Those who actively seek power are usually unfit for it
The Speaker Who Would Be Maître D'
The speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, has reached a dangerous new level of partisan zealotry to bolster the Republicans' control of government. For the new Congress, Mr. Hastert intends to cater to what he calls "the majority of the majority" in deciding which bills will get a vote and which won't. He has little use for the bipartisan majorities idealized in civics classes and once seen even in the House.
Mr. Hastert first enunciated his approach last year in a speech. "The job of speaker is not to expedite legislation that runs counter to the wishes of the majority of his majority," he said. At the time, it sounded like mere grandstanding. But it was put into practice last month when Mr. Hastert - ostensibly tasked by President Bush with steering the intelligence reform bill to passage - trembled before opposition in his caucus and blocked the final compromise from a floor vote. Since this was in secret, it is not even clear that "the majority of the majority" exercised a veto; it was enough for Republican leaders to sense that plenty of Democrats would vote for the compromise on this desperately needed bill.
