Sen. Kerry's comments on Dodd's retirement.

[wisteria]

I am personally saddened that Dodd has had to do this, I think he is a good man and a true patriot. However, what is good for America and our party must be considered. Perhaps, he will serve in another capacity at some point.

"Too often in politics, words get thrown around like 'good friend' or 'remarkable colleague.' For those of us who have shared in Chris's laughter and stories, debated him, admired his progressive principles and moral core, or witnessed up-close his rare legislative skill learned from giants like his father and legends like Ted Kennedy, we know the full measure of those words when we talk about Chris Dodd, and we know this loss for the Senate will be felt a long time."

http://kerry.senate.gov/cfm/record.cfm?id=321317

[beachmom]

1. Holy toledo! I take a little time away from the computer only to find

out Dodd is retiring?! Wow! Probably for the best so we can keep the seat. But still, this is stunning news. I actually liked and still like Chris Dodd. He's a good man who made a couple of mistakes and had some bad luck thrown in. He is a true patriot for doing this.

[MBS]

3. . . especially when you consider that, with a father who also was a senator,

practically his entire life has revolved around Congress. So this has to be a HUGE decision, one that must have taken a good bit of personal courage.

[karynnj]

22. I hope, for the country and himself, he will be able to

do more work on strengthening the regulations of the banks. He has so much experience and knowledge that in addition to heading the right committee, make him really well positioned. It also might help, long term, to balance the mistakes that brought him down. Given what happened to his dad, that likely would be very important to him.

[MBS]

2. yup, everything you said.

But my favorite bits of JK's statement were the second half:

Chris is just one hell of a Senator who exerted leadership across a number of vital issues. Rare is the Senator who could choose among the Chairmanships of the HELP, Foreign Relations, or Banking Committee. Connecticut will miss his voice in the Senate enormously. From family and medical leave to college affordability and health care, he leaves a legislative imprint that has made life better and the playing field more fair for millions of Americans.

“Chris brought to the Senate a grace, humility, and infectious sense of fun which he shared generously. His words today about fatherhood and family were especially poignant and real. That’s Chris. He treasures what he has been given in life, and we know today’s announcement marks a new chapter in a life he lives to the fullest. I know his life will continue to include public service. Teresa and I send Chris, Jackie, Grace, and Christina great wishes on this new start.

Another classy statement from a senator with class.

[wisteria]

7. I liked that part a lot also. n/t

[beachmom]

4. Wow. Good news: the presumptive Dem Senate nominee will DESTROY all GOPers:

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/poll-blumenthal-already-way-ahead-of-connecticut-gop-senate-candidates.php

There is already a poll out of the Connecticut Senate race, demonstrating that Sen. Chris Dodd's (D-CT) retirement has drastically improved Democratic chances of holding the seat, with state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal holding landslide leads over the Republican candidates.

And here is a Kos diary also praising Blumenthal:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/6/822343/-Update:-In-Connecticut,-Breathing-a-Sigh-of-Relief-Over-Blumenthal

There are stories of him taking on energy companies, insurance companies, and the Bush Administration. Awesome! I think he meets the criteria of the kind of person Conn. wants in the Senate. AND progressives will love him plus Establishment Democrats as well.

Chris Dodd did the right thing here. The seat goes from being in jeopardy to fairly safe barring the usual live boy/dead girl scenario.

[wisteria]

8. Yep, Blumenthnal looks very strong. n/t

[Blaukraut]

5. Chris Dodd is a class act

He did the right thing here and put the country, CT, and the Democratic party before himself. His seat would almost certainly have gone to a Republican - possibly even a wrestler wife :wow:

Senator Kerry is absolutely correct: Dodd is a good man and a true patriot.

[fedupinBushcountry]

18. Everything you said

He is a good man and a true patriot, I will miss him.

[Inuca]

6. Heartfelt statement

I am really sorry about Dodd. I share the views upthread that he is a good man and that this must have been a very difficult decision. It is not fair, but well... not many things are.

I must say also that I feel almost equally bad about Dorgan.

[MBS]

9. yes, especially since Dorgan's seat will now almost surely turn Republican

[wisteria]

11. I am trying to remain positive and hope the people of his state see through the RW

smoke and mirrors.

[wisteria]

10. Yeah, Dorgan is a bit of a puzzle. I don't know why he is doing this now.

I will hope for the best. We do not need a Repub in that seat.

[beachmom]

19. There is an ongoing discussion going on about Dorgan.

Liberals who are mad about the HCR bill think that because the drug reimportation amendment went down to defeat (at the hands of, let's face it, previous supporters of the bill like John Kerry), Dorgan got fed up and threw in the towel. However, sometimes I think that people put themselves into a situation and speculate too much. There is no indication this is why he quit. The other thinking on the matter was that if the popular Republican governor in ND ran, he most certainly would win, even against Dorgan. So Dorgan would have faced a brutal and expensive race where he may have well ended up like Tom Daschle. That is also a compelling reason for him to go home. Those folks had actual links and articles about Dorgan traveling around the state and not liking what he was hearing. Maybe we will find out eventually why he is leaving.

As to a Kerry statement, apparently Dorgan retiring was a SHOCK and no one expected it. Clearly, Kerry knew in advance that Dodd was going to retire.

[wisteria]

31. Thanks for additional info on Dorgan. the travel information is interesting.

I can't imagine a seasoned Senator like Dorgan quiting because he did not get his way on an amendment, but being worried about a long,hard drawn out race. Maybe after years of easy elections it is difficult to wage and tough and hard campaign. Being from a Republican state too,I am sure they had all the misconceptions and lies lined up ready to use against him. It is difficult to fight back when you do not have a strong Democratic party and their support in your state.

[karynnj]

33. I think the current environment in the Senate, though way better than the

dysfunctional 109th Congress in 2005 1n 2006, might in a way have been more disillusioning. In 2005 and 2006, the solution seemed obvious - elect more Democrats. Now, in 2008, when it was clear that we would get a healthier majority, I think there was a sense that the Democrats could, by reaching out, change the climate to make things less highly partisan. (There are many Kerry comments that are that speak that way.) The reality is that everything is a struggle. Even routine bills, like the defense appropriations bill were taken through all the procedural votes.

I don't understand the politics behind the drug reimportation amendment. From Rockefeller's early comment that he would vote against it, even though he was a sponsor, because it could jeopardize the entire compromise. There is also a clue in the word "reimportation" that belies the safety argument, but also suggests that the amendment exists because the drug companies sell their drugs for far enough less out of the US that even with transporting them to and from Canada results in a huge savings. (Even if the multinational US based drug company manufactured the drug in Canada, the difference in price is not the cost of producing the medicine or the difference in transportation costs.)

Wikipedia provides one of the few definitions of "reimportation":

"Reimportation is the importation of goods into a country which had previously been exported from that country."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reimportation

If they were safe when they left the USA, they are still safe. However, it is their monopoly on the production of the drug, due to the patent, that leads to their ability to set the price arbitrarily high in the US and then sell it much cheaper to other countries. I completely understand that they need to recover their research costs, but there is something that just seems wrong in the fact that they create this huge opportunity for arbitrage that leads to reimportation. The ban in reimporting is itself based on protecting that monopoly from the patent. (I doubt it is illegal to reimport - say VT maple syrup from Canada - though there is not the same arbitrage there to make that a profitable thing to do.)

They can do this as neither the federal government can place taxes on exports or impact prices companies charge within the US or overseas. Though it seems odd to have an amendment that endorses a dysfunctional process - that exports and then imports the drugs, it might be the only way to lower the prices. It is infuriating as the drug companies could likely lower their prices significantly if they raised their outside of the US prices slightly and recovered part of their research costs there. The fact that the bill had so many cosponsors indicates there is no simpler way to stop drug makers from gorging the US people.

One of the real problems I have with the bill is that I think it has the provision from the HELP bill that lengthens the patent period on all drugs - making the number of prescription drugs still under patent substantially higher. I think that AFTER the healthcare bill passes, Dorgan should push for a vote on his bill. The truth would then be seen as to whether the Republicans who voted for it, voted for it as a poison pill and likewise whether the Democrats who voted against it did so to save the bill.

[sandnsea]

13. We're going to be sorry

I don't think North Dakota will necessarily go Republican, but Dorgan has always been helpful for working people and kitchen table types of issues. And Dodd, jeesh, that is just so sad. How can Dodd have to retire but not Lieberman. Makes no sense at all.

[wisteria]

15. Oh, Leiberman. A real thorn.

I think I read somewhere that he was considering becoming a Republican. One of these days I hope he steps in some dung and we are rid of him for good.

[beachmom]

20. Joe Lieberman is neither a Democrat nor a good man nor a real patriot. nt

[Mass]

36. Lieberman's approval was at 25 %.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/07/lieberman_approval_tanks_in_connecticut.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PoliticalWire+(Taegan+Goddard%27s+Political+Wire)&utm_content=Google+Reader

[Mass]

12. Good statement, but Dodd's retirement is not a surprise. CT democrats wanted him to retire so that

Blumenthal could run.

I am more surprised at Dorgan, and at the fact that Kerry did not issue a statement (if he did one, why not two and I remember a time where people were saying Dorgan was one of Kerry's closest friend in the US Senate, whether that is true or not). I wonder what pushed him to retire.

[Mass]

14. And a part of Dodd's announcement I really liked and that politicians too often forget

I thought about the dozens of patriotic Senators with whom I have had the privilege of serving in an institution I dearly love. I have been a Connecticut Senator for 30 years. I'm proud of the job I've done and the results delivered.

But none of us are irreplaceable.

None of us are indispensible.

Those who think otherwise are dangerous.

[wisteria]

17. I picked up on those words too. Wise ones for some others in office. n/t

[wisteria]

16. Good point, I did not see any comments from Kerry about Dorgan. n/t

[JI7]

32. i never heard of Dorgan being any kind of friend to Kerry

not that they had a negative relationship or anything else negative as we have seen between Kerry and Reid/Schumer.

you might be thinking of Max Baucus maybe ? i think they are friends and why Kerry probably defended him on appointing his girlfriend to something not too long ago.

but even if Kerry wasn't close to Dorgan he is the type that would usually release some statement when there is this kind of retirement .

Dodd's retirement may have just overshadowed everything also.

[karynnj]

34. looking for links between them, there was this when they fought Bush privitizing SS in 2005

Not much content, but the photo shows how tough that period was on JK, who looks unbelievably sad. http://www.life.com/image/53072240

[wisteria]

35. Your right. n/t

[karynnj]

21. What a kind statement

I am glad Kerry has the courage to say this. Although I was dismayed by Dodd's mortgage and his huge PAC contributions from the industry he oversaw, that was balanced by the his strong statements against torture and against the wrong elements of FISA and his work on things like healthcare and family leave, which was his legislation. So, many articles are concentrating on the flaws that brought him down, I hope statements like this by people he likely respects and really knows will help Dodd in what has to be a very low point in his life and career.

[MBS]

23. talking points memo on Dodd

In general, TPM has been doing a good job covering this story(See various stories at http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/)
One nice touch: a slideshow of Dodd's life and career http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/gallery/2010/01/dodd-departs-the-life-and-career-of-the-connecticut-senator.php?img=1

[wisteria]

25. Oh gosh, it is sad looking at those pictures. n/t

[JI7]

24. it's too bad, but i can understand why Dodd did it, i was thinking of JK

things will be really different for him in the Senate now without first Biden, than Ted Kennedy, and now Dodd.

i'm hoping Dodd gets something in the Obama administration.

i don't understand how the people of connecticut can go on supporting Lieberman but not Dodd. it will never make sense to me. i know Lieberman lost the primary and got a lot of republican votes in the GE. but it's still a Dem state and he needed many dems to win that.

[beachmom]

27. Because the following:

1. He moved his family to Iowa and ignored constituents in a vanity presidential campaign

2. The Countrywide scandal (Dodd's fault)

3. The AIG scandal (more bad luck)

4. The fact that he was raising most of his money from corporate interests

Conn. voters felt Dodd was out of touch, not serving their interests, and corrupt.

I don't have a poll handy, but Lieberman isn't well loved in Ct either. He won in '06 because he got all the GOP votes, and took enough sentimental Dem votes to be sent back to the Senate. I doubt he could pull that off again, but 2012 is still 2 years away so who knows.

[JI7]

28. even with all of Dodd's Fault, Lieberman endorsed Palin and did so much worse

i hope you are right and he will not be able to win again.

[beachmom]

29. Yeah, but he's not up for election yet. Who knows what will happen in '12.

And Lieberman is not a loyal member of any party the way Dodd is. Truth is, Dodd could either retire now or in November.

[wisteria]

30. I am with you on this. n/t

[ProSense]

26. Wonderful statement.

Chris Dodd made some missteps, but mostly, he is a victim of deceptive political spin.

I hope continued public service is in his future. He's an asset to the Democratic Party.