Monday, February 24, 2014

A blow to the Dingell-Barry axis

John Dingell, a liberal Michigan Democrat who has not so much served in Congress as taken root there, has announced his retirement after 58 freakin’ years.

This living fossil – elected in 1955, the year I was born - has been a staunch ally of the Obama administration, and his departure from a Congress that he now finds “obnoxious” (i.e., no longer the unchallenged preserve of bipartisan statists) deprives the president of one of his most reliable Mamelukes. However, it looks as if his wife of 38 years may have a go at the job, which would keep this rotten borough safely in the family (Dingell pretty much inherited the job from his father, a –surprise! – New Deal Democrat).

Happy trails, John, and may you live long enough to become hopelessly entangled in the coils of the Affordable Care Act which you so strongly supported (although I imagine that after 58 years of political “service”, and the opportunities for the acquisition of booty deriving therefrom, plus marriage to a wealthy former auto industry executive, you will be spared the inconvenience you foisted on so many of your unfortunate fellow citizens).

It’s probably due to the jaded crabbiness that sometimes comes with age, but increasingly I find myself thinking wistfully how pleasant it would be if more of these high-profile departures of the gravediggers of American liberty featured handcuffs and leg irons, and perhaps –just every now and then – a rope and a trap-door.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dingell kind of reminds me of our former Senator, Strom Thurmond. Late in his tenure, his aides had to hold a mirror to his face to see if he was still breathing.

rinardman said...

Term limits, anyone?

God should probably be the only eternal ruler.

Anonymous said...

Deborah... "A rope and a trap door" works for me. To quote Mr. Filch, Groundskeeper of Hogwarts. "God, I miss the screaming."

Pedestal perchers like Dingell are immune from Obamacare. They made sure of it. So we'll have to leave the justice to the Almighty.

RebeccaH said...

I'm with Deborah. Rope and trap door.

I am sick unto death of dynasty politics.

Gregoryno6 said...

H L Mencken would bring a knife to that party.

Veeshir said...

I'd say it's not a blow as Mrs. Dingell is going to inherit the seat he inherited from his father.

I can't figure out why one his kids isn't taking over, maybe they're waiting until a grandkid is old enough.