Tom Harkin: "I just sense that it’s time."

[bigtree]

O. Kay Henderson ‏@okayhenderson

SenHarkin on retiring: “I wish I could put it more profoundly…I just sense that it’s time.”


____ Harkin made his decision public this morning. Some members of the Iowa Democratic Party’s state central committee had tears rolling down their cheeks as Harkin spoke at their meeting in Des Moines.

“I’m not quitting today. This is not a time for legacy talks or anything like this,” Harkin said. “It’s a time for looking ahead. It’s a time for all of us, now, to renew our vigor, to make sure that we find the best candidate possible.”

“I’m 73. By the time I run I’d be 75. By the end of this term I will have been the House and Senate for 40 years,” Harkin said, “and I can’t tell you how grateful I am to my fellow Iowans for giving me this opportunity for 40 years, but it’s now somebody else’s turn.”

“It’s time for me to step aside. There are a lot of younger Iowans out there, new people and by my stepping aside…it cascades down. It opens up new opportunities for a lot of younger Iowans to move up and to take new positions of authority and responsibility and I think that’s not only good for our party, it’s good for our state and good for our nation,” Harkin said. “So, it’s just somebody else’s turn.”


http://tinyurl.com/anu6jxj

[senseandsensibility]

1. I'm sorry, but I think that Reid's latest capitulation had something to do with this.

Harkin was very vocal in his support of filibuster reform. He's a great senator, and it is our loss.

[arthritisR_US]

2. I have to agree with you, what a damn shame :(

[rhett o rick]

3. To only blame Sen Reid avoids the real problem. Sen Reid is acting for the majority of Senate Dems.

[cascadiance]

11. That shows a LACK OF LEADERSHIP! Yes, they are to blame, but he is supposed to LEAD THEM...

to do the right thing, even if it is making their life difficult when they aren't "flexible" enough. If he's just letting them do what they want which is working AGAINST their party's constituents' interests (if we as the people are their real constituents and not the corrupt corporate lobbyists!), then he's a FAILED leader and NEEDS to be replaced with someone who WILL lead, and remind those senators of who the boss is that they REALLY work for. US!!!

I'm very sad to see my former Senator leaving. He was one of the better ones, and will be hard to replace with someone decent. Was hoping that Grassley would leave first instead of him.

At least Grassley just had the sense to take the right stance on the H-1B Visa bill.

[rhett o rick]

13. You claim "lack of leadership" because they didnt go where you wanted.

Those that ELECTED HIM THEIR LEADER arent complaining. You probably want to imagine that all the Senate Democrats wanted reform and there was only one bad apple. I think Sen Reid did what the majority wanted.

[cascadiance]

14. That's because they forgot who are their REAL bosses, NOT Harry, NOT the corporate few, but WE...

THE PEOPLE!

Most Americans wanted a talking filibuster, even if they and their "owners" didn't. It doesn't matter who THEY voted as THEIR leader. I don't consider Reid an adequate leader of the group that is supposed to work for US, not Korporate Amerika!

When a company hires a manager to manage a group of employees, it is good that they all work well together, but ultimately they need to serve the interest of the company they are working for if they are working for that company. If they don't, they should get fired! Especially the manager if he is not leading them the way to serve the interests of those who employ him!

[rhett o rick]

16. You think We The People affect the government? nm

[bigtree]

4. jesus

. . . let the man speak for himself without superimposing all of DU's petty politics on top of it.


Jeff Zeleny ‏@jeffzeleny
In a call from Iowa, Harkin tells me: "Too many people hang on to power for too long and that’s not right." Story: http://nyti.ms/WnJ2dy

[senseandsensibility]

5. Petty?

[bigtree]

6. yeah, petty

and self-serving

[bigtree]

7. I really wasn't trying to criticize you personally, senseandsensibility

. . . just this cw developing on this board . . .

[senseandsensibility]

8. I was just stating my personal opinion, which may or may

not be correct. It doesn't seem petty to me, obviously, but that's what discussion boards are for. But thanks for clarifying.

[bigtree]

9. I've never known Tom Harkin to fail to speak his mind

. . . I'm sure folks here will let us know when he comes clean and finally reveals the 'true' reason for his departure.

[longship]

10. Or, maybe bee pollen didn't work out for him.

Your post is a classic example of post hoc ergo propter hoc reasoning.

I think Tom Harkin's retirement is because his Bee Pollen Cure doesn't work. It's at least as plausible as any other post hoc argument.

Maybe he's just getting old and he really wants to spend time with his family.

Whatever! The one thing we can be sure of is it's not bee pollen, and it's not likely the filibuster. This is not likely a decision that one makes virtually overnight.

[shanti]

12. could be

that it was just the straw that made his decision to retire easier...

[ellisonz]

15. Let the man retire in peace

We have to keep his seat though

To Tom Harkin, one of the great ones