Elected Officials Quiting to run for different offices

[Mike Carey]

I recently listened to Jay Inslee give his rational for quiting congress to run for governor of Washington. His arguement was really shallow and unconvincing , in my opinion. Without this turning into a democratic/republican debate, I'm curious what others think of elected officials quiting their positions to run for different offices (and yes, I thought it was wrong for Palin as well). Here's an e-mail I sent our (soon to be former) representative Inslee:

Dear Congressman Insley,

I listened with interest to your recent radio interview with Dave Ross. I want you to know that I am very disappointed with your decision to resign from congress to run full time for governor of Washington State. The reasons you gave were not adequate in my eyes to leave our state with one less congressional representative. We elected you to do a job, not to quit with nine months to go. If you can quit congress to run for governor, what assurance do we have that you won't quit the governorship to run for the senate down the road? I know you think you're putting the people's interests first, but in my eyes it's just the opposite. Also, I note that Rob McKenna isn't quitting his position. I know it's probably too late, but I think it would be a show of good faith and the public trust if you were to reverse your decision and resume your elected role as congressman of the state of Washington.

Respectfully,
Mike Carey

[Amx]

...I hate politics...

[Mike Carey]

...I hate politics...

In that case I guess you have a "I don't care either way" position.

[Amx]

Well, it isn't 'I don't care', I don't have enough info on the deal, and wonder just what's up. Can he do better as Gov.? I don't know. Should he stay where he is? Probably, after all that is where he wanted to be, got elected to, and promised to help the state in that position. After his term, THEN he can try for Gov.

[SculpinKing]

You can look at it two ways. The first is the way you see it, which is he is ducking out of a commitment. The second, however, is that rather than collecting a paycheck to be a congressman while he's actually spending most of his time campaigning in Washington or on flights back and forth from DC, he's quitting to spend out of his own pocket to run for governor. Let's be honest, running for an office that high is more than a full time job, so trying to do it at the expense of the job you were elected to do is ripping the people off in another way.

[G-Man]

Well said Mike! Most of the political positions were never meant to be full time jobs. I really detest lifetime politicians, they are not what our founding fathers had in mind when drawing up our country's operating procedures.

[racfish]

This is how I sum up politics from top Govt down to city govt.
Crooks leading crooks followed by liars who turn into crooks. Remember that most all politicians were lawyers at one time... Nuff Said...

[Bodofish]

I've waited till now just because, well, you know..... Rant off...... To them it's just a job and when they see a better opportunity they will quit one job and take another to move up the ladder. And how can you go wrong with the life time pension that goes with the seat in DC and then pick up andother from Wa. It's almost criminal.... ooops sorry, rant off.

[jeretired]

I agree with you 100%, Mike. In fact, I haven't got ANY use for career politicians who feed at the government trough and consider themselves to be so much better than you and me, "average" Americans. Here we are, trying to eke out a living in this unforgiving state, with state and local politicians constantly sticking their hands ever deeper into our pockets.

While on the subject, I sent two "nasty-grams"out to our self-serving senators (yes, with a SMALL "s"), trying to figure out why in the world they both voted against English as our national language. They both replied..But..here I am with a BS from Eastern Washington University and a Master's from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and for the life of me, I honestly can't tell you what they spouted as their reason. It was written by their staff in typical governmentese...undecipherable!

Am I disgusted? Yep! We have no decent choices from potential US President, through Governor and definitely not locally!

Just Sayin'.............

[Mike Carey]

I'm trying not to let negativity overwhelm me, but that does bring up a good point. I just don't think it speaks highly of a person's integrity and character.

[ruthven78]

I for one am very excited about Rob McKenna running for governor. BUt yeah, as far as presidents go, I bought a shirt that says "I already hate the next president" from tshirthell.com

[Amx]

an e-mail I just got, again;

I'm all for Mr. Warren Buffett's solution in putting a "Halt" to
all this "Spending"...Thanx for Reading this....Yvonne
Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best
quotes about the debt ceiling:

"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just
pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more

than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible
for re-election.

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds)
took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple!
The people demanded it. That was in 1971 - before computers,
e-mail,
cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1)
year
or less to become the law of the land - all because of public
pressure.

Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to
a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask
each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will
have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed
around.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives
no
pay when they're out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social
Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the
Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into
the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the
American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all
Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.
Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and
participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the
American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void
effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this
contract with Congressmen/women.

Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in
Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers
envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their
term(s), then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will
only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive
the message. Don't you think it's time?

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!

If you agree, pass it on. If not, delete.
You are one of my 20+ - Please keep it going, and thanks

[Mike Carey]

And the final word from soon-to-be-former representative Insley:

Dear Constituent:

Thank you for contacting the Office of the First Congressional District of Washington, formerly the Office of Representative Jay Inslee, with your concerns on legislative issues pending before the Congress.

Since the U.S. House of Representatives seat for the First District is open following the resignation of Representative Inslee on March 20, 2012, we can take no action on issues of legislation or public policy. Your letter, however, will be forwarded to the duly elected successor following the special election. Until the special election, you may also choose to contact Senator Maria Cantwell or Senator Patty Murray or wait until a new Representative has been elected. I have included the addresses and telephone numbers of both Senators below for your information.

Senator Maria Cantwell Senator Patty Murray
311 Hart Senate Office Building 448 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3441 (202) 224-2621

Pending a special election to choose a successor for the vacant congressional seat, the offices in Washington, D.C. and in Washington remain open under the supervision of the Clerk of the House of Representatives to assist the residents of the district with casework inquiries and other requests for information.

Again, thank you for contacting this office.

Sincerely,



Office Administrator
First Congressional District of Washington


Very truly yours,

JAY INSLEE
Member of Congress

[ruthven78]

ok so let me see if I get this straight.....the congressman resigned so he can run for a different office? that is pretty lame..they were elected by the faith of the people, they should fulfill the obligation they took and see it to the end, THEN run for a different office