WisPolitics
5/6/2010

House Appropriations Chair Dave Obey, D-Wausau, announced his retirement Wednesday, saying it's "my time to go."

Obey noted wryly during a Washington, D.C., news conference that he was the youngest member of Congress when he was elected in 1969, but that is no longer the case as he approaches 72 this fall.

"Frankly, I hate to do it," Obey said, flanked by his wife, his sons and his daughters-in-law. "There is so much that needs to be done. But even more frankly, I am bone tired."

Combined with his six years in the Wisconsin Legislature, Obey noted he's approaching 48 years of public service and ticked off a list of accomplishments, thanking his constituents for the "honor and privilege" of representing them.

"God and my constituents have been pretty good to me," Obey said.

Known as a cantankerous lawmaker with a temper, Obey also denounced the policies of former President Bush as "disastrous" and took a few digs at Ashland County DA Sean Duffy, the leading Republican in the race.

Obey said he believes his district is ready for a new face "to make a fresh start," but not someone who "poses as a fresh face." Obey did not mention Duffy, a former cast member on MTV's "The Real World."

"What the 7th District needs and what the country needs is someone to step up who can be counted on to put working people first, someone who will bring fresh eyes and fresh energy to the battle, someone who won't use slick words and an actor's ability to hide the fact that he's willing to gut and privatize Social Security and Medicare and abandon working people to the arbitrary power of America's corporate and economic elites," Obey said.

Republicans have targeted the longtime Dem lawmaker, trying to portray him as the face of the federal government’s spending policies. One GOP ad said Obey should be held accountable for the president’s deficits, while Republicans also saw an opening to target Obey over the federal health care bill after he presided over final debate in the House.

RNC spokesman Ryan Tronovitch said in a statement that Obey realized he was "taking a major hit in the polls."

But Obey called the health care legislation one of the great accomplishments of his career and said of the stimulus bill that his "only apology was it should have been larger."

Duffy has garnered national attention in his bid to unseat Obey, though many insiders believed the Republican faced an uphill battle to beat the powerful lawmaker even in what is expected to be a bad year for Dems.

Duffy must first win a primary against Rudolph farmer Dan Mielke, who lost to Obey in 2006 and 2008. The Ashland Co. DA had $339,388 cash on hand in his latest campaign finance report. Mielke had just $4,139 cash on hand.

Duffy, in a statement released by his campaign, said that despite his disagreements with Obey, "He has served honorably as a Congressman for more than four decades and he deserves a great deal of respect for his work."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hailed Obey as "a visionary for a better life for the American people and a legislative genius."

"(H)e has an ability to see around corners, anticipate challenges and opportunities, and sustain a fight on behalf of what is right," Pelosi said in a statement. "For nearly a half century, he's been an indefatigable reformer."

And President Obama lauded Obey in a White House statement as "a true giant of the House of Representatives, where his wealth of knowledge and his unflinching dedication to middle class Americans will be sorely missed."

For Democrats, instead of promoting the longtime incumbent this fall -- and his more than $1.4 million warchest -- the party will not have to find someone else to step in to run in the traditionally Dem district.

Obey said during a conference call with Wisconsin reporters that he spoke with six people interested in his seat and said all were well qualified.

Dems immediately began bringing up names like Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, state Sens. Pat Kreitlow and Julie Lassa, and state Reps. Donna Seidel and Amy Sue Vruwink as possible candidates.

Some national reports pegged state Sen. Jim Holperin of Conover as a potential candidate, but he doesn't live in the district and said, "I'm not moving."

State Rep. Ann Hraychuck also shot down speculation that she might be interested in a run, saying in a statement that she looks forward to "working with my colleagues in the State Legislature next session to continue creating jobs and growing Wisconsin's economy."

- By JR Ross
WisPolitics.com