Yes, Denny the Hutt is still in action, and apparently believes he’s a draw for Republican candidates. No doubt he is.

[Hastert] recently endorsed Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination, signaling that he may play a public role in the former Massachusetts governor’s campaign, at least in helping court Chicago-area donors.

This activity comes after a brief hibernation. After news of ex-Rep. Mark Foley’s [R-Neverland] inappropriate contact [“Don’t forget to measure for me”] with House pages [and waiters? Busboys?] emerged last fall, Hastert canceled dozens of fundraising events for Republican candidates as he dealt with a public-relations uproar [Very nice touch. No ethical, moral, or legal issues at all!] over how his office handled the page scandal. (The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct later concluded that Hastert’s top staff showed an “inexplicable lack of interest in the e-mails” from Foley to pages.)

“Inexplicable,” eh?

What I’d like to know is why, given that Foley was sending “sick, sick, sick, sick, sick” instant messages to every page on the Hill with a twig and berries, why Hastert “inexplicably” didn’t secure Foley’s computers when the scandal blew. Doesn’t Hastert believe in preserving a potential crime scene?

I’d like to know why the Republicans “inexplicably” called their campaign managers when the scandal blew, instead of law enforcement. Doesn’t Hastert believe in the of law?

I’d like to know why the the Republicans “inexplicably” only informed Republican pages and Republican committee members of Foley’s proclivities. Doesn’t Hastert believe in protecting all children from predators?

And I’d like to know why Hastert, after presiding serenely over a Republican abuse of power involving underage pages under his care and protection hasn’t had the common decency to resign. Doesn’t Hastert belong to the party of personal responsibility?

Oh, wait. Cancel that last question. It’s not “inexplicable” at all. I know the answer. IOKIYAR.

And just to put this all in context:

A young woman blogger uses “bad” words? The Beltway 500 gasps in unison and clutches its pearls.

A senior Republican commits evil actions? *** Crickets ***

Fuck.

These are bad people. They need to have their power taken away, because they keep abusing it.