Wynn Resigns His Seat

by: Matt Stoller

Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 13:52


Roll Call just reported that Al Wynn resigned his seat to join a DC law firm.  I'm trying to find out more about what this means in terms of a special election.

... Here's Donna's statement.

First and foremost, I salute Congressman Wynn for his many years of public service on behalf of the people of Prince George's County and in the United States Congress representing the people of the 4th Congressional District," said Donna Edwards.  "In the spirit of a dedicated public servant, Congressman Wynn is looking out for the interests of his constituents and I commend him for that.  I wish Congressman Wynn all the best in his upcoming endeavors, and I deeply appreciate his willingness to work together to ensure a seamless, smooth transition of representation and constituency services for Maryland's 4th District."
Matt Stoller :: Wynn Resigns His Seat

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Wynn Resigns His Seat | 22 comments
Damn ... (0.00 / 0)
I bet this just made those voters all the happier that they voted for Edwards .. does this mean that Edwards will basically get to start early? .. I sure hope so
So much for his dedication (4.00 / 1)
Glad he was dedicated to his policies and contituents.  

We won the Battle. Now the Real Fight for Change Begins. Join MoveOn.org and fight for progressive change.  
Heh. (0.00 / 0)
What else to do. Not like he had much of a mission in congress to do anything. Once he knew he wouldn't be able to keep protecting his corporate buddies he decided to join them.

Please give us info as soon as you have it. Hopefully this means Donna will get in quicker. I'm scared it might mean another corporate Democrat would challenge Donna.  

John McCain: Beacuse lobbyists should have more power

Wynn (0.00 / 0)
Will there be special election?--Probley the Govener, being a Democrat will choose Edwards, wich is a good deal.
[ Parent ]
Interesting (0.00 / 0)
It makes sense to avoid that ridiculously long lame-duck period, but let's hope nothing weird happens with a special election.
Wynn's resignation (4.00 / 1)
It means Donna has to run again, and raise money for a special election this summer.  It will cost the Maryland taxpayers more money to run another election.

leftygirl
Figures. He's just another overweening narcissist (4.00 / 3)
That's one classy guy. Stick it to the Maryland Democratic Party just as state revenues are declining and our Democratic Governor has to struggle to keep the ship afloat after the Ehrlich deficits. Now they have to come up with a special election.

I hope every one of Wynn's corporate sponsors goes bankrupt.

"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain

It is classy.. (0.00 / 0)
at least by the Republican standards to which he aspires.
[ Parent ]
Obama superdelegate (0.00 / 0)
Obama loses another superdelegate. Just sayin'. And the gov. of Puerto Rico was indicted today, meaning Obama could lose that one too.
I imagine... (0.00 / 0)
That the special election will be held before the Convention, and that Edwards will win.
[ Parent ]
Obama also gained a super today (0.00 / 0)
Obama picked up the add-on superdelegate in Connecticut.

DemConWatch
Obama gave not one penny to Donna Edwards (0.00 / 1)
prior to the primary, as I understand it, though he spreads lots of cash around where he thinks it will help him.  So much for how he proposes to use those coattails, eh?

Perhaps he will write the woman a check now, if he hasn't yet....

"If you want that good feeling that comes from doing things for other people, then you have to pay for it in abuse and misunderstanding..."
Zora Neale Hurston

I support Edwards... (0.00 / 0)
But I'd hope Obama would be concentrating his fundraising on candidates who need the boost more. Edwards isn't going to lose in November.

I agree that Donna Edwards (unlike Foster) is not great evidence of Obama's coattails, since both candidates endorsed Obama, and as I understand it Wynn got on that bandwagon earlier and had plenty of literature with him and Obama both on it.

[ Parent ]
huh? (0.00 / 0)
He chose not to intervene in a Democratic primary outside of Illinois.  That's totally appropriate.  
[ Parent ]
Yes (4.00 / 1)
Not just appropriate, but smart. If Obama had chosen to back a primary challenge to one of his own superdelegates, what would that indicate about his political skills? Remaining neutral was the best move, especially since Edwards won handily anyway.
[ Parent ]
are we making a virtue out of some grungy tactical decision? (4.00 / 1)
So the only reason Obama didn't support a real progressive against an authentic sleazeball like Wynn was that Wynn was a superdelegate pledged to him?  I can sort of understand that, but calling it "skillful" is a bit over the top.

What would it have taken for him to write a check to both of them?  It's done all the time.

Anyway what does that say about how important "change" is to Obama, if he supports a craven DLC hack over a genuine progressive.  I mean it's not as if Obama endorsed Lieberman over his opponent in that primary is it?

Oh wait.  He did endorse Lieberman, didn't he?  Another candidate of change.  Look how he helped change Iraq.

"If you want that good feeling that comes from doing things for other people, then you have to pay for it in abuse and misunderstanding..."
Zora Neale Hurston

[ Parent ]
Supported Wynn? (4.00 / 1)
What evidence do you have that Obama supported Wynn? As far as I can tell, he stayed neutral. And I'm glad that Obama didn't waste his money by writing checks to both. That really would have been silly.

Let's try to keep our demands for purity under control. No candidate who actually has the political sense necessary to be elected and accomplish anything is going to go support a primary challenge in a state that's not his against an incumbent who's supporting him.

[ Parent ]
you're right... (0.00 / 0)
I did not check to see if he actually contributed to Wynn.  I know he did not contribute to Edwards.  

And I guess supporting Lieberman in that primary, also not in his own state is OK too, and further evidence of his superior judgement & tactical skills, as long as we are keeping our purity quotient under control.  Glad we got that straight.  

"If you want that good feeling that comes from doing things for other people, then you have to pay for it in abuse and misunderstanding..."
Zora Neale Hurston

[ Parent ]
I notice... (0.00 / 0)
that the people of Montgomery County get the shaft in Edwards's statement.  What's up with that?  
I don't see the problem (0.00 / 0)
I assume the part about Wynn's public service to Prince Georges County concerns his career before being elected to Congress. Then the part of about Congress refers to the people of the 4th District, which of course includes parts of Montgomery County. Who is being left out? Did he serve any Montgomery County residents other than when he was in Congress?
[ Parent ]
I wonder. (0.00 / 0)
Do you think they'll combine the special elections already scheduled in Montgomery and Prince George's County in May for County Council seats with the MD-4 Special election? Seems like it would be a cost cutting measure for sure. But they actually are happening a week apart, not sure how that would work. Given that O'Malley is a massive DLC supporter, I suspect he'll try to delay the election of someone that would actually represent something other than corrupt corporate interests for as long as possible.
O'Malley (0.00 / 0)
If you're right that O'Malley wants to delay as long as possible (and you're omitting the fact that he's a Clinton superdelegate and thus might not want Donna Edwards to replace Wynn before the convention, if presidential election concerns were his only motivation), then he won't call a special election at all. The seat will remain empty until the new Congress.
[ Parent ]
Wynn Resigns His Seat | 22 comments
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