The two Republicans most responsible for maintaining their majority can't campaign for Republican House candidates. They're toxic from the Foley scandal:
Weeks before the Nov. 7 elections, the Mark Foley scandal and its aftermath have already had a visible effect on Republican prospects: Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), the two men leading the GOP efforts to keep power in the House, have both been largely sidelined from the public campaign.This is a major distraction for the GOP campaign apparatus. The NRCC's flack actually said the scandal hasn't impacted Reynolds' ability to run the organization. Right. Reynolds is losing in his own race. The Republicans have to spend money on races they thought were safe. Their campaign infrastructure is crumbling.
Under normal circumstances, the House speaker and the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, currently Reynolds, would be in a full sprint in the closing weeks of an election campaign -- raising money and rallying partisans to help House members in the most competitive races. Both leaders, however, have drastically curtailed their appearances this month after coming under fire for what critics have called an inadequate response to early warnings about Foley's behavior with House pages.
The GOP doesn't want to lose power. They're like wounded animals right now. They're going to get ugly, really ugly.
