Denny Hastert Disses the ‘Hastert Rule’: It ‘Never Really Existed’

[DonViejo]

by Eleanor Clift Oct 3, 2013 5:45 AM EDT

The former Republican speaker’s ‘rule,’ that you can’t bring legislation to the House floor without a majority of GOP votes, is cited as the reason Boehner can’t end the shutdown. But Hastert tells Eleanor Clift it’s a ‘non-entity’—and ‘if we had to work with Democrats, we did.’

There’s been a lot said in recent days about the so-called Hastert Rule. It is cited as the main reason why House Speaker John Boehner won’t allow a vote to fund the government with no Obamacare strings attached—under the rule, no legislation can be brought to the floor without a majority of Republican votes. But the rule’s namesake, former House speaker Denny Hastert, told The Daily Beast on Wednesday, “The Hastert Rule never really existed. It’s a non-entity as far as I’m concerned.”

He explained that at the 2006 press conference where he is credited with instituting the rule, he was speaking generally and philosophically. A reporter asked if Hastert, who was having trouble getting an immigration reform bill out of committee and building support in the GOP conference, couldn’t get Democrats to work with him. The genial speaker replied that relying on the other party for the bulk of votes is “something I would not generally do,” a fairly benign statement, as he remembers it now, that appears to have morphed into an ironclad rule. “Generally speaking, I needed to have a majority of my majority, at least half of my conference. This wasn’t a rule. I was speaking philosophically at the time…The Hastert Rule is kind of a misnomer.”

Hastert stopped short of saying Boehner should waive the Hastert Rule. “John doesn’t talk to me,” he said. “John has his own circles, and he doesn’t reach out. That’s his nature.” The two men served in the House together when Newt Gingrich was speaker. After Gingrich stepped down, Hastert was the consensus choice of House Republicans to take the top job; he was seen as a healing figure after the contentious Gingrich years.

A former high school wrestling coach, hardworking and plainspoken, he was a refreshing change after Gingrich’s grandiosity. “The real Hastert Rule is 218,” he said, referring to the number of votes needed to pass legislation. “If we had to work with Democrats, we did,” he said. Still, he added that he couldn’t recollect ever having to rely on Democratic votes the way Boehner would if he put legislation before the House to fund the government without the restrictions much of his caucus demands.

full article
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/03/denny-hastert-disses-the-hastert-rule-it-never-really-existed.html

[madrchsod]

1. he was my congresscritter

he`d be a moderate democratic in today`s republican teaparty world.

[redstatebluegirl]

2. I'm sure he was getting tired of hearing his name attached to this mess.

[Make7]

3. Not so much a rule...

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll659.xml

Republican:
Ayes 85
Noes 151

Democratic:
Ayes 172
Noes 16
[div style="width:22.5em; height:1.2em; border-bottom:1px solid #999999;"]
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll022.xml

Republican:
Ayes 38
Noes 190

Democratic:
Ayes 190
Noes 2
[div style="width:22.5em; height:1.2em; border-bottom:1px solid #999999;"]
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll055.xml

Republican:
Ayes 87
Noes 138

Democratic:
Ayes 199
Noes 0

[tanyev]

4. Boehner mostly reaches out to his friends Jim and Jack.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Those friends all look orange. nt

[davidpdx]

11. They must be close relatives

[Zorro]

6. Boehner has already lost his speakership but doesn't even know it

I wonder how much that insipid little prick Cantor has been urging him on this political suicide mission, knowing he'd be the one to replace Boehner.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Cantor is all-in too. He might go down with the ship too. It would halfway honorable to do so. Link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014610352

[silvershadow]

9. Oh, did he pop up out of hiding? Last I was

thinking, he shoulda been in the same cave with Delay, Lott, Bushco, et al.

[Rosco T.]

10. John doesn’t talk to me,” he said

John doesn’t talk to me,” he said. “John has his own circles, and he doesn’t reach out. That’s his nature.”

pretty well sums it up

[Historic NY]

12. The founders are rolling....

they never imagined that Democracy and the up or down vote would be usurped by rules never meant to run Congress.

[Liberty Belle]

13. Hastert was alleged to be involved in bribery, blackmail & a conspiracy...selling nuclear secrets

to Turkey. Sibel Edmonds stated this. Here's one story; there was a lot more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-friedman/fbi-whistleblower-hastert_b_277704.html

[bayareaboy]

14. The only Hastart rule I remember is ...

that sausages rule!