Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) is seriously reconsidering his previously announced decision to retire in 2008 and could reverse course and run for re-election, according to Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill familiar with his thinking. […]
Calls to Ramstad’s office seeking comment for this story Tuesday were not returned.
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), who is one of Ramstad’s closest friends in the House, said on Tuesday that Ramstad is indeed having second thoughts about his decision to leave the House. Ramstad and Kennedy have been champions of mental health parity legislation and the Rhode Island Democrat said the possibility that Congress could pass the legislation next year was weighing on Ramstad.
“It’s very much impacting his decision,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy said he felt that Ramstad would feel more comfortable leaving if leadership on both sides of the Capitol would agree to pass the mental health bill through both chambers early in the new year.
Kennedy also asserted that Ramstad has in some regards become a bargaining piece in the debate over passage of the mental health parity bill, citing the fact that Ramstad’s district is expected to be a hotly contested battleground if he sticks to his retirement decision.
“Democrats know that his seat would be in play,” Kennedy said. “He’s a bargaining chip right now. … If Democrats want to pick up a seat, all they need to say very frankly and clearly is ‘we’re going to make this happen.'”
Ramstad’s moderate district is just the kind of turf that Democrats do well in during open seat races, and just the kind of territory that Dems need to capture in order to expand their House majority. Having Ramstad stick around for another race would make him the prohibitive favorite.
A change of heart by Ramstad would perhaps be the biggest Christmas gift he could offer to the NRCC.
UPDATE: MN Campaign Report has been hearing the same rumors. Apparently, Jim McCrery’s retirement caused Ramstad to reconsider, figuring that the advanced seniority on some key committees might be too attractive to turn down. If this turns out to be the case, the GOP’s retirement bonanza truly is a tragedy of riches for Democrats.
so if Pelosi and Reid agree to pass an extremely good, progressive, and necessary piece of legislation, then Ramstad will give us his seat??
Um, I hope Pelosi knows a good deal when she sees it. That’s the best “trade” ever. Mental health parity should have happened years ago, and if that’s all it takes to get Ramstad to give up his seat then of course we should do it. It’s something progressives believe in anyway, dammit!
I have a sinking feeling that some d!ckhead like Hoyer will prevent us from grabbing the win-win here.
If Ramstad does do this, he will enter a competitive race with anyone of the three extremely strong Democrats. I don’t believe he will run for re-election because it is almost certain that the GOP will still be in the minority, and as extremely popular as being in the minority is, I doubt he would want to enter a potentially highly competitive race.
I get Ramstad’s reconsideration as it applies to Democrats, but not as it applies to Repugs. If he will retire only if both sides of the aisle agree to the issue of mental health parity, where’s the incentive for Repubs in either chamber to support it? If his argument to Repugs is that he will reconsider retirement if they support it, then where’s the incentive for Democratic leadership? And if he’s really serious about the issue and wants to advocate for it, why not move into that area of issue advocacy in his retirement? (And I don’t mean that he should become a professional lobbyist. His expertise as a former US Representative would be valuable to any advocacy organization that he truly supports.)
I hear a soundbite in all of this. Maybe “flip-flopping for flimsy reasons”.