BREAKING: Rep. Jo Bonner resigning from Congress

[brooklynite]

Source: Mobile Press-Register

MOBILE - U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, confirmed today that he intends to resign from Congress later this year and take a job at the University of Alabama.

Bonner, 53, has represented Alabama's 1st Congressional District since taking office in 2003. He was re-elected in November with no Democratic opponent.

...snip...

It will be up to Gov. Robert Bentley to set a special election for Bonner's seat. Bentley's office had no immediate comment today.

The deeply conservative 1st Congressional District sprawls from the beaches of south Baldwin County to rural Clarke and Washington counties.


Read more: http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/05/breaking_rep_jo_bonner_resigni.html

---

I keep hearing that we can win seats in Red Districts if only we ran "real" Democrats instead of Blue Dogs. Here's a chance to prove it.

[hay rick]

2. Strange.

What I am hearing is that we can only win seats in red districts if we run "blue dogs" instead of real Democrats.

[Wilms]

5. That's what I keep hearing too.

And I'm afraid we'll continue to hear that from yuppie, pro-choice Republicans who call themselves (Blue Dog) Democrats.

[alp227]

8. Are you familiar with Vivian Beckerle, Bonner's Democratic challenger in 2006?

Beckerle posted a comment after this article:

I ran against Mr. B because I thought 1st Congressional District could do better. He DID inherit the job from Sonny who had inherited it from Jack. They already have someone in the wings, so don't doubt that for a minute. The way I see it, we will exchange one do nothing for another. Bonner never did anything worth talking about and he didn't talk. He held town meetings that lasted 45 minutes at the most and then he moved to the next one. If you had a chance to speak, it was because he liked your right-wing attitude. If you challenged him on anything of a serious nature, he hum hawed and said he would get back to you. I, too, got several of those letters that didn't address the issue and ALWAYS ended, "if I can ever be of service to you, do not hesitate to call on me." Well, Mr. Bonner, I had JUST called on you and you didn't respond. I began to wonder if he had sufficient comprehension of issues and facts to actually respond to a constituent. I hope UA can tolerate him. If he's teaching, I will be praying for the students. Afterall they will be paying and not getting anything from him that is worth using. JB was a puppet for the "big boys" here in Mobile who put him in the office. They wanted him there because they could pick up the phone & tell him how to think and vote on whatever the question was. I would like to see someone progressive who can think for herself and who is nobody's baby. The people of First District have been hoodwinked by this bunch for so long that they don't recognize poor or good leadership when it flies in their faces. But, final word: bon voyage, Jo Jo! If I never seen you again, it will be too soon.

and everyone in the comments section is complaining that Bonner got his jobs through NEPOTISM.

Beckerle is a lawyer with an eponymous firm.

[Laelth]

12. Slam! Good for her. n/t

-Laelth

[Agnosticsherbet]

3. So there will be one less Boner in Congress. Can't hurt.

[msongs]

4. no democratic opponent. so much for Howard Dean's 50 state strategy nt

[geek tragedy]

6. Is someone supposed to parachute into the district?

That district has elected a Republican every year since 1964--it flipped because the white people there didn't appreciate the Civil Rights Act.

[dsjj251]

14. sarcasm

his plan wasnt even put in to place.

[hrmjustin]

21. Welcome to DU my friend!l

[geek tragedy]

7. Meh, one pasty-faced redneck Republican who'll be replaced by another just like him nt

[alp227]

9. he's a bit of a moderate and explicitly decided against joining the Tea Party Caucus

Bonner has declined to join the Tea Party Caucus, saying, "I try not to get involved in caucuses that make me look like a radical, right-wing nut."[19]

In 2007, Bonner voted to increase the federal minimum wage.[20] In 2008, he voted in favor of TARP, the financial bail out package.[19] Bonner voted against Republican-supported regulations on the credit-card industry and the Cash for Clunkers program.[21] Bonner supported the Iraq war and opposed a timetable for withdrawal of American troops.[19] He supports warrantless wiretapping. Bonner supports amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage and he voted against repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell."[22] In the summer of 2011, Bonner voted to raise America's debt ceiling.[23]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Bonner

[geek tragedy]

10. "Bonner supports amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage"

That's not a moderate.

[Cobalt-60]

11. What's the right university job for this guy?

Hmm..
I think he's ideally suited for custodian of the Primate Science lab!

[trof]

13. I live in his district.

The replacement will not be a Democrat.
And it will likely be a more right-wing-nut repug.

My gut feeling is that Bonner was getting more and more uncomfortable with the 'atmosphere' in the U.S. House, trying to deal with the tea baggers.
I'm no fan of his, but I think he leaned more moderate than many of his ilk.
He was basically not a 'wave maker'.
Inherited the job as a staffer for his predecessor (Sonny Callahan), who also retired and handed the reigns over to Josiah.
Bonner ran unopposed by a Democrat in his last election.


The Alabama Democratic Party is in melt-down now.
It will be years, maybe decades, before we gain any power in this state.

[Le Taz Hot]

15. Trof,

is there any support at all from the national party? I know my area gets none, is this the same situation?

I also know in my area it's a catch-22. We can't elect Democrats because there's no significant Party presence here and the Party won't come here because we don't elect Democrats. Is it the same dynamic or are there other influences. Just curious.

[trof]

16. To my knowledge, NONE.

Same dynamic here, AND the state Democratic party is in meltdown.
Google Judge Kennedy, Joe Reed, Alabama Democratic Party.

[JNelson6563]

19. As far as I know

The national party doesn't get involved so much and not at all on the district level. The nation caucus is a different story (i.e. DCCC).

They will jump in if they feel there is a strong enough candidate and a realistic chance of winning. As the polls go (their own internal polling usually) so goes the ebb and flow of campaign funds.

Truth be told I'm not so sure this is a "blessing" as it were. We had a ridiculously close race that we should have won in MI's 1st CD. The DCCC poured a lot of money in and I believe the state Dems did too. They made stupid commercials that weren't effective and my gawd, don't get me started on their choices of field operatives! Young? Right out of school? Will just do as you're told, not suggest other methods and will put up with a stipend for pay and having to beg free housing from good Dems in the area? You're hired!

We had many people willing to do things for the D candidate but the campaign was not interested. IF you didn't want to sign up for phone banking they didn't want to talk to you. It was sad to watch and, to no one's surprise, we lost. Adding salt to the wound, we lost by like 1%.

The best results are homegrown. Sadly it seems there is no effective leadership on the ground in Alabama.

Julie--who wishes Howard Dean was still calling the shots at the DNC

[DCBob]

17. sounds like even a "purple dog" would have trouble in this deep red district.

pick your fights.. this aint one of them.

[Joe Bacon]

18. One less BONER will be screwing us in Congress.

But I'm sure that there will be another Kochsucker sent to replace him.

[underpants]

20. "to take a job at the University of Alabama" - Repubs fear primaries more than the Gen. Election

[Brigid]

22. When I first saw that title . . .

I thought it said John Boehner was resigning! We could only wish!

[Doctor_J]

23. Actually I keep hearing that Dems like this don't vote with the president anway

so it really doesn't matter. When we had the huge majorities in 2009-2010 we were told "but they're Blue Dogs, so we still can't get any laws passed".