FRAMESHOP:FRAMESHOP: HASTERT "PROTECTED A PREDATOR"

Fifty years from now, when historians write about the social problem of sexual predators in early 21st Century America, they will put a photo of Cardinal Bernard Law next to a photo of Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

These are men who had the chance to protect our children,  but chose to protect a predator instead.

They did more than just fail as leaders--they endangered our families.

Like Cardinal Law, Hastert was the most powerful man in his Archdiocese--in this case, the United States Congress.  

Like Cardinal Law, Hastert learned that a sexual predator was working for him--in this case a Congressman from Florida, not a parish priest.  

And like Cardinal Law, Hastert chose to help the predator to protect the image of his organization instead of exposing the predator to protect America's children.

Protecting a sexual predator instead of protecting our children is a failure of leadership and a threat to the safety of America's families.

For Cardinal Law, this failure led to his resignation.

For Dennis Hastert the result must be the same.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives--the third most powerful person in our federal government--cannot keep his job now that America sees he knowingly protected a sexual predator.

Hastert protected his predator.  And now that America knows--America must protect itself  from Hastert.

The United States House of Representive simply cannot survive with a leader who chose to protect a sexual predator rather than protect our children.

No more debate.

No more distraction.

Dennis Hastert must step down.

@ 2006 Jeffrey Feldman, Frameshop