Retirement season hits GOP hard

[babylonsister]

Retirement season hits GOP hard


By Janet Hook and Theo Milonopoulos, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
October 16, 2007


WASHINGTON -- This is crunchtime for members of Congress who must decide whether to seek reelection next year or leave office, and so far Republicans seem to be lunging for the exits. While 16 GOP lawmakers have decided to throw in the towel on their Capitol Hill careers, only two Democrats so far have called it quits -- and they both are seeking higher office.

The disparity underscores the sharply different moods in the two parties: Democrats, still heady from winning control of Congress last year, are enjoying the fruits of power. Republicans, their party in disarray and reduced to minority status in the House and Senate, see more allure in retirement or private life.

"I don't like being in the minority," said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.), who was first elected in the 1994 GOP landslide and will retire after this term. "It's not that much fun, and the pros- pects for the future don't look that good."

The wave of retirements compounds the challenge facing the GOP in the 2008 congressional election, because the party is significantly trailing Democrats in fundraising. That means Republicans will apparently be defending more House and Senate seats with less money, and they will be fighting battles in places that otherwise might have been secure.

What is more, many of the Republicans choosing to retire are older, more pragmatic lawmakers, such as Rep. Ralph Regula of Ohio; moderates like Rep. Deborah Pryce of Ohio and Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia; and mavericks like Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. These departures reflect the generational and ideological changes that have pushed the Republican contingent in Congress steadily to the right over the last decade.

more...

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-retire16oct16,1,7303553.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&ctrack=2&cset=true

[Ganja Ninja]

1. "the prospects for the future don't look that good."

That's right, leave now after you've screwed everything up.
:banghead:

[TexasProgresive]

2. I just heard that

Kay Bailey is going to step down from the Senate to run for Governor.

[babylonsister]

4. NO! Really? That would absolutely make my day! YES! Here's an

article! :woohoo: :woohoo:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5216932.html

Hutchison may leave U.S. Senate in 2009

Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau


AUSTIN — U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, in a magazine interview, said she won't seek re-election in 2012 and may resign from the Senate as early as 2009.

But she still won't say whether she will run for governor in 2010, when many political observers expect her fellow Republican, Gov. Rick Perry, not to seek another term.

Hutchison, first elected to the Senate in a special election in 1993 and re-elected to a third full term last year, had previously hinted that she may not seek another term in 2012.

In an interview with Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith, she seemed to more clearly rule out another re-election race. Excerpts from the interview were posted on Smith's blog.

Noting that her term would be up in 2012, Hutchison said, "I would not run for re-election."

more...

[mcscajun]

3. "...Republicans will apparently be defending more House and Senate seats with less money"

Awwwww.

:bounce:

[maddezmom]

5. Hutchison may leave early, won't seek re-election

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison told a Texas magazine she will not seek re-election after this term and may leave the Senate as early as 2009, according to excerpts published on the magazine's Web blog on Monday.

Hutchison told Texas Monthly in an interview to be fully published in December that she would end her Senate career in 2012, whether or not she runs for governor.

Stepping down in two years "has to be considered," the Texas Republican senior senator is quoted as saying in the excerpts.

Hutchison declined an interview request from The Associated Press, but a spokesman for the senator confirmed the accuracy of the magazine excerpts.

more:http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/5216734.html

[babylonsister]

6. What a blessing that would be! nt

[sutz12]

7. "Cut and run" nt