Fox's Griff Jenkins on Hastert: "[T]he old wrestling coach ain't down"
Referring to his interview with House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), in which Hastert said he would not resign as speaker over the scandal surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), Fox News Radio host Griff Jenkins, on the October 5 edition of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson, boasted that Hastert is "on the offensive" and added that "[t]he old wrestling coach ain't down." Jenkins later expressed dismay that Hastert didn't "go into the George Soros stuff and really blame the Democrats" for the Foley scandal during the interview.
Jenkins told Gibson that he "talked to a guy [Hastert] who's got his confidence back and he's fighting back." Gibson later mentioned that Hastert had "sort of intimated that others had this information [on Foley] -- I suppose political operatives -- before he heard about it" and asked Jenkins: "Has he said any more about what he meant by that?" Jenkins replied: "No," but then added that he had "hoped" Hastert would "come out and go into the George Soros stuff and really blame the Democrats" for the Foley scandal. Jenkins then claimed that Hastert believes "this is all political[ly] motivated shenanigans" and that House Republicans "can put the Democrats on the defensive by making them answer to that question."
Neither Gibson nor Jenkins mentioned that ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross has said that his original sources -- to the extent they had partisan affiliations -- were Republicans, or that The Hill newspaper reported that a House Republican aide provided Foley's alleged emails to the media.
From the October 5 edition of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson:
GIBSON: Before Hastert held his news conference today, he spoke with Griff Jenkins of Fox News Talk Radio about the scandal that's threatening his own job. Take a listen.
HASTERT [video clip]: I don't think that it will do good if I fold my tent and the others in the Republican leadership would have to fold their tent too. That wouldn't be a good thing. And, you know, I think we need to turn this thing around, we need to fight.
GIBSON: And Fox News Talk contributor Griff Jenkins joins me now. Griff, is he aware of what Major [Garrett, Fox News correspondent] was just talking about, that there's internal polling that suggests that the Republicans will really suffer if he stays in the job?
JENKINS: John, let me tell you this, when I talked to him today, I talked to a guy who's got his confidence back and he's fighting back. He's on the offensive. The old wrestling coach ain't down. Not only that, at that press conference, you know, he said he would run again for speaker if they hold on to the majority.
[...]
GIBSON: Griff, he [Hastert] also said -- he sort of intimated that others had this information -- I suppose political operatives -- before he heard about it. Has he said any more about what he meant by that?
JENKINS: No, and I pressed him a little bit. I had hoped he'd come out and go into the George Soros stuff and really blame the Democrats, but I think that he does believe that, you know, this is all political motivated shenanigans, and he believes that they can put the Democrats on the defensive by making them answer to that question. And then meanwhile he can focus on the accomplishment in the record that he's set as speaker of the house.
GIBSON: Fox News Talk contributor Griff Jenkins, listen to him on Brian and the Judge, every morning on Fox News Talk Radio. Griff, thanks a lot.
be down, that is the problem....LOL!
Sorry, just this is a dead horse. That guy and all of his cover ups should simply go home....pack up and go home.
when Studds actual affair was brought to light!
O'Neill was Speaker. In either case, not only did Studds get returned to Congress, no Speaker took a dive, either.
Do you have any idea what Studds did in comparison to Mr. Foley?
I doubt it, since the only thing they have in common is that both men were congressmen.
Studds was openly gay and had consensual sex with a 17 year old page. That was the legal age of consent back then!
Foley (a closet homosexual) on the other hand tried to coerce 16 year old pages to have sex with him.
Do you have the intellect to sense that these two situations are different?
They worship the entire "presidency" concept and love war, torture, prisons, weapons, uniforms and power. The "christian" ones are very submissive to an imaginary guy in the sky. Behind all those suits and ties and "respectability", it's just one huge gay homicidal S&M club living out a snuff film.
The personality is largely psychosexual, and therefore it shows in the behaviour. Interaction makes it politics.
I've been trying to hold back lately, but it's hard not to comment on how homoerotic EVERYTHING consevative is if you back up a couple feet and look at it.
I still bust a gut every time I hear a Con complaining about having the "gay agenda rammed down their throat".
Easier to bomb some foreigners than to come out, I guess.
That Tip O'Neil, knew about the incident and tried to cover it up? Are there any Democtatic Party memebers who told one story while the speaker told another story? There are very few similarities to these two cases.
And the current Republican Party office holders want to be known as the accountability people. The ones who are going to bring integrity back to Washington.
One question. WHEN?
Was Hastert a sumo wrestler?
I wonder what the "old wrestling coach" Hastert would have done if he had learned that one of his assistant coaches (who was either presumed or suspected of being gay) was contacting one of his high school wrestlers over summer vacation with "overly friendly" e-mails. What do you think the "old wrestling coach" have done under those circumstances?
got jealous?
I think I might downplay the whole "high school wrestling coach as respectable" angle.
I mean, how does a history of spending your free time with a gym full of sweaty muscular teenage boys in tights make a good argument against pedophilia?