WASHINGTON - Rep. Christopher Shays said today he will not seek another congressional term unless House Republican leaders support his bid for the job of top GOP member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
He is meeting with leaders and other key members now.
If they do not give him significant backing "I'm absolutely not going to run," said Shays, who said he is giving no one any deadlines
Even if he runs and wins, and somehow gets denied the top Republican spot anyway in 2009, "I will resign," Shays said.
"I'm 61 years old. I've been in Congress 20 years. If I have to fight to become chairman of a committee, given the job I've done, I need to move on," Shays said in an interview this morning.
Democrats pounced immediately.
"Where are Chris Shays' priorities? Clearly not with his constituents," asked Democratic congressional campaign spokeswoman Carrie James. "Chris Shays deserves to be replaced if he thinks his personal ambitions are more important than fighting for an end to the war in Iraq and working on behalf of the families in his district. He has become beholden to Republican leadership and to the Bush Administration, leaving Connecticut families behind."
The chairmanship would be decided first by the House Republican Steering Committee, a 28-member group that includes House leaders and regional representatives. It is then ratified by the full Republcan caucus after the November 2008 election.
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1 comment:
SPB that's the dude who apologized to Rummy and Generals for having to explain why they had Pat Tillman killed. I think Shays got feed back from his State and doesn't have the votes to win so he's looking for a way out to show face. Shays has said a lot of things that are scary but to apologize for asking about a murder was to much. I read the Connecticut news paper and that wasn't a good thing. Maybe Connecticut will recall Lieberman as he is now gone crazy.
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