Might as well jump

Published Feb. 22, 2010 at 10:11 p.m.
...Recent retirements of key democrats paint a picture of a powerful Republican rogue wave forming. So why are high-profile Republicans jumping ship too?...
Last Thursday, Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island — the last of his legendary clan in Congress — announced that he will not run for re-election.

FEW LEFT: The GOP has tried to spin high-profile resignations, including those of Rhode Island congressman Patrick Kennedy(left) and Indiana senator Evan Bayh, as a symptom of an impending Republican take-over.

Last Thursday, Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island — the last of his legendary clan in Congress — announced that he will not run for re-election. Four days later, Indiana's Evan Bayh revealed his own intention to retire from the US Senate. Any day now, we should get a decision from South Shore congressman Bill Delahunt, who has done nothing to tamp down growing rumors that he, too, is calling an end to his career.

It's been only four weeks since Scott Brown turned the political world upside-down by winning the Senate seat controlled by the Kennedy family for more than a half-century, and already another story line has taken hold: terrified Democrats fleeing from office, rather than seeking re-election.

The question doesn't seem to be whether there will be more retirements announced, but who will be next. The rumor list is too long to recount. A single, speculative blog post on Monday put the nation's political media on a death watch for Maryland senator Barbara Mikulski.

So far, 11 sitting US senators — five Democrats, but also six Republicans — have announced that they will not run for re-election in November. So have 32 House members (13 Democrats and 19 Republicans), and seven governors (three Democrats and four Republicans).

Read more


Back | Read more at Providence Phoenix