# Dennis Hastert is an Asshole **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 20, 2004, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145 "2004-05-20T07:12:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/21 "2004-05-20T19:55:20Z")
It’s time, and more than time, for Hastert to hear the reproach of [Joseph Welch to Senator McCarthy](http://www.startribune.com/stories/1389/33743.html): “Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/22 "2004-05-21T00:56:01Z")
What really pisses me off about Hastert is how, when you say his name three times, he carries you off to the demon-city of Carcosa. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/23 "2004-05-21T01:04:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Pretty soon the Republicans are going to have made themselves about as relevant as the American Whigs. Well, y’know what? Good. I’ve always said that the Religious Right had too much influence on the Republican party as a whole. If that’s what it takes to fix the damage, then I say drag that puppy out back and pull the trigger. Oh, and may I nominate “excoriate” as the Word Of The Day? Never heard that one before. I think I like it. Go, McCain! ---
**Author:** ![Senggum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@Senggum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senggum)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/24 "2004-05-21T01:16:47Z")
> [@cmason32](#): > > … Meanwhile, McCain spent 5 years in the Hanoi Hilton being tortured and even refused an opportunity to leave early. > I gotta say, Mr. Hastert, you have a lot of fucking nerve telling McCain to go to Walter Reed and Bethesda. Huh? They both have unequivocally said they are Republicans and support GW! You must be one of those lefties, who doesn’t support Bush, and are just trying to stir up crap … ---
**Author:** ![cmason32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@cmason32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmason32)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/25 "2004-05-21T01:36:49Z")
> [@Senggüm](#): > > Huh? They both have unequivocally said they are Republicans and support GW! You must be one of those lefties, who doesn’t support Bush, and are just trying to stir up crap … Actually, if you RTFA, you would see that Hastert actually questioned McCain’s Republican credentials by acting as if he didn’t know who he was when a reporter asked him about his statement. I’m just trying to stir up crap? I’m not the one who suggested that McCain doesn’t know what sacrifice during a time of war means. And the fact that they both support Bush is completely irrelevant to the topic. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/26 "2004-05-21T01:47:19Z")
> [@Senggüm](#): > > > [@cmason32](#): > > > > … Meanwhile, McCain spent 5 years in the Hanoi Hilton being tortured and even refused an opportunity to leave early. > > I gotta say, Mr. Hastert, you have a lot of fucking nerve telling McCain to go to Walter Reed and Bethesda. > > Huh? They both have unequivocally said they are Republicans and support GW! You must be one of those lefties, who doesn’t support Bush, and are just trying to stir up crap … Could you explain how what you wrote relates in anyway to what you quoted? For the life of me, I can’t see any sort of connection. ---
**Author:** ![Senggum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@Senggum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senggum)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/27 "2004-05-21T01:48:23Z")
> [@cmason32](#): > > Actually, if you RTFA, you would see that Hastert actually questioned McCain’s Republican credentials by acting as if he didn’t know who he was when a reporter asked him about his statement. > > I’m just trying to stir up crap? I’m not the one who suggested that McCain doesn’t know what sacrifice during a time of war means. And the fact that they both support Bush is completely irrelevant to the topic. Oh, like every Republican is an asshole from your point of view? McCain **is** still a Republican and **is** campaigning for GW. Until he renounces that he is **not** a Republican and **doesn’t** supporting GW, you are nothing more than a crap stirrer! ---
**Author:** ![cmason32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@cmason32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmason32)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/28 "2004-05-21T01:53:02Z")
> [@Senggüm](#): > > Oh, like every Republican is an asshole from your point of view? McCain **is** still a Republican and **is** campaigning for GW. Until he renounces that he is **not** a Republican and **doesn’t** supporting GW, you are nothing more than a crap stirrer! Are you 12 years old? I didn’t say Hastert was an asshole because he was a Republican. I said he was an asshole because of a specific statement. And why would McCain renouncing his Republican membership make a difference in any way in relation to Hastert’s comments? I’d also be interested in hearing why I’m a “crap stirrer” simply because I think Hastert is an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/29 "2004-05-21T01:54:00Z")
> [@Senggüm](#): > > Oh, like every Republican is an asshole from your point of view? McCain **is** still a Republican and **is** campaigning for GW. Until he renounces that he is **not** a Republican and **doesn’t** supporting GW, you are nothing more than a crap stirrer! Okay, this takes incoherence to a whole new level. It’s possible for someone to make distinctions between individuals who belong to the same party. McCain isn’t in the pocket of the Religious Right and the neocons like the White House, DeLay and Hastert are. This makes him, without even considering other circumstances, head and shoulders above the meat puppets. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/30 "2004-05-21T01:57:24Z")
> [@Angel of the Lord](#): > > I lived in Hastert’s home district for a good number of years. He was the first person I deliberately voted against (2002). Hell, I call him “Hastert the Bastard,” due to the fact that he stands against just about every social/political value I hold. I _grew up_ in Hastert’s home district. I don’t know exactly how long he’s been representing it, but it’s at least 25 years. And honestly, he used to be pretty reasonable-at least that’s my recollection. It almost seems like he flipped his wig when he became Speaker … ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/31 "2004-05-21T01:57:46Z")
> [@Senggüm](#): > > Oh, like every Republican is an asshole from your point of view? McCain **is** still a Republican and **is** campaigning for GW. Until he renounces that he is **not** a Republican and **doesn’t** supporting GW, you are nothing more than a crap stirrer! Again, could you explain the relationship between this statement and the quote it is apparently responding to? I’m getting a total disconnect, here. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/32 "2004-05-21T22:41:03Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Again, could you explain the relationship between this statement and the quote it is apparently responding to? I’m getting a total disconnect, here. Actually, if you ignore the inconvenient first sentence of **Senggum’s** rant, he’s actually replying to Mr Hastert! Look at it like this: > [@Asshat Hastert](#): > > At the Capitol yesterday, Hastert shot back: “If you want to see sacrifice, John McCain ought to visit our young men and women at Walter Reed [Army Medical Center] and Bethesda [Naval Hospital]. There’s the sacrifice in this country.” And now, properly edited: > [@Senggum](#): > > McCain is still a Republican and is campaigning for GW. Until he renounces that he is not a Republican and doesn’t supporting GW, you are nothing more than a crap stirrer! I mean, I guess that’s what he’s trying to say. Hell, I don’t understand his point, either. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/33 "2004-05-22T12:50:48Z")
> [@Billdo](#): > > I just saw John McCain on the Today show. When he was confronted with the clip of Hastert’s comments, he calmly explained that he had visited the wounded at Walter Reed, not mentioning his own service. He also explained that he was a loyal Republican despite working and appearing with Democrats. > > The patent absurdity of the Hastert’s charge is match by McCain’s class. Every time I see John McCain speak, I weep that he’s not leading this country. That man has class and integrity to spare. Hastert should be mortified at his own behavior and make a public apology. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145/34 "2004-05-23T08:13:12Z")
Talk to almost any Democrat, and if there’s a Republican politician of national stature they respect, it’s McCain. It’s very good to have someone with whom you disagree who nevertheless commands such respect. One of the reasons I took a closer look at Kerry–and came to feel his quality as a leader and human being is being underestimated–is due to his friendship with McCain. The problem is, the Republican party is being led by such angry, arrogant, malicious, sanctimonious assholes that seeing one of their leaders turn with such crass viciousness on one of their most universally respected members is hardly surprising. It recalls another time, when a veteran Republican for whom I had tremendous respect, Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon, was bashed by a bunch of newb repubs for opposing the balanced budget amendment. I’ll bet those same repubs are now very, very glad that amendment did not pass, if they even remember it. I’m hoping that Bush loses the upcoming election, partly with the hope that this would force the Republicans to do a little soul-searching, and return to the party’s more honorable and respectable roots (as the party of Lincoln). I was once registered as a Republican. It would be nice to be able to say that again without feeling shame. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hastert-is-an-asshole/246145.md?page=1)