Cantor Leaving Early
Steven L. Taylor
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Friday, August 1, 2014
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27 comments
Via the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Cantor to resign from Congress Aug. 18
Cantor said he has asked Gov. Terry McAuliffe to call a special election for his district that coincides with the general election on Nov. 4.
By having a special election in November, the winner would take office immediately, rather than in January with the next Congress.
While I can understand why Cantor would be ready to move on, but this leaves his district unrepresented for several months, which strikes me as him shirking his responsibilities.
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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It’s less than 12 weeks. And it’s not as if Congress is going to be in session hardly at all until the election.
this happened in Maryland when Albert Wynn was voted out of office in the Democratic primary in March of 2008. If the quit earlier, they get to start lobbying earlier.
As the U.S. becomes a one party state and the few relevant elections are in the Democratic primary, this will occur more often. Why hang around 6 months or more as a lame duck.
This is a slow period, I will allow. However, I am of the opinion that unless there are extenuating circumstances that one ought to serve out one’s term.
(Further, one never knows what Congress might be called to do in a given expanse of time. Consider the aftermath of 9/11, for example, which was during that same “slow” period.)
Congress is only going to be in session 18 days in September, and will not be in session in October anyway. So, I’m not sure there’s that big of a loss for his district. Also, it is typically the case that the district staff stays on after a resignation until there is a new Congressman to deal with constituent service matters.
The bigger deal, perhaps, is that whoever wins in November, most likely Dave Bratt, will be able to participate in the Lame Duck session that occurs at the end of the year. It hasn’t been announced yet, but it seems inevitable that there will be one.
@Steven L. Taylor: I agree entirely. To me, if you campaign for a position and the voters reward you with their votes, you are committing yourself to serve out your term. Anything less is pure selfishness. And I felt the same way both when Sarah Palin quit and when the newly re-elected Jane Harmon walked away from her congressional seat to take that Wilson Institute job.
Elected office isn’t like a job at McDonald’s. It demands and deserves a commitment.
@Doug Mataconis: Not to make a huge deal of this, but how many days is too many for a district to lack representation? A lot can happen in 18 days (and, as I noted above, the unforeseen does sometimes occur).
@Steven L. Taylor:
I get your point, but I’m not sure its that big of a deal. Perhaps Cantor should have waited until the conclusion of the September session to resign, but then there would not have been enough time under Virginia law to schedule a Special Election I believe.
@Steven L. Taylor:
Although you make a very good point, I believe it goes deeper than that.
I think Cantor realized (actually he knows first hand) that nothing is going to get done in The House so he might as well leave early. When your mission is ‘my way or nothing gets done’ this is where and how it ends.
@Doug Mataconis: Big deal? Perhaps not, although not a little deal (and I think this as a general matter when members of Congress are absent). But he still has a responsibility (which would include, in my opinion, serving in the lame duck session).
@al-Ameda: Indeed–but that that is a deeper problem with Congress itself at the moment (and the majority party).
The Gray administration in the District of Columbia started losing staff members the minute that Mayor Gray was defeated in his re-election during the Democratic primary.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-debonis/wp/2014/04/08/leaders-of-d-c-transportation-licensing-agencies-leave-gray-administration/
Maybe the solution to having lame ducks would be to move the primaries much closer to the general election since in most elections, the primary is the real election.
Gotta start cashing in as quickly as possible.
Congress hasn’t done a dam thing in years. All this time he has been
servinggrifting in Congress and NOW he gets an attack of conscious?@OzarkHillbilly: He has to wait a year after leaving Congress before he can start lobbying. This cuts six months off that waiting time. He can probably rake in a few million in those six months — why, it would be irresponsible not to quit!
@Doug Mataconis:
Except the State Board of Elections isn’t even sure they can do a special election for the remainder of the term.
Lighten up on him. He was offered a job he had to start immediately on the new Sarah Palin network.
Sure, but Cantor has basically already been replaced. His main responsibility at this point is to step aside.
@James Pearce: But won’t be replaced until January.
You say this as if some districts are currently NOT unrepresented? You must be watching a different Congress…
If you resign earlier and the new Congressman is elected and serves immediately; does the new Congressman. Have an advantage with seniority and benefit your state and district? I think this has occurred in the past.
@Midwestern Dad:
No. In fact, that’s part of the lunacy of letting him be defeated, strictly from a tactical standpoint for that particular district. Trading one loon for another, however, was bad policy regardless.
@Timothy Watson: I don’t think that article says what you think it says.
Anyone whose ever lost an election knows why he’s leaving: It cuts off the humiliation. It’s human and completely understandable.
@mantis: Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Members cannot lobbie for 1year after their term ends. Leaving now allows him to lobbie 4 months sooner than if he stayed.
Little weasel always puts his own interests first.