Palin Follows GOP Members of Congress Who Quit Because They Felt Like It

Sarah Palin follows in the footsteps of Susan Molinari, who 12 years ago set a precedent for other GOP leaders such as Newt Gingrich, Dennis Hastert, Trent Lott, Richard Baker and Joe Scarborough. These elected officials all quit before their terms of office expired. None of them left to take another position in public service. None of them said they left because of a political scandal. Instead, they all left because they felt like it.

More specifically, Molinari left to take a job as a TV personality for CBS News. Gingrich left because he didn't want to stick around if he wasn't going to be Speaker of the House. Baker left so that he could become a lobbyist for hedge funds. Lott left because he felt it was time to do something else. Scarborough left early because he wanted to spend more time with his kids.

You would think they didn't take their commitment to serve very seriously. For them, the "honor" of serving in elected office is more like a one-way option in their favor. The voters do not have the option of changing their minds post-election, but the officeholder has the unfettered latitude to change his mind before completing his term.

Some might find this practice distasteful, as if these politicians were gaming the system while undermining the spirit of our institutional checks and balances.

The irony is that Palin, Gingrich, Hastert, Lott, Baker and Scarborough were all big fans of Bush administration's military strategy, which exploits a different one-way option at the expense of our troops and their families. An enlistee's commitment to serve can be extended indefinitely, so long as the president deems his service is necessary during a time of war. Palin, Gingrich, Hastert, Lott, Baker and Scarborough have never entertained the notion that the Iraq surge might be curtailed because continued deployments place an unconscionable burden on the men and women who signed up serve. They never gave serious thought to the idea that our troops, like Scarborough, might want to spend more time with their kids.

Comments

[talkinhedz]

Ok..so Sarah leaves early..ok..that bugs me a bit..but I can understand why...but as far as Republicans leaveing early..so be it..at least they took jobs that fall under the definition of Work!.
How many Dems refuse to leave even after its disclosed they had a Gay Prostitution ring in the basement? Or Can sure as heck figure out how to raise my taxes..but are to Stupid to pay their own!

P,.S. What does a Feminist Gov. from Alaska have to do with our fine soldiers volunteering for service? What a stretch!

[inedalo]

it's clear why she made her choice- if you can't take the heat, then get out of the kitchen!

[fleetw1978]

well stated. Clear, concise, and more importantly.... ACCURATE.

[dutch163]

you always have an important perspective, significant information that others may have missed!!

I appreciate it!

[Godweiser]

I'd love to have the option of a referendum recall on congressmen and Senators. Politicians would probably have us all nerve gassed rather than contemplate such a horror.

[MinerSam]

And weren't Haster, Lott and others who quit associated with scandels in Alasaka with Oil companies?

60 minutes had a 15 second piece3 on it. Showed a picture of all them outside of a small plane....
Always seemed like scandel

[AirForceWx1701]

LOL at Scarborough wanting to spend time with his kids- he took a big-buck$ position with the Levin-Papantonio law firm, then transitioned to "Scarborough Country" then on to "Morning Joe". Being a then-resident [and native] of his district, I well remember the outcry when he suddenly stepped down less than halfway through his term- he was VERY popular [not with me, but with the general populace]. Of course, since the GOP owns the FL Panhandle, his handpicked replacement walked in in a special election, but it cost the area a decent amount of cash to go through the motions...all for Joe to parlay his position into his current fame. You're welcome, Joe.

[anneehrlich]

Do they get a salary and health insurance for life?

[Raphi]

They weren't "gaming the system." That IS the system. Get in, serve the corporate interests, make connections, get out., make money. Many of their constituents would be baffled by the criticism.

The days when the likes of Frank Church in Idaho or J. William Fulbright in Arkansas or progressive Republicans anywhere could actually get elected are long over.

And it's about the biggest special interest of all: IT'S ALL ABOUT ME.
My bank account. MySpace. My personal relationship with God. My publicity.
My illicit affair. My feelings. My personal likes or dislikes. My connections.

If not about my interests, then it's irrelevant. Explains what happened in New Orleans, doesn't it? Except that in this country (the US) there are still people with an ordinary sense of decency. Who do respond to the needs of others. They should be the ones in the news, the ones whom we hold up as role models for young people. And whom we elect to office to serve the greater good.

[oldjerseygirl]

and we elected one of those people with an ordinary sense of decency to the highest office in our land.....thank goodness.

[LeftRight]

I don't have a problem with people resigning their office early, that's their choice. If I don't like my job anymore I can quit any time that I want to.

In fact, I don't really CARE that Sarah chose to resign, that's HER choice, no one else's.

I AM, however, going to utilize my First Amendment right to question WHY she made her choice!

[TruGal]

You have made a brilliant point, and I appreciate this post. Thank you.