Actually, it would be more like if after the inquiry Hastert is found to have done something illegal, is removed, and the Republican’s later appoint him as the new head of education. If you want to make similar comparisions. If that inquiry does find Hastert did something wrong I don’t think you’ll seem many Republicans standing behind him, and I know you wouldn’t find any ready to nominate him to be the head of a committee. Sure, he was re-elected, but so was Hevasi. You work to re-elect someone even when you think they may get removed so your party gets to pick their replacement.
Alcee Hastings was a judge who in 1989 the Democratic-controlled Senate convicted of accepting a $150,000 bribe and of perjury. He was basically selling sentences from the bench. Now fine, some idiot voters elected him after that, I can live with that just like I can live with the election results from last night. But someone who is the house speaker, who’s party just ran on the ideology of removing corruption, can’t appoint someone like Hastings to head a committee. Especially not a committee as important as the Intelligence Committee.