My understanding... (Kindler - 1/30/2008 10:27:44 PM)
...is that he and Davis had the same donor base and that Gerry didn't think he'd have a shot at the big money if he ran against Tom.
So we won't get to see a race that looks like this:
What is this, the day for withdrawals and retirements? Now it's Tom Davis:
U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) said today he will retire from Congress at the end of the year, bringing to a close a 14-year stint in the House of Representatives during which he rose rapidly through the ranks of Republican leadership and championed such issues as D.C. voting rights and a vibrant defense-contracting industry."It's time for me to take a sabbatical," Davis said. "I would say I'm not ruling out future public service, but it's time to be refreshed, to see what it's like in the private sector. That doesn't mean I will or won't come back."
Davis adds more reasons for his decision:
...Davis didn't count on the vehemence with which the GOP's conservative wing would resist his efforts to move the party to the middle. His opt-out of a Senate bid was spurred in part by an ugly battle within the Virginia Republican Party, which decided to hold a convention instead of a primary to choose its nominee. The decision favored former governor James S. Gilmore III, a more conservative candidate viewed as likelier to win over the party faithful who typically attend conventions."I'm not at all bitter," Davis said. "I'm just disappointed. We have such an opportunity to put together a coalition that's good for Virginia. Instead of opening up the party to people who agree with them on many issues, they've decided to have an admissions test [on abortion and taxes]. And that's not a winning formula for them or for Virginia."
Davis was also motivated by the difficult reelection battle his wife was facing last fall. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis ultimately lost her seat in the state Senate, but not before her husband poured all his political acumen -- not to mention hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions -- into the campaign.
In the end, Davis says, "it was time for a change." He's certainly right about that. Go Leslie! :)
P.S. I'd expect a Connolly for Congress announcement any minute now, especially given this article (by Amy Gardner, of course), talking the $161,000 he's supposedly raised "since the beginning of January."
Well, it's a great day for Democrats in the 11th Congressional District of Virginia!
As for the Byrne-Connolly race, is anyone placing bets on when the date is that Connolly will first call Byrne a Republican?
REPUBLICAN
...is not one of them!!
I'm sure the stenography tomorrow will be beautiful, but Tom Davis -- like Frank Wolf -- is a moderate in name only. As part of the leadership of the Republican party that helped institute legalized corruption like the K Street Project and was focused on demonizing those that weren't part of its now-ever-shrinking-coalition, Mr. Davis deserves ample credit for the state that our country is now in. Moreover, as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, he proved, world without end, that his loyalty was to George W. Bush and the Republican Party, and not the Republic.
The winners today are the people of Northern Virginia. Tom Davis, good riddance.
In some ways I think Mr. Davis was actually disappointed in what the Republicans wrought while they were in the ascendancy, and he had no effective way to prevent it. He went along to get along, and the dichotomy finally ate into him, but he could not say so---- he did not, for example, have the character of a Jeffries of Vermont, who simply resigned from the Party and became an independent, but sometimes Davis perhaps wished he could bring himself to that point. Instead, he stayed loyal to the end, and made internal compromises to keep his position of power.
Kind of sad, in a way: we say goodbye not just to Tom Davis today, but also to the Tom Davis who started out a rather different kind of person when he was on the Fairfax Board of Supervisors.
Thank you.
Where was Davis when the FTA pulled the rug out from under Dulles Rail?
Why is it that Davis is one of only 25 Representatives to vote against the economic stimulus program?
No, Davis turned his back on the 11th a while back. He has foresaken any claim to our gratitude or civility.
I wish I could be as magnanimous as Teddy -- sincerely, I wish I could. But I cannot, for I recognize what Teddy hits upon in his post -- that Davis was a supremely talented, intelligent, and able politician that decided that ambition and partisanship trumped playing fair or being civil or reaching out when the power was all his and theirs.
No, I won't be hailing or celebrating or thanking Tom Davis. He took his ball and went home only when he realized he could rise no higher, could win no more battles, and not a second earlier. Watch that clip that John Bruhns linked to below, and watch an arrogant man that could not stomach even for a few minutes in a parking lot hearing the criticisms of people he in theory represents in the halls of our government about the repercussions of the policies that he helped implement.
Perhaps some day, in a few decades when America has regained her standing in the world and the carnage has subsided and we have humbly asked for and received some measure of forgiveness from those to whom we owe the deepest of apologies, when all those conniving and cowardly politicians that brought all this to be -- perhaps then will I look back and say, "It is understandable, we were under a national madness than ordinary men and women could not have been expected to fight off." But not now.
There were real consequences to a man of this talent and power deciding to help fund and drive the political machine as he did. Many thousands of patriots, dead in a war that needed not be, their families forever sorrowed. Many tens of thousands wounded, maimed, scarred for life, never able to fulfill their full potentials. All the liars and connivers that broke laws, broke treaties, pissed on the Constitution, and, in the process, threatened our way of life for expediency and riches and vainglory, their paths gilded and then their tracks covered by the Chairman of the most powerful committee in the Congress.
If the only consequence of all this malice is a few of us on this messageboard give him the salute he deserves, them Tom Davis surely knows he led a blessed existence. The people whose lives he helped destroy or refused to honor, they suffered the true consequences.
Yes, politicians go through all sorts of hell but they not only attain and wield power, but also fame and riches - whether in office or after. Only the ones who stand up and do the right thing, for their people and their country, deserve any credit.
Davis may have occasionally looked after his constituents, but that was the exception to the rule. He mostly looked after his own ambitions or his party's detrimental and destructive goals. Don't feel sorry for poor Tom if we're not nice, as he will be more than justly rewarded with consulting or lobbying jobs in the near future.
Perhaps some conservatives will want to praise him, but as a Progressive Democrat I will give him no praise nor any thanks. Anyone who was part of the Worst Leadership In History (from Bush down to Davis and beyond) has earned nothing for their years of service except a small piece of advice: Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Good Riddance.
To Obama's point, I'm not bashing Davis merely because he is a Republican. Davis was an active part of the Worst Administration in our country's history. Ok, he did work hard for government employees and to try to get the Dulles Rail. Fine - I'll give him some props for that.
But the rest of it? The sooner we get Bush and those that support him out of power the better. They've nearly ruined the country; needlessly destroyed lives, infringed upon constitutional freedoms, wreaked our country's reputation, broken laws, ignored those in need, trashed the environment, encouraged reckless personal debt, turned the budget surplus of the Clinton into a massive budget deficit, and, through their own greed and corruption, helped their friends get even richer. Davis was very much a part of this. And I sure as shit ain't gonna tip my hat to him after all the DISSERVICE he and Bush have done to our country just because he is a nice guy or a long standing public servant.
Its in our hands, not some politician in the White House or Congress. Bush and Davis may have had an agenda many of us opposed but they made the cases they sought to make, right or wrong in our view, that takes courage and we have to match that with activism for our causes not by way of divisive actions of a personal nature but of rallying those that would support our agenda.
In my book anyone who is elected by Virginians or the Amercian people earns respect at the very least for it is us the People who sent them there and to not honor the service whether aligned with or not merely discredits the voters who sent them to office.
Again, never cam down too much on the side of Davis on most things but in fairness he has Gov. Kaine has stated his service to Virginia should be appreciated.
Where is the harm in wishing the guy well and moving on to get someone in there to advance the agenda you support.
I reviewed Davis's record several years and I was upset seeing his high score supporting the Republican agenda. Then, I had to stop and reconsider...he was "hired" to rep the Republican agenda. He did it well while he was in office. His "moderation" came only when speaking in public and the Reps were no longer majority party. Only during the later did his voting record change.
If we want to hire someone to rep the Dem agenda, if we want someone who honors people rather than destroy them, then we need to vote accordingly - not reward those who play the same ol' character assassinations (which includes Dems). I support Byrne for Congress - Go Leslie!
Why yes! Let's see what it's like in the 'private sector'! How do the little people live?
I wish to learn more about your strange customs and folkways in this 'outside the beltway' of which I have heard such curious tales.
Tom Davis: Pioneering ethnographer. Swashbuckling lobbyist of the future. Sir Richard Francis Burton for the modern age.
Obama- Warner- Byrne
Obama- Warner- Connolly
Obama- Warner- Denneny
Obama- Warner - Alexander
Why no Hillary?- Well because with Edwards out, Mudcat's comments and Obama's speech coming before Edwards announcement praising Edwards, as well as the speculation that Obama would offer Edwards Attorney General- I think we will see at least 75% Edwards supportes vote for Obama, and Edwards' delegates going to Obama... Plus with Rudy going to McCain, and rumors of Arnold signing on too, Democrats would be wise to think of who realistically can win against McCain
Statement of former Congresswoman Leslie Byrne on the retirement of Congressman Tom Davis:While I have disagreed with Rep. Davis more often than not, like his vote against the bipartisan stimulus package in the US House yesterday, I salute his service to the 11th district.
I know he was recently disappointed by his constituents, the Virginia Republican Party and his minority status in the US House but that does not negate his efforts on behalf of D.C. voting rights, funding for Metro and building a strong technology industry in Northern Virginia.
I will keep those efforts in mind as I pursue my election to the 11th Congressional District of Virginia.
Go Leslie!
Was Connolly afraid of running against Davis?
Was Connolly comfortable with the risk that Davis would be our Congressman for another two years?
And, if Connolly wasn't worried about Davis being our Congressman for another two years, was it because he thought Leslie Byrne would beat Davis this year?
And, if Connolly was satisfied with the prospect of Byrne being our next Congressperson, what would Connolly's entering the race now say to Fairfax County voters who just re-elected him overwhelmingly to another term as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors?
So we won't get to see a race that looks like this:
Q: Was Connolly comfortable with the risk that Davis would be our Congressman for another two years?
A: No. Connolly is not a patient man. He wants it and he wants it now.
Q: If Connolly wasn't worried about Davis being our Congressman for another two years, was it because he thought Leslie Byrne would beat Davis this year?
A: That was his worst fear.
Q: If Connolly was satisfied with the prospect of Byrne being our next Congressperson, what would Connolly's entering the race now say to Fairfax County voters who just re-elected him overwhelmingly to another term as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors?
A: I think you've hit on a key point. Does Connolly really care about Fairfax County? Or does he care about only himself?
He seems to care about nothing but Connolly.
Congressman Davis has had a distinguished and successful career in local government and Congress. I, along with past Governors, have found him to be a great ally in supporting Virginia and the people of the 11th District. Tom's service will be missed, but I fully expect that he will continue to serve his community in other valuable ways.