"It seems to [fit] into a theme of Republicans protecting their own," says Kuebler. "Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat on the page committee were kept out of the loop. Boehner is a colleague of [Sen. Mike] DeWine, and it seems like time and again, Republicans from Ohio care more about electing Republicans in Washington than about Ohioans."

The issue surfaced in a Meet the Press debate on Sunday between DeWine and Brown, when host Tim Russert pressed the senator on whether House Republican leaders should resign over the Foley scandal. DeWine declined to call for resignations, saying, "I think you have to look and see what they knew and what they did about it. I would want to know what they did about it. And, you know, this is reprehensible. This is horrible, horrible."

When DeWine had finished his response, Brown pounced, going further than he had in answering an earlier question about what should be done in response to the Foley scandal.

"I think anyone should resign," Brown said. "Any leader that knew about this should resign, absolutely.

—Silla Brush