San Diego's new mayor Bob Filner fires some parting shots at Congress [View all]

[bananas]

The 4-1/2 minute interview on KPCC-FM can be listened to here:

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/politics/2012/12/26/11700/san-diegos-new-mayor-bob-filner-fires-some-parting/

San Diego's new mayor Bob Filner fires some parting shots at Congress

Kitty Felde | December 26th, 2012, 9:00am

Former Democratic Congressman Bob Filner, a member of the House of Representatives for 10 terms, could have run for an eleventh. But when he saw a chance to run for mayor of San Diego, he jumped in the race – and won.

Why leave a comfortable life on Capitol Hill? It's simple, says Filner: "Congress is dysfunctional."

Filner, one of the most liberal Democrats on the Hill, points the finger at both parties. He says Congress began to change in 1994, when Republicans took back the House and Newt Gingrich became speaker.

<snip>

But Filner saves his harshest words for his own party: A President who gives away the store before sitting down to negotiate; Democrats who had run the House for 40 years didn’t understand you can’t legislate as a minority; leadership wasting its time in the weeds on the process of government rather than the politics of trying to win back the House.

<snip>

His criticism of Democrats is getting more attention than his criticism of Republicans:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Mayor-Filner-Sounds-Off-on-President-Leading-Dems-184987571.html

Mayor Filner Sounds Off on President, Leading Dems
By Gene Cubbison | Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 | Updated 9:46 PM PST

San Diego's mayor is now back in the news in Washington, D.C. -- making headlines for critical comments about President Obama and his former Democratic colleagues on Capitol Hill.

The fun started with a phone interview that former Congressman Bob Filner gave KPCC-FM, a public radio station in Los Angeles, and wound up in Politico, a leading national news outlet for political junkies.

The focus of the radio interview?

Why Filner left Washington to run for mayor.

<snip>