2014 Retirements General Thread

[Zioneer]

D+17, that's basically Safe D defined.

Possible minority opprotunity as well.

DKE says that State Senator Adam Ebbin (an openly gay man), State Delegates Alfonso Lopez (Hispanic of course), Rob Krupicka, Patrick A. Hope, Charnelie Herring (a black woman), and possibly Brian Moran (Jim Moran's brother) are possibilities for Moran's seat.

[Zioneer]

D+17, that's basically Safe D defined.

Possible minority opprotunity as well.

Aneesh Chopra is being mentioned.

He'd be the first Indian-American Congressman from Virgina, right? That'd be neat.

[Zioneer]

Well, may be i don't understand something, but for me there is absolutely no difference whether district elects male or female; "straight" or "gay/lesbian"; Protestant, Catholic, Mormon, Muslin, Jew or Buddhist; White, Black, Hispanics, Asian or Native American. And so on. The only criteria i use is "congressman must reflect views of his/her district as close as possible". That's why a "natural" congressman in liberal district for me is a "progressive", in swing - "moderate", in conservative - "conservative". I don't give a damn if a black-majority district is represented by white Jew, as is the case with Steve Cohen in TN-09 or - heavily Hispanic district by white (who also happened to be Jew) as was in Howard Berman case in California until 2012. Never understood an "identity politics" and, probably, never will...

The more gay people in Congress, the more force the gay community has in politics. Same with African-Americans, Hispanics, and all other minority groups. And unfortunately, there's still not a lot of districts that are willing to vote for these minority groups, so when an opportunity arises for a minority to be elected, it's hard not to hope that the seat goes to someone that isn't an old white businessman.

I don't have a problem with Steve Cohen representing a majority-black district, and clearly, neither do the people of Memphis. That's because he in-touch with the people of his district and willing to fight for their concerns, despite not being part of the group. However, he is the exception, not the rule.

Well, if an "old white businessman" is an adequate representative for his district (ANY district, being it majority-white or, say, majority Hispanic, as, for example, is a case with Gene Green in Texas) - what's the problem? We applauded (rightfully), when white-majority areas elected Black mayors, congressmen and so on, then why so many people (especially - Black) were angry when white businessman was elected mayor of 85% Black Detroit last year?? It really smacks a sort of hypocrisy to me..

I suppose that residents of Detroit felt that a black mayor served their interests better than a white mayor would. Whether the new mayor will or not, that seems to be the viewpoint.

As for whether an old white businessman is an adequate representative; sure, if a minority district or if a white district feels comfortable with a white representative, they should be allowed to have a white rep. But if they feel that a non-WASP rep would serve their interests better, if they feel that said hypothetical rep has different life experiences that would help them represent the district, then that should be applauded, especially as the US as a whole is becoming more diverse.

Take into account Mia Love in UT-04 (where I live); personally I'm a liberal Democrat and don't like her, but if UT-04 feels that Love's life experiences and background helps her understand issues in a way a white representative wouldn't, then that's fine, and it'd be nice for the non-white members of the district to see a rep that might look like them.

[Zioneer]

Jim Moran is retiring. Good riddance.

Fantastic. With his removal, and the fall of Pete Stark and retirement of Ron Paul, the Congress has fewer and fewer active anti-semites.

How is Moran anti-semitic?

His constant talk about the "Jewish lobby". Unlike many Democrats, who are good at only talking about the "Israel lobby" having too much power and pushing the country to war, Moran has made very clear that he believes it's the Jewish community.

I've always found the "Israel lobby was responsible for the war in Iraq" meme disgusting as a whole. As if Bush didn't come into office salivating to take out Saddam for trying to kill his dad. He didn't NEED Bush pushing him.

He won't be missed. I'm sure the replacement will be equally liberal and less of an awful person.

Except if his brother takes over.