Honey, I Shrunk the Congress
Honey, I Shrunk the Congress
The Brand of Diminishing Returns
As you recently heard, the annual retreat for GOP lawmakers wasn’t well attended; more than half of those invited declined to show up. That must have been a bitter pill for the retreat organizer to swallow after publicizing the event as “aimed to unify the conference”.
As if that message to the House Speaker wasn’t loud enough, Rep. Ken Buck’s (R-CO) exit a week later clearly surprised some when he unexpectedly announced he was immediately resigning from Congress. “This place keeps going downhill and I don’t need to spend more time here,” declared Buck who had spent nine years serving his constituents.
Days later, former Marine Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) threw in the towel after six years. That was followed by musings from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) who’s been in office for 22 years. She told reporters she could see herself leaving the party, and she dropped a massive hint about becoming an Independent, although she was evasive about actual plans. Still, the stalwart senator is obviously testing the waters, and the musing seemed more like a trial balloon.
This is hardly a stampede to get out of Dodge, but it’s undoubtedly waning confidence in the Grand Old Party. Fingers crossed that these elected officials represent the seeds of a larger ethical rebellion. At the very least it’s the awakening of some Republican lawmakers who can no longer stomach a dear leader who’s in serious decline on multiple fronts.
Let’s hope these few individuals serve as a model of integrity for a party that has been sorely lacking in it. And while it’s far too soon to rejoice about the defections, it will be interesting to see who bows out next. Any ideas?
Post submitted by Barbara Holzer, a volunteer with The Union
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