Another One Finds His Guts
Another Republican has announced that he’s leaving congress.
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) announced Thursday that he is leaving Congress before the end of his term to lead the Ohio Business Roundtable.
“Today, it is with a humble and thankful heart that I announce I will not be seeking reelection,” Tiberi said in a statement Thursday. “While I have not yet determined a final resignation date, I will be leaving Congress by January 31, 2018.”
Tiber is a moderate Republican who supported John Boehner. That adds his name to a growing list of moderate Republicans leaving the house. He lives in a solid Republican district.
However, earlier this month at the Hill …
Lawmakers intending to retire often announce their plans in the period between Labor Day and the end of the year. But this week’s decisions by Reps. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) and Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) to skip reelection bids in competitive districts have fanned speculation once again that the GOP will soon see more lawmakers heading for the exits.
The World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc. would like to announce that we are giving a prize package including a free haircut, several lovely pocket combs, a ticket to Big Bob’s Monster Truck Rally and Beer Belching Competition, and a manicure from Thelma, the Texas Chainsaw Manicurist, to any Republican in a competitive district who retires this year.
That ought to kickstart the thing.
Hm. Are the ‘moderates’ being pushed out to make room for more of the extreme right-wingers?
1The downside to this is that Bannon, Inc. is working hard to line up candidates that support Trumpist type policies. A self-styled Leninist, his objective is to destroy the current system. Cow knows what he thinks might be better.
2This dude (I wanted to say reptile) is my rep, and so far as I can tell it’s no courage at all. He’s the second biggest recipient of health insurance cash in the House (second only to P Ryan), and helped lead the fight to pass the House’s reprehensible AHCA. He’s one of the gutless reps who refuses to hold town halls, but is happy to meet with big donors.
The NYTimes article aggravates me, describing his district as “solidly Republican”, where “solidly gerrymandered” would be the accurate term. This makes me worry about who will be run to replace him, and I haven’t seen a sign that the local Dems are planning to run someone progressive enough to really be a threat in this lopsided district.
3It is my understanding that this congresscritter was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee – the most powerful committee in the House.
If that’s true, this means that fully one fourth of the membership of that committee has either resigned or announced they will not be running for re-election next year. That can only mean that there’s something really, really ominous going on there. Or maybe they just can’t stand the thought of their names being on the turkey of a tax cut for the rich that is currently making its way through the system.
4Well JJ’s contest prizes should do the trick, she really understands what motivates these guys.
5Wow! All those great prizes! Make sure that Ryan knows about the beer belching contest. Oh wait, he only swills $300 a bottle wine after shutting down the government and costing the taxpayers $23,000,000.00 per diem. TERM LIMITS! Needed now
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