--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Loebsack Unseats Leach > > "Democrat Dave Loebsack scored a major upset in Iowa's second > Congressional District, unseating long-time Republican Representative > Jim Leach. In Jefferson and Van Buren Counties however, the vote for > Leach was stronger than for Loebsack." > > (Oh well, can't have everything. It will be interesting to see how > much Leach got in those counties.) > > "Loebsack aides say Leach, who has served eastern Iowa in Congress for > 30 years, called to concede the race early this (Wednesday) morning. " > > At least he's accepting it graciously. But Leach has done absolutely > nothing with his 30 years in Congress and it's great to see him go.
I was a little sorry for Leach, the best R in the House, but Yglesias http://www.matthewyglesias.com/ is right: Veteran congressman Jim Leach (R-IA) went down to defeat in the massacre of 2006. I'm no apologist for "moderate Republicans" but it is worth saying that Leach was, in my estimation, fairly clearly the best House Republican. Nevertheless, one can only be thrilled with his defeat. That it happened just goes to show how fundamentally rotten the whole GOP scene had become. Leach was, in many ways, a person possessed of genuinely decent instincts and some fundamentally sound ideas about how the United States should conduct itself in the world. Nevertheless, in practice he was useless. His presence in the congress did the world no good whatsoever. He'd be more valuable as a professional talking head or stashed away in some think tank somewhere. Whether his total inability to affect the direction of the country was due to a lack of personal courage and savvy, or simply a consequence of the structure of contemporary American conservative politics I couldn't really say. But useless is what he'd become, and a Democratic vote in the House will be useful. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
