In a major blow to Democrats, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey announced that he will not seek reelection, saying he is “ready to turn the page” after a four-decade House career.
The Wisconsin Democrat faces tough poll numbers at home, but until Tuesday night his staff had insisted he was running aggressively and had hired campaign staff. But a person close to him confirmed the decision to POLITICO Wednesday morning, and Obey made the announcement official at a 1 p.m. press conference.
“I’m ready to turn the page and I think frankly that my district is ready for someone new to make a fresh start,” Obey said. “… Frankly, I am bone tired.”
Now this is some change I can believe in. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this announcement is huge. Obey has been in Congress for 40 years and was the fellow who held the gavel when Obamacare was passed in the House. He's the old bull's old bull and he had as close to a personal fiefdom as one can imagine.
It will be highly interesting to see if Obey is just one of the old bulls to retire, or if more are going to leave. The one to watch in Minnesota is Jim Oberstar.
7 comments:
Clearly racism is the culprit here.
Obey has secured his legacy with Health Care, and I'm quite sure that he'll be able to line his pockets in a much more lucrative way sitting on the outside. I'm sure he's going to land in to a pile of cash.
He had a strong candidate running against him for the first time in years, and may have lost. All I can say is Adios Muchacho!!!
I think if Jim Oberstar retires, it will not be because his seat is threatened. David Obey's likely opponent, as Anon stated, is a a strong, well-known candidate. Sean Duffy is a rising star with high name recognition, and apparently is doing a great job as the DA for Ashland County. I could at least see a scenario where Obey would be in real trouble.
I don't think the same dynamic is at play in MN-8. I really don't think Oberstar is in any danger of losing his seat. Iron Rangers and Duluth residents just don't vote for Republicans. Chip Cravaack (who I had to do a Google search to find) does not have nearly the name recognition of Duffy. I really think Oberstar is about as safe in his seat as Betty McCollum (sorry Mr. D) and Keith Ellison are in theirs.
That said, I was shocked when I saw that Obey was retiring.
WBP, I blame global warming.
Mike, I agree that Oberstar would be safe, but he might find being back in the minority disagreeable. I think that, more than anything else, is why Obey is leaving. He doesn't want to hand the gavel over to a Republican and be "ranking member."
I wouldn't start doing your Republican Victory Laps yet. I see quite a bit of anger by voters, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they will vote Republican.
I wouldn't start doing your Republican Victory Laps yet. I see quite a bit of anger by voters, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they will vote Republican.
I agree with that. If Republicans want to win this election, they will need to provide a better rationale than "I'm not a Democrat."
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