Rumor: Voinovich may not run for reelection in 2010
posted at 4:39 pm on January 8, 2009 by Allahpundit
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First Jeb drops out, then Kit Bond retires, now this.
The lifeboats are filling up awfully fast.
In other news, I am hearing rumors coming out of Ohio that Senator Voinovich is seriously considering making an announcement next week that he won’t be running for re-election. According to my sources, Rob Portman would likely be the Republican to replace him. This also opens up the GOP gubernatorial nomination for former Republican Congressman John Kasich.
It’s just a rumor, but the Quinnipiac poll taken last month wasn’t exactly encouraging.
Between Jim Talent and Roy Blunt, the bench is reasonably deep in Missouri, but the nominee will probably have to face the next generation of the Carnahan dynasty in a state that McCain won by only 3,000 votes. Ohio, of course, went blue in November, and Ted Strickland’s term as governor just happens to end in 2010, although he’ll be 69 at the time. Look at it this way: With 35 Senate seats up for grabs, if the Mother of All Bailouts fails, the midterms will be a fine opportunity to put some new Republican faces in the Senate. If it succeeds, we, er, may be looking at a wilderness period of a few decades. How lucky do you feel?
Exit question one: Who’ll be the first to go bust, the New York Times or the GOP? Exit question two: Is there any common thread in Bond’s and Voinovich’s retirements? Hmmmmm.
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how important was this election?
the debate could be “how deep do we cut taxes” to fix the economy. Instead, it’s “how much more debt do we incur” to continue stagnation.
Good job, GOP.
lorien1973 on January 8, 2009 at 4:42 PM
Yep. “Without lubrication” it is.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on January 8, 2009 at 4:43 PM
Gotta hand it to you, AP.
When I need my weekly dose of the “bitter suicidal truth pill”, I know exactly where to look.
Hawkins1701 on January 8, 2009 at 4:45 PM
If only the Libertarian party hadn’t run itself out of existence by chancing it’s isolationist extremist wing.
MarkTheGreat on January 8, 2009 at 4:46 PM
The Dems disappeared first, replaced by the socialists. The Republicans had no strategy to deal with that, so they will disappear too. The NY Times may not make repayment of their debts in May.
JiangxiDad on January 8, 2009 at 4:46 PM
Given the fact that the success rate for this type of stimulus package is precisely zero, despite being tried dozens of times, I feel pretty lucky.
MarkTheGreat on January 8, 2009 at 4:47 PM
Never, has more government spending produced economic growth. It is just impossible for it to work. So luck is not a factor.
The real question is, will the GOP stand for anything between 2008 and 2010. Thus far, the answer is no.
lorien1973 on January 8, 2009 at 4:47 PM
If confirmed this is the best news Ohioans will get for some time. Party aside, he was a horrible governor and an even worse senator. There are many Rs in Ohio who can make a good run at this seat and will not regularly embarrass the Buckeye State. The R party needs to start weeding out empty suits who have been in power the past 20 years – losing Voinovich fits the bill.
MajorKong on January 8, 2009 at 4:48 PM
No, the debate should be “STOP F***ING SPENDING”. Especially when Herr Obama plans to give away even more money we don’t have. It’s like conservatives can’t do anything other than chant “cut taxes” from cradle to grave. I suspect most of you don’t even have the slightest idea of what an optimal tax rate is (except the anarchists masquerading as conservatives and their opinion doesn’t matter). No wonder we’re getting our asses kicked.
Darth Executor on January 8, 2009 at 4:49 PM
I wouldn’t mind some young, fresh blood in those seats, provided it was conservative blood. And there lies the risk…
BadgerHawk on January 8, 2009 at 4:50 PM
Awesome – maybe we can actually get a conservative in that seat!
thirteen28 on January 8, 2009 at 4:51 PM
Anyone who is conservative and “normal” doesn’t want to run. Liberals are using every damn tactic they can to make conservatives look bad.
How about we turn it around and run as Liberals, use their money and get in that way. They would never see whats coming.
upinak on January 8, 2009 at 4:52 PM
‘Permanent GOP majority’….oh wait that was 2004
‘Permanent Demtard majorities’….2008
we have to turn the public against Pelosi/Reid and eventually Obama, ASAP or the GOP and the country as we know them are finished.
no 3rd party lunacy and GOP self-loathing people, this is a Team Sport
jp on January 8, 2009 at 4:53 PM
maybe that Kaisch guy can win that seat.
jp on January 8, 2009 at 4:54 PM
I’m not convinced that it would be much different under McCain. All of the debates were before this went from “sorta bad” to “really really holy crap bad” after the election. We don’t really know where McCain stands.
There doesn’t seem to be person in congress proposing that the solution be to cut taxes, so I think we’d be stuck with this bailout bullsh*t either way. At least this way we get to pin it on the Dems if it goes wrong, who will in turn pin it on Bush for the next 20 years.
jimmy the notable on January 8, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Look, the Georgia runoff showed that when Obama isn’t on the ticket, Reps can win – and win big.
The midterms can be a good thing.
Hoodlumman on January 8, 2009 at 4:55 PM
The GOP needs a bailout. Aren’t they too big to fail?
flipflop on January 8, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Remember last year when he was being interviewed by Hannity and Voino ignorantly thought the Fairness Doctrine was a good idea, ‘cuz, hey, who’s against Fairness?
Sean schooled him and I’ve had no use for V ever since.
innominatus on January 8, 2009 at 4:56 PM
I know that corporate taxes are way too high. Obviously we should cut spending, but lower taxes doesn’t necessarily even mean less revenue. If taxes are lower, companies work harder to make more money.
jimmy the notable on January 8, 2009 at 4:56 PM
As an Ohioan, I wouldn’t have been voting for Voinovch next time anyway. Not even if Sherrod Brown clones himself and threatens to hold both senate seats.
myrenovations on January 8, 2009 at 4:56 PM
BTW, does this mean Voinovich is going to make announce his retirement while spewing tears and blubbering the same way he did on the Senate floor during the hearings for Bolton’s confirmation?
thirteen28 on January 8, 2009 at 4:56 PM
I think these guys see there’s no point in being in the minority and lending legitimacy to what’s going to be a soft dictatorship (with nice happy pieces about the Great Leader constantly from the media) for the next 8 years…
blue13326 on January 8, 2009 at 4:57 PM
Ted Nugent should run in Michigan, if the Dems can have Al Franken we should get a Ted Nugent
jp on January 8, 2009 at 4:59 PM
To give the liberals full accountability they need to get the 60 seats in the Senate. The sooner, the more obvious they’ll be.
Entelechy on January 8, 2009 at 4:59 PM
all the GOP’s troubles can be attributed to alot of things, not least of which it goes to show how effective over time a Billionaire like Soros can be, when fully committed.
jp on January 8, 2009 at 5:00 PM
I think the fear I’m seeing in other people’s reactions to this is roughly equivalent to the fear over the American auto industry big three going under. To it, I apply the same logic.
First of all, do you really think that we will simply be left with a vacuum? There are plenty of hungry new thinkers out there who will take over and give the customers what they want.
Considering what we’ve been seeing on the sales floor for the last couple of decades, how much worse could it be? The odds are that we’ll at least get much more satisfying results.
MadisonConservative on January 8, 2009 at 5:00 PM
The next senator from the great state of Ohio is pictured in the top bar to the right.
How’d you like to turn him loose on Burris, Franken, Sweet Caroline, and Reid? JTP 2010.
Nat Hound on January 8, 2009 at 5:01 PM
Allahpundit needs meds.
The American people aren’t going to give one party much more control than the Dems already have. They’ll shoot themselves in the foot, and the momentum will swing back to the GOP.
Quit overreacting. Some old fogies retiring isn’t exactly bad news.
therightwinger on January 8, 2009 at 5:02 PM
If it weren’t for the example of Argentina, I would feel that if the worst were to happen, IE: a complete economic meltdown followed by a repudiation of debt by the government, then at least we would be able to utterly discredit the left wing lunacy and start rebuilding the country.
Argentina has shown us that no matter how bad things get, the people will keep returning to the failed policies that got them there, so long as somebody is willing to promise them something for nothing.
MarkTheGreat on January 8, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Did he cry during the announcement?
If Blackwell doesn’t make RNC Chair then he should run. Either that or Drew Carry.
- The Cat
MirCat on January 8, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Great News. this guy was and is clueless
unseen on January 8, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Clean our party of the RINOS. Let’s get some real conservatives in the party.
The RINOS ruined our chances to win this year. THIS WAS A WINNABLE ELECTION, however we had RINOS running and all of them lost. It’s time for conservatives to rule the roost.
jencab on January 8, 2009 at 5:04 PM
The Bush White House and the John McCain candidacy are now gone. Fresh blood, new faces, better ideas just might work. I hope. I really hope, But I’m scared.
savvydude on January 8, 2009 at 5:04 PM
that would be hilarious, he does seem knowledgeable enough to hold his on in debates. he’d have to moderate some though on issues, to win
jp on January 8, 2009 at 5:04 PM
And no…………..
………….. there will be no “reach around”.
Seven Percent Solution on January 8, 2009 at 5:10 PM
As a Governor, Voinovich was pretty decent. As a Senator, eh! He will not be missed by his constituents.
rmel80 on January 8, 2009 at 5:13 PM
We’ll get a tearful farewell, I’m sure.
Blanche Lincoln will have a tough reelection bid, so we may yet pick up some seats.
CP on January 8, 2009 at 5:16 PM
I would have no problem with the GOP just walking away from congress completely. Let it go 100% democrat. Just get out of the way, and let the democrats have free rein.
When it gets bad enough, the voters will have to admit that they screwed up when they elected a fraud.
Skandia Recluse on January 8, 2009 at 5:18 PM
It’s called a shift in balance of power. It happens. That’s what happens in a democracy. No one know how long Dems will hold power. If the American people vote for them in 2 years after seeing them in action then it’s not body’s fault but the American voters. Some of the policies the Dems will enact in the next few years granted won’t be reversible. But that’s exactly what the majority asked for.
terryannonline on January 8, 2009 at 5:19 PM
GOP in congress is standing up and helping by supporting this mess.
lorien1973 on January 8, 2009 at 5:23 PM
rmel80 on January 8, 2009
A chair could have been governor during his term and would have been equally effective. No big crises…and he did not undertake initiatives which could have helped Ohio long-term (lower taxes, moving towards a less manufacturing-focused econ). Ohio is in only slightly better shape than Michigan now thanks to Voinovich and his successors’ utter lack of vision for the state.
MajorKong on January 8, 2009 at 5:23 PM
Another one bites the dust.
The one hopelessly attached to Reagan’s failed ideologies. Those ideologies turned Ohio blue in search for salvation.
Ohio will turn red when those ideologies are dead.
sethstorm on January 8, 2009 at 5:28 PM
That would be the John Kasich formerly from Fox News?
If it ends up that way that would be a good deal. Voinovich was the one that voted against John Bolton for UN Ambassador before the hearing even happened, right? So he forced a recess appointment, right? Then he turned around and later said he had been wrong when Bolton term expired and had to be replaced, right?
He actually hasn’t been that much help with the GOP agenda
Texas Gal on January 8, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Good, take McCain with ya.
Time to cull the fields and replace the old dead wood with fresh blood.
SuperCool on January 8, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Right now, everyone who would (and few would) admit to the adage “Let the democrats win, we will win it back after they goof everything up”, is now beginning to sweat…it is a long 8 years.
right2bright on January 8, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Start with putting Mike Steele in at the helm of the RNC and go from there.
Bruno Strozek on January 8, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Mike “Gang of 14″ DeWine got the boot and now George “Kleenex” Voinovich decides to avoid the boot. Good riddance.
Kasich and Portman — which to run for Gov. and which to run for the senate?
balderdash on January 8, 2009 at 6:01 PM
Michelle, Do you and your husband miss the scenic beauty of Oberlin College? Have the two of you thought about relocating? Has Mr. Malkin ever expressed a desire to get into politics? Senator Malkin has a nice ring to it.
meci on January 8, 2009 at 6:03 PM
good riddance to voinavich, bond, and the rest of the liberal RINOS…rather have democRATs in office than those sell-outs..
carnahan will get plenty of ACORN DEAD VOTE in missouri, so she’ll win…she’s as crooked as the secretary of state in Ohio…she’s a real piece of work…
right4life on January 8, 2009 at 6:09 PM
IF IF???
its already failed, big time…and its just going to get a LOT Worse…
right4life on January 8, 2009 at 6:10 PM
Good riddance
ajackson on January 8, 2009 at 6:16 PM
I’ve got GOP for $200. There is a reason why a consistent quarter in my longest-running continuous poll (Who will be the GOP nominee in 2012?) took “Nobody as the GOP will cease to exist before November 2012″.
As for the “wilderness” timeframe, there is no such thing as a “wilderness” on a Presidential scale. Of course, there is a very big difference on the Congressional one.
steveegg on January 8, 2009 at 6:18 PM
I think these guys see there’s no point in being in the minority and lending legitimacy to what’s going to be a soft dictatorship (with nice happy pieces about the Great Leader constantly from the media) for the next
825 years…blue13326 on January 8, 2009 at 4:57 PM
There ya go.
angryed on January 8, 2009 at 6:28 PM
me, too. Now is the time for some new Conservatives to step forward with common sense solutions, and let’s see how the 09 Gubenatorial and the myriad of 2010 contests play out.
All this “sky is falling” stuff is irrational and not very helpful.
Red State State of Mind on January 8, 2009 at 6:36 PM
The 1994-2006 period was a speed bump in history. Dems took over in the 1930s and figured out a way to keep power. Pretty easy really. Just promise people a bunch of free stuff. And it worked like a charm for 60 years. Why do you think that magically this time around Dems will only rule for 4 years?
Obama and Co. will give everyone FREE health care, FREE mortgages, FREE gas, FREE college tuition, FREE social security, FREE prescription drugs. And they will win every election from now to as far as the eye can see doing so.
Now of course nothing is free. But you also have to remember that the average simpleton American thinks that if he gets a tax refund in April that means he pays $0 in taxes.
I
angryed on January 8, 2009 at 7:30 PM
With all the moderate “me too” republicans either losing or resigning because of bad polling number why is the Party thinking of abandoning the conservative base?
Isn’t it obvious that there’s no market for “moderate” republicans even in states where they’ve traditionally done well?
kcewa on January 8, 2009 at 8:08 PM
The diferences between then and now is that in 1932 they didn’t start with an economy that was already burdened by high taxes and that had broken entitlement programs already in place.
Also, the dems weren’t for appeasing our enemies abroad and killing babies at home in ‘32.
kcewa on January 8, 2009 at 8:16 PM
Good news another RINO bites the dust.
thmcbb on January 8, 2009 at 8:20 PM
Can anybody say Sen Joe the plummer ? Hells Bells if Frankin can run and win so can Joe.
thmcbb on January 8, 2009 at 8:30 PM
Blunt can’t win after his son screwed up as Gov. Talent has lost twice. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (one of Rush Limbaugh’s best friends from the same hometown) will be the candidate and will kick Princess Robin Carnahan’s butt. End political royalty in America NOW.
flyoverland on January 8, 2009 at 10:26 PM
Suicide Pact? Like Thelma and Louise? Holding hands off the cliff?
juanito on January 8, 2009 at 11:50 PM
I’ll trade Portman for Voinovich any day. And I’d love to have Kasich running for governor. I’d then see some optimism about living in Ohio again.
BuckeyeSam on January 9, 2009 at 12:08 AM
I hate to point out the obvious, but you can’t scream “Out with the RINOs!” then turn around and moan when they don’t run. You can’t have it both ways. The same thing happened when Ted Stevens got convicted. Suddenly, blogs that had earlier castigated him at every opportunity were whining about losing a seat.
Being an ideologue is fine if you’re under 30. If not, you’re stuck in adolescence. There’s a great deal to be said for, “At least he’s our SOB.”
rightwingprof on January 9, 2009 at 9:19 AM
Not happening in Ohio, not happening in Oregon and not happening in about any other state.
Besides, she’d be eviscerated for her frequency of “misfiring” on issues. I’d bring out the popcorn and watch the comedy of her attempt.
sethstorm on January 9, 2009 at 11:21 AM
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