So this news broke today:
http://swampland.time.com/...
Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, the chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee who steered President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul into law but recently broke with his party on gun control legislation, has decided to retire, Democratic officials said Tuesday.
Baucus, 72, has been a fixture in the Senate since 1979 and has been the top Democrat on the Finance panel since 1981.
A Democrat with an independent streak, Baucus supported the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and Obama’s signature 2010 health care law. He broke with his party this year to oppose both the Senate Democratic budget blueprint and a hotly fought effort to beef up background checks for gun purchases. - Time, 4/23/13
I know, we all couldn't be happier. I'm actually not that surprised that Baucus was retiring. He kept putting himself in the bad spotlight for remarks like this:
http://thehill.com/...
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Wednesday he fears a "train wreck" as the Obama administration implements its signature healthcare law.
Baucus, the chairman of the chamber's powerful Finance Committee and a key architect of the healthcare reform law, said he fears people do not understand how the law will work.
"I just see a huge train wreck coming down," he told Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at a Wednesday hearing. "You and I have discussed this many times, and I don't see any results yet." - The Hill, 4/17/13
And for stupid actions like this:
http://www.motherjones.com/...
Last Wednesday, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) was one of four Democrats to vote against the Manchin–Toomey amendment to extend background checks to private gun sales. His vote helped kill the bill. On Tuesday, Baucus announced he would be retiring from the Senate at the end of next year.
Baucus' vote made some sense at the time, considering that Montana has more gun businesses per capita than any other state (it's not even close). But now that he's officially a lame-duck, the decision is a bit more curious. It's possible that Baucus really does think extending background checks are a stupid idea and stood on principle. It's also possible that Baucus was simply being loyal to his allies in the firearms industry (He has a lifetime A+ rating from the National Rifle Association). But given the intense lobbying effort from President Obama—and the fact that the senator's former chief of staff and campaign manager, Jim Messina, was leading the effort by Organizing for Action, the president's re-purposed campaign organization, to build support for the background check measure—you can understand why the most common reaction on the left to Baucus' retirement was "good riddance."
The background checks vote is just one of many reasons why liberals won't miss Baucus, the Senate Finance Committee chairman whose office came to embody the term "revolving door." Twenty-eight (28!) former Baucus staffers are currently employed as tax lobbyists. The senior counsel who drafted the health care legislation that would become the Affordable Care Act came back to Baucus' offices after several years at the health care giant Wellpoint. - Mother Jones, 4/23/13
Plus the fact that he to start rebranding his image towards the end of 2012 proved he was in deep trouble:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
A new third party group is going up with a significant ad buy to shore up Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) in advance of his 2014 reelection campaign.
The ad, from the new “Stronger Montana Fund,” thanks Baucus for leading the effort to permanently exempt family farmers and ranchers from the estate tax earlier this month.
The total size of the buy is $275,000, according to the group, and it will run across the state. - Washington Post, 1/31/13
Here's the ad by the way:
The way I see it, Baucus was already on the path to be this guy of 2014:
http://www.rollcall.com/...
The Nebraska Democratic Party bought $200,000 in airtime this week to boost endangered Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) — a continuation of an aggressive campaign to save the two-term Senator in 2012.
In the ad, Nelson attempts to speak over a garbled montage of his colleagues, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).
“They don’t get it. They put politics ahead of what’s best for the country,” Nelson says straight to camera. “We need to balance the budget, but not on the backs of senior citizens, bring our troops home with pride and dignity and invest in American jobs, and American’s future.”
Public polls show that Nelson is one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-election this cycle. Nelson campaign manager Paul Johnson told Roll Call the advertisement is intended to counter the $500,000 spent this summer by conservative groups attacking the Senator. - Roll Call, 9/9/11
Nelson of course retired after realizing there was no way he was going to win re-election. Just like Nelson, Baucus too faces bad approval ratings and has been one of the biggest Democratic defectors, helping the GOP with their obstruction from issues like taxes to gun control. So good riddance I say.
With Baucus out, Kos was quick to call for the drafting of former Governor Brian Schweitzer (D. MT) to run for Baucus' seat:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Well the Progressive Change Campaign Committee is also joining in the efforts to get Schweitzer to throw his hat into the race:
Great news!
U.S. Senator Max Baucus -- known as the "Senator from K Street" because of his ties to corporate lobbyists -- is retiring!
We have a chance to replace him with former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, a bold progressive populist who supports single-payer health care and lists Paul Wellstone as one of his icons.
Please help us show Brian Schweitzer how much grassroots support there would be for his candidacy.
Click here to join our Draft Brian Schweitzer for Senate campaign:
http://act.boldprogressives.org/...
We helped show Max Baucus the exit by running ads across Montana this week, shaming him for voting with gun manufacturers against 79% of his constituents who want background checks.
We'll welcome Brian Schweitzer by highlighting how many supporters, volunteers, and donors he'd have!
Schweitzer would be a strong ally of Elizabeth Warren, who we drafted together last cycle. While Max Baucus takes millions from Wall Street, insurance companies, and special-interest lobbyists, Schweitzer is one of the most popular public figures in Montana precisely because he fights big corporations. Check out this inspiring interview:
QUESTION: Who is your political icon?
SCHWEITZER: There are two. One is Teddy Roosevelt, who took on the trusts, who recognized—as we ought to recognize today—that corporations are controlling not just our governments but our everyday lives, and there needs to be some equity for families and small businesses. It was Teddy Roosevelt who recognized that there are some pieces of land on this planet that are so special that they need to be conserved for future generations. It was Teddy Roosevelt who warned us about getting into foreign entanglements: “Speak softly, carry a big stick.” It was Teddy Roosevelt who started as a Republican, and when he ran for President the last time he ran as a Progressive. It was Teddy Roosevelt who proposed universal health care, universal suffrage and workplace safety, in 1912—a little ahead of his time. So one is Teddy Roosevelt. And he didn’t back down. I wish we had more leaders like that today.
And the second would be Paul Wellstone, for many of the same things. Paul Wellstone was the conscience of the United States Senate. When other Senators would line up and cower behind the curtains of big insurance and the military-industrial complex because of their huge campaign contributions...it was Paul Wellstone who often times was the one vote when 99 votes went the other way. Those are the kinds of leaders that we need in this country.
Inspired? Join the "Draft Brian Schweitzer" campaign right now -- and tell your friends!
http://act.boldprogressives.org/...
We can do this! Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Adam Green, Stephanie Taylor, Megan Gean, Michael Snook, Forrest Brown and the PCCC team
P.S. Want to donate to Brian Schweitzer right now? We set up the official Brian Schweitzer Draft Fund on ActBlue -- donate $3 here. He'll get your donation on Day 1 of his campaign so he can hit the ground running:
https://secure.actblue.com/...
Getting Schweitzer to run for Senate and to win will be a litmus test for progressives:
http://www.theatlantic.com/...
Regardless of the reasoning, the Democratic primary to replace Baucus will be a fascinating litmus test for the liberal coalition after the failure of gun control (advocates insist they haven't given up, but no one seems to know what their path forward might be right now). In the more militant corners of the left, there have been calls for a liberal Tea Party to enforce more ideological purity, forsaking the likes of Baucus and Senators Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mark Begich of Alaska, and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, all of whom voted against the gun bill. (It's worth noting that even a unified Democratic caucus would have fallen short of the 60 votes required to pass the measure.) A liberal Tea Party, the contentious post-Newtown vote, and changing American demographics -- all against the dramatic backdrop of Big Sky country, where a Democrat has won the presidential vote just twice in the last 60 years (Johnson in '64, Clinton in '92) -- it's a great stage to play out a big battle.
Baucus's retirement both alters and accelerates that process. Progressives won't have a chance to try to primary him, but they will be able to choose sides in a primary. One well-placed Democrat has already told NBC that former Governor Brian Schweitzer, who left office this year, is interested in the seat. (He's also made noises about a 2016 presidential run, but it's hard to imagine that being successful.) Schweitzer sure looks like a prohibitive favorite if he runs -- his name recognition is through the roof, he's a proven quantity, and he was immensely popular in Montana as governor. Of course, to continue the Tea Party analogy, Mike Castle and Dick Lugar seemed unassailable once upon a time, too. - The Atlantic, 4/23/13
Schweitzer himself is now starting to publicly take interest in Baucus' seat:
http://www.latimes.com/...
For the last several months, Schweitzer said, he has been focused on an effort to take over the state's financially struggling Stillwater mine as part of an investor group seeking to save its roughly 1,600 jobs. A shareholder meeting is set for May 2.
“I’ll look around once I climb that mountain,” Schweitzer said in a telephone interview. “There should be a pretty good view from there. I’ll look around and see what I do next.”
Schweitzer, who has had a prickly relationship with Baucus, was talked about as a possible primary opponent had the Montana senator run again. Schweitzer has also been discussed as a potential 2016 Democratic presidential contender. - LA Times, 4/23/13
And Democrats are optimistic that Schweitzer will run for Senate:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Karl Struble, a Democratic strategist who used to work for Schweitzer, said he thinks the former governor will make a bid for Baucus’s seat. “He’s the best chance Democrats have,” Struble said.
Another Democrat thinks Schweitzer will wait a bit before making a decision. “I think he will take some time and bask in he attention. I don’t know that he wants to be a U.S. Senator,” said a former Schweitzer ally, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide a candid take.
Schwietzer has often brushed off talk of joining Congress, even as he’s been viewed as a his party’s top potential recruit. “I am not goofy enough to be in the House, and I’m not senile enough to be in the Senate,” he told the Associated Press last year. It wouldn’t be Schweitzer’s first bid for the Senate. He ran in 2000, losing a close race to Republican Conrad Burns.
The former governor left office in sound political shape. Polls showed six in 10 Montana voters approved of Schweizer during his final year in office, a strong standing from which to launch a race for the Senate. Specifically, a January 2012 Colorado College poll found 65 percent of registered voters approving and 24 percent disapproving of Schweitzer. The poll was conducted Jan. 2-7, 2012, among 400 registered voters by Public Opinion Strategies (R) and Fairbank, Maslin, Maulin, Metz & Associates (D). - Washington Post, 4/23/13
Right now, State Senators Champ Edmunds (R) and Corey Stapleton (R) are the only declared Republican nominees. You can read about Champ Edmunds here:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
So I'm all in for Schweitzer. The ball is in his court and I sure hope he does run. If not, there's one other name we should keep our eye on:
On the Democratic side, one more name to keep an eye on is EMILY’s List head Stephanie Schriock. She is a Montana native who once worked for Sen. Jon Tester (D), who defied the odds to win reelection last year. Schriock’s Montana roots and relationships with national donors make her an intriguing potential candidate to watch. - Washington Post, 4/23/13
So be sure to sign the Daily Kos petition urging Schweitzer to run:
http://campaigns.dailykos.com/...
And you can sign PCCC's petition here:
http://act.boldprogressives.org/...