Sen. John Ensign discovers his family

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 3/7/11 | Debra J. Saunders

[SmithL]

Kudos to Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada, for finally figuring out that he should not run for re-election.

I don't care if he is not facing criminal charges. Ensign's woes began with an affair with staffer Cindy Hampton. Hampton's husband worked for Ensign and was a close friend. After Mr. H. found out about the affair, Ensign's parents paid the Hamptons $96,000 and helped the husband find work. The whole story stank . . .

[Regulator]

Paging Ms. Angle...

[MattinNJ]

OK-How about Tarkanian take a crack at this? Angle had her chance.

[adaven]

Yes... forget Angle. Go Tark!

[freedomwarrior998]

Dean Heller is running.

[Pan_Yan]

Anyone got a running list of Senators that have decided to retire voluntarily?

[Regulator]

Based on this thread, seems a lotta people are in the game

But Angle has a lot of name recognition now, and she won't be running against The Senate Majority Leader Who Can Bring Lotsa Cash to the Unemployed BlackJack Dealers of Lost Wages.

So she would have an advantage. Plus, believe she still has cash.

[freedomwarrior998]

Angle is damaged goods.

[Lancey Howard]

Ensign is filthy. You could smell this announcement coming a couple of months ago when he voted with the rats to sodomize the US military, then refused to offer an explanation for his vote. As I recall, he sheepishly ducked out of the chamber after that vote. You knew then that somebody had something on him.

On the one hand, good for Ensign to bail out rather than work from a compromised position.
On the other hand, good riddance.

[Theodore R.]

NV is the fastest growing state in the nation and prefers Democrats who can bring home the bacon, or even ham will do.

[Clintonfatigued]

Dean Heller will run and Sharron Angle will likely run for the House to succeed Heller.

[Clintonfatigued]

Check Posting #11.

[AuH2ORepublican]

In 2006, I supported Sharron Angle over Dean Heller in the GOP primary for Congress. Heller won very narrowly, and Angle turned into Al Gore, going as far as to call for a new election. Angle then managed to win the 2010 GOP Senate primary over two candidates who, while not perfect, were very good on the issues and would have defeated the despicable Harry Reid; Angle managed to pull defeat out of the jaws of victory and lost to Reid by a shockingly large margin.

For 2012, I will support Heller for the Senate, since his voting record in Congress has been much, much better than I feared it would be. For Heller's House seat, which will almost certainly lose its Clark County suburbs in redistricting and be pared back to Reno, Carson City and the "Cow Counties," I think that we can do better than Sharron Angle.

My first choice for the House seat would be former Maurice Washington, who represented part of Reno's Washoe County in the state senate from 1995 to 2011 and left office due to term limits. Senator Washington, who is 55 years old (not too old to embark upon a congressional career), is solidly conservative on both social and economic issues, and is the founder and pastor of the Center of Hope Christian Fellowship--he has the experience and the principles needed not only to be elected but to be a great congressman. Plus, if elected to Congress, Maurice Washington would join Congressmen Tim Scott and Allen West (and hopefully a few others) in proving to black voters nationwide that it is not a crime for a black American to be openly and outspokenly conservative; the greater number of black conservative Republicans in Congress and in other high-profile positions, the more difficult it becomes for the media to push the canard that black voters and liberal Democrat politicians share the same values.

[dangus]

>. Angle managed to pull defeat out of the jaws of victory and lost to Reid by a shockingly large margin. <<

Yeah, that was Angle, and not the nearly unanimous Nevada Republican establishment endorsing Reid and even pulling out every dirty campaign tricks for Reid.

[randita]

Well reasoned analysis. Sharron Angle was a good example of the Peter Principle. It takes a great deal of discernment to know when to back an anti-establishment figure like Angle and when to back a candidate that can win. There are circumstances that call for either choice. A golden opportunity to oust one of the most powerful figures in D.C. (Reid) was missed.

[NeoCaveman]

Anyone got a running list of Senators that have decided to retire voluntarily?

This cycle so far, the 8 retirements are:
Webb (D-VA)
Conrad (D-ND)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Akaka (D-HI)
Lieberman (I/D-CT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Ensign (R-NV)

[MplsSteve]

Maurice Washington?

Wow, I’d never heard of him ‘til now. He looks like he’d be a top-notch candidate if he decides to run for Heller’s seat.

[AuH2ORepublican]

Of course the RINOs are partly to blame, but Angle still lost pretty big to the second most vulnerable Democrat Senate incumbent in the nation. I think that Lowden and Tarkanian would have each won by 5% or so. I supported Angle in the 2006 House primary and the 2010 Senate general, and I agree with her on just about every issue position, but let’s not needlessly imperil a House or Senate seat when there are alternatives that are just as conservative.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I would certainly support fmr. Sen. Washington for Congress over Angle. Question is, is Washington interested in running ?