Sorry to lose Obey but who would want to stay in that sewer of a Congress. I wish him health and happiness.

Whats the total number of retirements GOP, Dem?

These dems are bailing like the rats (that they are) off of a sinking ship!

Good Riddance Obey!! Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!

What are the issues hurting Obey and what are the issues helping his opponent?

AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen David Dayen and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:

As a resident of the district just to the east of Obey’s and a long time party ground pounder, I am here to tell you that not only is losin’ Obey a terriblre blow to representation for his district but it portends REALLY bad stuff for committee chairs and leadership in the next Comgress with a reduced majority and a lotta Blue Dogs sittin’ up and barkin’ for position.

Wisconsin is a funny place, politically, but Obey was able to do very well by representing the people of his district as what he is and that is an unabashed “liberal”, old style progressive who isn’t afraid to mix it up with lunatic fascists. We are all gunna miss ‘im ‘cuz he knows more about legislative process and gettin stuff done than any other Democrat in leadership…and he’s a fuckin’ PROFESSOR for Christ’s sake, of political science at UW Eau Claire.

And I don’t wanna hear any bullshit from folks outside of Wisconsin that consider themselves leftists and who think losin’ a lion like Obey is a good thing (you know who you are, so don’t bring any of that shit in here today ‘cuz I ain’t in the mood).

KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, THERE’S NO PLACE TO HIDE ‘CUZ THEY’RE ALREADY SHOOTIN ATCHA!!!

Read the entire post to be honest I make that mistake too.

The turnover in the House is pretty striking – while more Republicans are departing,

Next question unemployment around 10%, people losing their homes in record numbers the Dems the party in power in the WH, Senate, House why are more GOPers retiring than Dems?
The Party in power loses seats every recession normally so what is different this time?
Why are GOPers retiring when a return to power seems only months away?

Why do you think he’s leaving then?

Eau Claire.

Love that name.

Citizen TCU:

The dismantling of the DNC state organizer structure REALLY hurt Wisconsin and left folks like Obey hangin’ out in the healthcare debate…he didn’t carry water for Obama until the end but Rahm left folks like Obey twistin’ in the wind when the final Republican Bill got passed.

Not surprised that Rahm may have had a hand in Obey’s decision to leave Congress. Maybe he was just fed up dealing with the neo-liberals and Mr. Bipartisan’s smoke and mirrors.

A-yep. And with the big dismantling and privatization of Social Security coming up after the elections, Obey probably didn’t feel like girding his loins for yet another fight he figured he’d lose.

Great more damage from Rahm. Rahm and the Blue Dogs hurt the Dems more than the GOP’s over the top lying attacks do.
Does the GOP have any attacks not based on lies? Do they have any ideas on how to fix the real problems?
No worries Rahm is making mistakes the GOP can exploit.

Because those “republicans” are RINO’s. They are not conservatives. Same reason why Crist is now running as an independent. He knew he couldn’t beat Rubio. If Crist had an ounce of conservationism in him he would not split the vote. He is basically a democrat and he knows that he will split the vote to some degree giving the dem’s a good chance of winning in Florida. He is the sacrificial lamb and he knows it. How many true conservatives are retiring?? Few and far between.

The wind of change is coming… it’s a beautiful thing…

Valid theory well argued how many seats are you contesting?

You do now that we here are looking to get rid of the Blue Dog Dems because they are to the Right of the Majority of Americans on a Jobs Bill, help for people losing their Homes, Ending the Wars, the Public Option etc you know the issues the majority of voters think are the most important.
Still better to talk to your side and get a straight answer than a Blue Dog giving excuses about how powerless they are to change things.

I wonder Rahm and Obama say they want cooperation from the GOP but the 20%er GOP base holds the GOP hostage.
So why not appeal to their base with strength Lizard Brains respond well to and alley themselves to strength.
Instead of compromise we attack?
Instead of scorn we get respect from the GOP or at least their fear?
By we I mean the Dems, not anyone here.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

42 years I think is too long even if Obey were not actually Obey but God. Let’s get some new blood going…

This is bad news for progressives. Obey was an old line liberal and his control of the Appropriations Committee was valuable. My question now is who will replace him as the head of Appropriations? Who is the senior Dem behind Obey, and is he a Blue Dog, a New Dem , or a progressive? Can Pelosi just skip over the most senior Dem if he/she is a Blue Dog and appoint a progressive? I know the Speaker has a lot of power when it comes to appointing Committee chairs, but will she use it? Allowing the Appropriations Committee to fall into Blue Dog hands would be disastrous, especially with Obama/Rahmbo looking to gut Social Security and Medicare next session.

Blue Texan’s regularly scheduled post is already in progress: Mike Pence (R-IN): Bush’s Katrina Response Better than Obama’s to BP Oil Disaster

Gettin out while the gettins good. Obey didn’t sign up for this kind of workload, too hard.

Anybody know where this video went? Obey making excuses for blue doggy behavior. Somebody (maybe someone from here FDL) was needling him about caving on some important liberal concern (domestic spying, DOMA, DADT, the wars, maybe HCR.) Obey’s behavior/demeanor was like that of Harry Reid.
We don’t have the votes, yada yada yada, etc.

It was a very pathetic display.

There are no progressives in Congress, period. The healthcare debate showed us that. Indeed it pounded us over the head with the fact. Obey stays, Obey goes, who cares? Yes, he was the chair of the Appropriations committee. That is a really, really powerful slot. But it’s not like we saw him pushing through a bunch of progressive programs. Nor should we have expected him to because Democrats aren’t a progressive party. They are a corporatist one. Nor do I see any indication that Obey ever did anything except to promote that corporatism. As far as I know, he never even criticized it. So he’s leaving. We tend to think still that this is somehow a stepdown for people like him. But is it? We have seen again and again there is almost no downside for politicians who reach the level Obey has. He might get a gig being a college president somewhere or he might become a consultant or give well paid speeches. There is a system of welfare for people like Obey. The likelihood is that he will be very well taken care of. It’s not even a question of Obey per se. By being generous with him, corporations show his successors what they can expect too if they play ball.

Will you still say this when a Blue Dog takes over his spot?

Didn’t this guy author a bill in 2006 that he swore would “essentially” end the Iraq War? How’d that work out?
Have fun in your next life as a lobbyist and Good riddance.

Yes, because to all intents and purposes Obey has acted as a Blue Dog. All we see in Washington are pseudo-fights, between Democrats and Republicans, between Rahm and Congress, between “liberals” and Blue Dogs. It is all kabuki. There is an overarching corporatist agenda which covers them all.

The whole idea of more and better Democrats was mistaken. All that happened is that we changed out one group of corporatists with another. My question to you is how long are you willing to play this game of Lucy with the football, thinking that the Democrats are on your side and constantly finding out they aren’t?

Citizen Hugh:

“Yes, because to all intents and purposes Obey has acted as a Blue Dog.”

There is only one word to describe this statement: bullshit!

David Obey is one of the good guys, and a powerful one at that.

This hurts progressives. We should not cheer this decision.

I wish him well in retirement.

I don’t get it. Obey had his vote for health care “reform” to campaign on…didn’t he?

When Americans finally understand how great Obamacare is, we’ll all love it, right…? It just needs to be “sold” to the public properly.

Ingrates…

It’s not even a question of Obey per se

Right on! It is something that’s not going to go away soon, but a CULT OF PERSONALITY, kind of idolatry, isn’t going to help. The best thing about the democratic system, would be the interchangeblity of knowledgable citizens, all able to with varing results, of course,,, take up the job of… IE: jurist, or Mr. Smith, Goes to Washington,” In unions, government, any place a sharing of the responsibility, should even out the effects, and make the base population more aware and stronger, against tyranny, But we want our gd leaders, to be better than ourselves investing them with super human, unrealistic features and traits. That’s the cherade that it is.

I believe this makes the 39th member of Congress not seeking re-election to his or her seat. Most of these seats will stay with the same party, but it’s an indication that members are not enthused about re-election campaigns in this political climate.

Yup, seems like an unusually large number. I wonder how much of this stuff tracks back to Rahm.

He was on the wrong side of pork barrel spending for too long. Most of us are tired of the practice, even those of us here in Wisconsin. He spoke of curtailing the practice, even as a long time abuser of it, but failed to deliver on those stated intentions.

In business, when you say you are going to achieve something or change/improve something and then it doesn’t happen — you are either demoted or out on the street seeking other employment. Maybe, just maybe, voters are starting to realize that (since it is now our biggest industry) the federal government needs people in it who are accountable to do what they say they will. That WOULD be refreshing, and this decision to bow out rather than take a beating may just be a sign.

If you think a Democrat will take that seat, you are betting against a Sean Duffy victory? Whoever runs against Duffy has to (a) distance himself from the “Obey profile” (big government, old style), and (b) at the same time get the Democrats in that “competitive” district to vote for him or her in huge numbers, and (c) be seen as a more attractive choice than Duffy. This last part will be hard to overcome, inasmuch as we have a hard nosed prosecutor who has cracked down on child sex crimes, wins 90% of his cases, has 6 kids with his only wife, is a former noted athlete, and is married to a woman, Catholic (that’s big in Wisconsin), with a degree in International Relations and who has been a TV actor and personality in her own right.

Whom, exactly, did you have in mind as the surprise Blue Dog candidate. I think you can just color the District red and move along.