David Lightman of the Courant has details:
Rep. Christopher Shays said today he will not seek another congressional term unless House Republican leaders support his bid for the job of top GOP member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
He is meeting with leaders and other key members now.
If they do not give him significant backing “I’m absolutely not going to run,” said Shays, who said he is giving no one any deadlines.
Even if he runs and wins, and somehow gets denied the top Republican spot anyway in 2009, “I will resign,” Shays said.
Well if the GOP nationally was looking for a reason to get rid of Shays he just gave them one…
Shays claims it will be distracting to both run for reelection in his district and not know whether or not he will win the chairmanship. I understand that this is a power play on his part, but it also contributes to the perception that he’s unstable. A Congressional veteran should be able to balance both tasks, not to mention the duties of being an elected official. If Shays can’t manage, then perhaps it is time for him to step down.
Shays might also be looking for a reason to back out. Perhaps prospect of running yet another competitive targeted race doesn’t hold much appeal. Realistically I don’t think that’s the case but it is a possibility.
Lightman, David. “Shays Says He’ll Not Run Again If Denied Chairmanship“. Hartford Courant. 9/14/07
16 responses so far ↓
Wow.
I wonder how House Republicans will respond to this? What other hope do they have of holding this seat?
GeekGirl, you forgot the “Paid for by Himes for Congress” disclaimer at the end of your post.
Ichabod Crane said:
Cute. But she doesn’t now and hasn’t ever worked for them.
It’s true that Shays holds all the cards here. If Republicans don’t want to lose their last toehold in New England, they’ll give him what he wants.
Either that, or they’ll see it as an opportunity to be rid of him. I’m looking forward to seeing how this shakes out. Either way, it’s going to benefit Jim Himes, I think, if only because it’s very easy from here to paint Shays as being in it for the power, and not for the people of the 4th.
Is Chris Shays batshit crazy? Yes.
Is Chris Shays wrong on most issues? Absolutely.
But is he the only Congressional Republican truly concerned with ethics and government reform? Yeah. If anyone else gets the nod, the GOP is stating as clear as day that they don’t care about ethics reform. I can’t blame him for not wanting to be a part of that.
Shays is losing it.
Doesn’t he underdtand he is playing into McKinney’s hands?
My belief is that he’s about to get stabbed in the back, and he almost deserves it.
One can also surmise that his fundraising must not be going so well…
TrueBlueCT said:
As someone said to me in an email today: Christmas just came early for John McKinney.
I’ll be interested to see Shays’ quarterly take as well. Won’t be a long wait.
This just in…
The race for the Democratic nomination for Congress in CT-4 is getting a little crowded.
Lee Whitnum, a former lover of Senator John Kerry, has filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to run against Jim Himes.
Here is coverage of her candidacy from the Norwalk (CT) advocate
http://www.norwalkadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-whitnum3sep14,0,5521256.story
Whitnum also has a website: http://www.leewhitnum2008.com/
As some of you might remember, Whitnum became a hot topic in the dog days of August 2004 when she posted mementos of her relationship with the Democratic nominee on the Internet.
Among Whitnum’s racier recollections of her rendezvous with Kerry, as recounted to the New York Daily News in August 2004: “All I can tell you is that John is 100 percent male.” “John would whisper French phrases in my ear. I would say, ‘Speak to me in French!’ and so he’d do it. I don’t know what he was saying. I don’t speak French,” Whitnum said.
Their relationship took place in the early 1990s, after Kerry was divorced from his first wife, Julia Thorne, but before he began dating his current wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.
A chapter based on Whitnum’s 20-month on again/off again romance with Kerry is included in her book “Hedge Fund Mistress,” which she wrote under the pen name of Lee Roystone. Whitnum also posted photos and other memorabilia from her romance with Kerry on the Web site for the book in late August 2004, but pulled it after it created a maelstrom on the Internet.
If Shays drops out, I wonder if McKinney will actually jump in?
Genghis Conn said:
He’d be smarter to wait until 2010 or whenever the Iraq anger dies down…
He would. Of course, by then he’d be running against a Democratic incumbent, probably Jim Himes. So his options are not great right now if Shays leaves.
Whether you’re Republican or Democrat, a careful observer of the political scene in Fairfield County must rec0gnize that the region is trending Democratic. Ten years ago, Republicans outnumbered Democrats in Greenwich by a ratio of 2.5:1; now it is less than 2:1. And Republicans statewide have become far less attractive than a decade or so ago. Just check out the gains Dems made in the General Assembly last November. With the increasing concentration of the Republican Party’s base in the Deep South, there is increasing alienation of non-evangelical New England Republicans from the rest of the party.
In short, this is not the same district that McKinney’s father represented. And with Bush’s statement that he will continue the war at near current levels until he leaves office, the anger against the Republican Party will only fester over the next year. Shays is supposed to be a “moderate” Republican. But his support for Hard Right George Bush on foreign policy, health care, and privacy issues has gone a long way to dismay moderates and Democrats. For proof, take a look at the poll commissioned (that’s commissioned by, not conducted by) Daily Kos that shows enormous defections of independents and Democrats from Lieberman.
In short, I don’t care who it is. This district will not stomach another Republican congressman. Not, at least, for many years to come.
What gets he is how important he thinks he is. When in fact he is overplaying his hand. This is just another Lincoln Shaffee clone (note the pun on my spelling – witty huh?)
I seem to recall Mr. “Reform” has said this sort of thing empty threat before and the GOP called his bluff — and he still ran again.
But I really hope he is serious this time. Shaffe has been there far too long. Its time for someone new. A real Republican would be nice.
I will take my chances on losing the seat. That’s a gamble worth taking.
Goodbye Chris Shays. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
“Shays claims it will be distracting to both run for reelection in his district and not know whether or not he will win the chairmanship. I understand that this is a power play on his part, but it also contributes to the perception that he’s unstable.”
Well sure, it is something of a power play. But Shay’s may be negotiating with folk who already have written off the Northeast. Republican’s like to quote Barry Goldwater to the effect that if you lop off California and New England, festering pustules of liberalism and “moderate” Republicans, you’ll have a pretty good country.
The notion of the “Rockefeller Republican,” fiscally conservative but socially liberal, is wearing thin; Lowell Weicker may have been the last of the breed.
So, no one nationally will be crying crocodile tears should some fiscally conservative but socially liberal Democrat knock Shays off.
Most of the political stories in the press are really a very thin veneer that hides what many savvy political commentators view as the real correlation of forces in the nation, even in that part of the country that Goldwater wanted to clip off and send on its merry way.
Looks to me like he will be the Chair as he desires. It will give him some extra strength to deal with the major assault that the national Dems plan for him. He’ll beat any Dem. Nice effort to damage Shays and support Hyms though. I wonder if the Dems from Fairfield County liked the “General Betray Us” ad subsidized by the New York Times? Should be interesting to see the effect on the Shays race to have Rudy taking on a “General Betray Us” Dem. Oh, gee, that’s really, really scary for Shays …
Seems like Karl Rove has control over Moveon.org these days …
Anyone recall Ann Coulter was going to run a protest independent candidacy against him?
She was quite frank—refreshingly so. She was going to run to split the Republican vote just so he would lose. She put it that plainly. She only didn’t because she would have to leave her job temporarily to do it and she didn’t want to do that.
That’s how I first heard of her. I was gong to write her a check but I kept forgetting her name and then she quit before it took off.
No really. Its time for someone new. It’s a fairly good bet that whom ever the Republicans nominate will be elected. Not a certainly but certainly the odds are in his or her favor.
You must log in to post a comment.