Alcee Hastings as a Voice of Reason

Alcee Hastings used to be a federal judge. He was impeached for soliciting bribes from corrupt union officials who had looted the pension fund, and the Senate removed him--the evidence was not sufficient for a criminal conviction, but there was no question that he was completely and utterly corrupt. Not surprisingly, he was then elected to Congress, because Democrats in some parts of the country are quite prepared to believe bizarre claims about a vast conspiracy to "get" him because he was black.

And yet, Hastings is one of the more reasonable voices left in the Democratic Party! Dennis Kucinich (D-Space Alien Land) introduced an impeachment resolution in the House of Dick Cheney. Alcee Hastings' response?

Hastings told Fox News: “Dennis Kucinich is on a quest of his own. He sees flying saucers and he acts like one, too.”

As one of the commenters over at DonSurber.com points out:

When Alcee Hastings is your party’s voice of reason, you’ve got problems.

Now, the only question is whether the Republican Party has enough people of principle and intelligence left to defeat a party increasingly dominated by Kucinich and those who are not that rational.