BuzzChatter Tuesday: At 87, Dingell to retire from U.S. House
Welcome to Tuesday. Kansas remains in the news. So does Obamacare:
• “I’m not going to be carried out feet first. I don’t want people to say I stayed too long.” — Michigan Congressman John Dingell, 87,
about his decision to retire at the end of this year. Dingell, the longest-serving member in congressional history, was first elected to the House in 1955 at age 29.
Who in their right mind would suggest that a 60-year congressional career was too long? Dingell has been the House dean since 1995.• “If you like zombie films, then stick around.” — Thomas Witt of the lesbian and gay rights group Equality Kansas
that suggested that Kansas is trying to win the mantle of ground zero in the nation’s culture wars.
• “The Affordable Care Act is ours. You’re not going to hide. You’re not going to duck. It is ours. We promoted it. We believe in it. Sell it.” — House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat,
he’d give to potentially vulnerable House Democrats grappling with the issue in midterm elections.
Hoyer is probably right. Democrats who try to run and hide from Obamacare are wasting their time. Republicans will continue the anti-Affordable Care Act drumbeat in the months to come to give them an edge in November.• “She’s a phony who doesn’t have the same passion for the truth off-camera that she seems to have on the air.” — actor Alec Baldwin
about his one-time MSNBC colleague Rachel Maddow.
Ouchhh. Baldwin, who hosted a short-lived program on the network, didn’t mince words about the woman who reportedly drove him off the air. Baldwin also said Maddow is good at what she does.This story was originally published February 25, 2014 at 5:00 AM with the headline "BuzzChatter Tuesday: At 87, Dingell to retire from U.S. House."