John Dingell to retire from Congress after 58 years, wife sure to run

[Lucille]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140224/POLITICS02/302240051

Rep. John Dingell is leaving the Congress he’s served for longer than anyone else in United States history.

At a luncheon Monday in his beloved Downriver, the Dearborn representative says he will announce he won’t seek re-election this fall to the seat he’s held since 1955.

“I’m not going to be carried out feet first,” says Dingell, who will be 88 in July. “I don’t want people to say I stayed too long.”

Dingell says his health “is good enough that I could have done it again. My doctor says I’m OK. And I’m still as smart and capable as anyone on the Hill.

“But I’m not certain I would have been able to serve out the two-year term.”

More than health concerns, Dingell says a disillusionment with the institution drove his decision to retire.

“I find serving in the House to be obnoxious,” he says. “It’s become very hard because of the acrimony and bitterness, both in Congress and in the streets.”
[...]
But he says poisonous partisanship and a growing disregard for serving the interests of the people have taken the joy out of the job.
[...]
The question now becomes who will succeed Dingell. He won the seat at age 29 after the death of his father, a Depression-era New Dealer who served the district for 20 years.

An open congressional seat draws lots of interest. It’s no secret the congressman would like to see the Dingell tenure continue. While she won’t announce her candidacy Monday, his wife of 38 years, Debbie, a Democratic National Committee member and former General Motors executive, will almost certainly run.

 

[eduardo89]

His father, John Dingell Sr, also held the same seat from March 3, 1933 – September 19, 1955.

So a John Dingell has held that seat for 81 years.

 

[smithtg]

There has got to be a liberty minded person in that district. This guy was a waste of skin the last 20-30 years

 

[Lucille]

His father, John Dingell Sr, also held the same seat from March 3, 1933 – September 19, 1955.

So a John Dingell has held that seat for 81 years.

Yep. I'm sure his wife will win the election too, ensuring the Dingell dynasty will go on. Then the son will probably run when she's done.

Michigan – The Dingells

John Dingell Sr. and John Dingell Jr. have held a seat in Congress since 1933, with the latter Dingell now in his 57th year in Congress – the third-longest congressional tenure in history. His son, Christopher, is a former state senator and circuit court judge, and his wife, Debbie, is a Democratic National Committeewoman. Either could run to succeed him and keep the seat Dingell.

 

[puppetmaster]

38 yr old wife......will people see this person for what she is.....and realize that she will sell out for the promise of gold.

 

[eduardo89]

38 yr old wife......will people see this person for what she is.....and realize that she will sell out for the promise of gold.

His wife is 59, she was born the year before he was elected to Congress for the first time.

They've been together for 38 years.

 

[FSP-Rebel]

I'm in this district and our cmte definitely wants to take this seat but you know how it is here. Most parts of this district are hardly thriving so potentially that could be a decent marketing tool against the Dingell name. The longer he's been in office the more downhill most areas of this district have fallen. Since this is fresh, I'll see what the word on the street is and report back what I can from my sources.

 

[Lucille]

Perspective on the length of time Dingell has been in Congress:

http://twitchy.com/2014/02/24/nancy...ant-john-dingell-calls-for-term-limits-erupt/

 

[Lucille]

John Dingell brought industry on board with big government
http://washingtonexaminer.com/john-...-on-board-with-big-government/article/2544526

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., won a special election in 1955, and was sworn into Congress in December of that year. That is closer to the beginning of the Spanish-American War than it is to today.

There are a ton of interesting things to say about Dingell and his nearly 60 years in the House. Back in 2002, I was intrigued by Dingell's redistricting-caused primary against Ann Arbor liberal Lynn Rivers -- a war between old-school blue collar Democrats and the newer breed of wealthier, social-liberal Democrats.

But I wanted to note here Dingell's role as the bridge between big-government liberalism and industry...

IOW, fascism.

 

[Lucille]

http://reason.com/blog/2014/02/25/us-may-actually-really-say-goodbye-to-af

Debbie Dingell, wife of Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) will announce on Friday that she will pursue her husband’s seat in office. He is retiring after 58 years.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ell-congress-husband-retire-michigan/5813017/

The Dingellberry dynasty will go one.

 

[EBounding]

It'd be cool if Rob Steele ran again, but I think he's running for UM Regent this year. He gave Dingell a run for his money in 2010.

 

[eduardo89]

It'd be cool if Rob Steele ran again, but I think he's running for UM Regent this year. He gave Dingell a run for his money in 2010.

He lost by 17%

 

[EBounding]

He lost by 17%

True, but that's like Stalin winning Moscow by only 17%. Polls a few weeks before the election were actually tight, so Dingell and the democrats had to spend money they could have used for other races to defeat him.

 

[FSP-Rebel]

Talked to one of our state cmte guys and sounds like Terry Bowman (the union conservatives dude) is going to run against Madame Dingell in this race. He's got national contacts and this will likely get money from all over in it. Problem is, this guy was in the thick of the fight for the Right to Work legislation that passed here and is not gonna play well in the district. RTW has been law for about a year and there really isn't any positive indicators in meaningful job growth as it was sold on. So, not sure what will happen despite people not falling all over themselves to have another Dingell in office.

 

[jeffro97]

Talked to one of our state cmte guys and sounds like Terry Bowman (the union conservatives dude) is going to run against Madame Dingell in this race. He's got national contacts and this will likely get money from all over in it. Problem is, this guy was in the thick of the fight for the Right to Work legislation that passed here and is not gonna play well in the district. RTW has been law for about a year and there really isn't any positive indicators in meaningful job growth as it was sold on. So, not sure what will happen despite people not falling all over themselves to have another Dingell in office.

My guess is that it's a bit too early to factor in RTW yet. Let's not forget that a lot has economically happened both good and bad over the period it's been in. External factors have probably played a role in suppressing some job creation after RTW came in. As someone who was born in the District, and did support Steele, I can say, it'd be a tough sell, but, it'd be a challenge well worth it. I cannot stand to see another Dingell assume that office again. The dynasty really needs to end.