that a lot of those suburban and more moderate Republicans were hurt financially by the Trump/Ryan tax scam and are upset - Texas has no income tax, but the wealthy/upscale suburbs around Dallas and Houston have high property taxes to pay for the good schools and many of them got tagged by the SALT limit.

blogslut

(37,999 posts)

4. This is a big deal

Reply to OliverQ (Original post)

Mon Sep 30, 2019, 11:05 AM

Sep 2019

It really is. Thornberry. TX 13th. Ya'll just have no idea.

dalton99a

(81,451 posts)

6. Yep. He has a safe seat.

Reply to blogslut (Reply #4)

Mon Sep 30, 2019, 11:09 AM

Sep 2019

blogslut

(37,999 posts)

7. I know people like to say they live in the reddest district

Reply to dalton99a (Reply #6)

Mon Sep 30, 2019, 11:14 AM

Sep 2019

But Thornberry actually, factually, represents theee reddest district in the nation, per the Cook Partisan Voting Index:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas%27s_13th_congressional_district

Dude's been a congressman for 25 years.

gratuitous

(82,849 posts)

5. Being in the minority in the House is no fun

Reply to OliverQ (Original post)

Mon Sep 30, 2019, 11:06 AM

Sep 2019

You don't get the nice offices, you can't call committee or subcommittee meetings, even Fox waits a few days before returning your calls, and then the answer is "Sorry." There's probably a different (stated) reason for each of these retirements, but at root I'd say it's because Republicans aren't running the House and calling the shots anymore. It's frustrating, your political adversaries have you outnumbered and outvoted, the folks back home are upset that you're not doing more (some of them might realize you can't to anything more, but it works out the same way), and everywhere you turn your party is getting beat up.

Some of them are, for sure, in districts where the demographic is changing, and not for the better. Might as well get while the getting's good and start collecting that pension.