Jane Harman to resign from Congress

WaPo ^ | Feb 7, 2011 | By Chris Cillizza

[Islander7]

California Rep. Jane Harman (D) will resign from Congress, according to two senior Democratic leadership aides, a surprise announcement that will set off a special election in her 36th district.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Islander7.

[Dave80]

The Wilson Center is already mired in numerous scandals: Two exposes: “The Selling of the Woodrow Wilson Center” (October 2010) http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2010/10/02/the-selling-of-the-woodrow-wilson-center/all/1 “The Woodrow Wilson Center Desecrates its Namesake’s Legacy and Violates its Congressional Mandate” (May 2010): http://www.countercurrents.org/boyajian060510.htm A scathing letter written by Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-NY) to his former colleague, Lee Hamilton, due to the WWC’s giving an undeserved award to the Turkish Foreign Minister in June: http://ackerman.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=186§iontree=4,186&itemid=1029 A Wilson family descendant, Donald Wilson Bush, blasts the Wilson Center – (“Pawn for the Wrong President”): http://keghart.com/DWBush_Pawn Claudia Rosett takes the Wilson Center to task (“What Kind of Washington Fools Would Honor Turkey’s Foreign Minister?”): http://pajamasmedia.com/claudiarosett/what-kind-of-washington-fools-would-honor-turkeys-foreign-minister/


[GOPsterinMA]

Anything’s possible.

Like DJ mentioned, maybe the new RNC Chairman will actually TRY to win a special election?!?!

[newzjunkey]

All reports suggest she's been offered a job running a Woodrow Wilson think tank.

Her successor is likely to be much further left than Harman. The district has no hope of going Republican.

The just reelected(!) Secretary of State Debra Bowen (D) wants Harman's seat. Presumably Brown would install someone in her place until the next state wide election cycle if she gets in congress.

[napscoordinator]

I wonder if she is sick? Has cancer?

[Joann37]

That’s what I thought, too.

And Glenn Beck will LOVE this: “she was “in discussions to succeed former Rep. Lee Hamilton as President and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.””

[littleharbour]

Dem challenger Winograd took 41% in the 2010 primary. The Republican challenger in the mid-term election took only 35%, a very weak result in a swing election. Chances are not good.

[ElkGroveDan]

There’s is a small but unlikely scenario that could bode well for Republicans under the new “jungle primary” system that was passed in November. If two and only two evenly matched Republicans ran and got around 20% each, and then 5 or 6 evenly matched Dems ran with none of them getting more than 19%, you could wind up with the two Republicans being the top vote-getters. The runoff ballot would then only have the two Republicans. Unlikely, but interesting to ponder.

[La Enchiladita]

I’m in her district too and her resignation is the headline in today’s Daily Breeze. In my view, her own party is forcing her out. She is by nature moderate, tried to become whacko like the rest of the ‘Rats but did not convince. I recall Queen Nancy has roughed up Harman a few times; she had enough.

[Impy]

I’d say that seat is about as rat as the 10th, which we failed to win in the special last year.

It certainly calls for a real effort to be made. We’ll see if we get one.