Posted on 05/07/2010 3:18:30 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
When the chairman of the House's powerful spending machine, the Appropriations Committee, suddenly announces his retirement, it's news for budget watchers. But Rep. David Obey's announcement that he will leave Congress this year also sent political shockwaves through Washington. Democrats have even more reason now to be nervous about the fall elections. Mr. Obey clearly figured out that his party has gotten no bounce from the passage of health care and that he was in danger of losing back home in Wisconsin this fall.
Mr. Obey is one of the last of the old-line liberals who reshaped the House in their image after the Watergate scandals of 1974. He was elected to Congress just months before the moon landing in 1969 and managed to hold on to his seat through 20 terms with a combination of tenacity and old-fashioned pork barreling. His skills were on display last year when he helped author the Stimulus Package. "My only apology is that it should have been larger," he later said, "but it was the most that the system would bear at the time."
Mr. Obey claims he was set to retire eight years ago but was infuriated by a meeting at the White House after the 9/11 attacks. President Bush stopped by the meeting and rejected a list of programs Mr. Obey said needed more funding. "If I hadn't experienced that meeting and experienced the absolute stubbornness of the Bush administration on that occasion, I would have left this place a long time ago," he said recently...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
ping
Just not enough time for a mass retirement by others of Obey’s ilk.
Is it so that Congressmen and Senators need to retire in order to get full pay for the rest of their lives? How about when they don’t get re-elected? Do they forfeit those benefits in that case?
Don't be silly.
Good question. I think they get their retirement pay, regardless,plus anything left in their campaign accounts. Of course, if they quit, there are lots more bucks in the campaign account.
Tom Foley walked off with tons of cash, plus warehouses full of furniture. They are supposed to take enough furniture to furnish one retirement office, but Foley has several warehouses full, as I remember. The furniture is theirs as long as they stay retired. But Foley took a job as Ambassador to Japan and was supposed to give back the furniture. But, he didn’t,
Locals say Obey ran a poll in February and again recently. Something was going bad in a hurry.
Now he’ll go on the speaking circuit and write another book. Trying to focus on his “triumphant” career.
They control the accounts but don’t get them for personal use.
On the State level, there are long gone politicians who still have hundreds of thousands in their accounts. A sort of get-out-of-jail card and a way to stay relevant - the money can be transferred to the accounts of active politicians ala DNC and RNC funding.
Obey has about $1 million. Not a ton compared to a Russ Feingold who has $10+.
Nope
Thanks for the ping!
David Obey hasn’t lived in this district in decades! He lives in Virginia. He raised his family in Virginia. He comes back to the district every 2 years to campaign and scare senior citizens about those mean ol’ Republicans who want to take their Social Security and make them eat dog food.
So long, Dave! Don’t let the screen door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya!
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