennis Cook - AP)

House leaders have not abandoned the campaign trail altogether. Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) attended a fundraiser yesterday on behalf of Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) and will campaign for other candidates in Minnesota and Iowa this week. Hastert will campaign today for Illinois Republicans Peter Roskam and David McSweeney, along with President Bush.

But freshman Rep. Melissa L. Bean (D-Ill.), McSweeney's opponent, said the speaker's appearance "doesn't surprise me" because McSweeney is "a rubber stamp" for the GOP. "People appreciate independence," Bean said.

Bush acknowledged at a news conference yesterday that the page controversy has resonated with the public.

"This Foley issue bothers a lot of people, including me," Bush said. But he added that Americans care more about national security and the economy when voting. "When they get in that booth, they're going to be thinking about, you know, how best to secure the country from attack and, you know, how best to keep the economy growing."

Neither Reynolds nor Hastert has said that the fallout from the Foley scandal has hampered their ability to run their party's reelection effort.

"It has not affected [Reynolds's] ability to be NRCC chairman, not at all," said NRCC spokesman Carl Forti. "I think you've seen over the past three years he's been able to run the committee, be home on weekends and when Congress is in recess, and still make decisions here. Nothing has changed that."

But several Democratic campaign experts, including former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Martin Frost (Tex.), said Reynolds's intensified reelection fight will distract him and take a toll on his ability to make last-minute decisions about where to focus the GOP's dollars and effort.

"You have to make some substantial judgments about who has a chance and who doesn't," Frost said. "The campaign chairman needs to bring all his faculties to bear on those questions. . . . This is enormous additional trouble, and I don't think they can survive this."

Staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.