Randy Cunningham will NOT seek reelection

Just in at a news conference.
He will stay on and finish out his term, and defend his "honor" but he can't do both and run a re-election campaign.

Oh, and he is going to sell his house, which is what originated the scandal and donate a portion of the sale to local charities.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/07/14/news/breaking/7005133253.txt

Thanks to Josh Marshall at TPM for being the first to note it.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_07_10.php#006115

•  Uccccckkkk!!!!

  Did you have to direct us to that big, ugly, pink picture?!

  by bibble on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 10:27:27 AM PDT

•  Too bad

  because this was a certain pickup for us had this jerk ran again.

  by IhateBush on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 10:27:35 AM PDT

•  dammit

  this is bad for us. If he stayed in we had a chance at the seat. Now I doubt it, especially cause he decided this far out and gave Republicans plenty of time to mobilize.

  by AnnArborBlue on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 10:28:01 AM PDT

  •  No big deal

    Any Democrat who beak "the Duke" in 2006 would have lost the seat to any competent Republican in 2008. It's that conservative. No loss.

    by brittain33 on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 11:04:18 AM PDT

    •  Absolutely,

      That district is so friggin' red...well it's really, really RED!  I mean really. Those people wouldn't be satisfied with Reagan on Mt. Rushmore--they want to make him a saint! They want to change the name to "Reagan, D.C.." They want to put Reagan's picture on EVERY bill and coin and postage stamp!  

      So there's no way we would ever have a chance in that district, unless the repug nominee got caught screwing a dead boy scout on the flag-covered altar of an evangelical mega-church. On television. Wearing a dress. Listening to the Dixie Chicks.

      And like somebody said, we'd only lose it again the next election.  Look how long it took to oust B-1 Bob (Dornan) from the only democratic-majority district in Orange County!

      At least we got rid of Cunningham.  One wingnut down, 250+ to go.
      

      by homogenius on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 11:29:15 AM PDT

•  strategy

  Whoever the Dems run, no matter who he runs against, he should run his campaign against the Duke, against corruption in the local GOP.  The GOP candidate should have to answer 10 million questions about the Duke, their relationship, whether or not he supports him.  This could still be a pickup.

  by dday on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 10:34:32 AM PDT

  •  Good strategy.

    But REALLY hard to do down there. No. SD county and So. Orange County is so bleedin' red ex-urb. Total wingnut yuppie land. They drink the Kool-Aid out of Baccarat crystal.

    by homogenius on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 11:32:21 AM PDT

•  Duke Cunningham

  Did he also say he was retiring because he wanted to spend more "time with his family?"

  by hairspray on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 10:36:51 AM PDT

  •  He has family

    in a federal correctional facility?

    by Prison4Bushco on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 10:38:57 AM PDT

    •  His son was arrested in 1997 for trafficking pot

      Source:
      http://dukecunningham.org/bibliography/drugs.html

      by B Rubble on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 02:10:28 PM PDT

•  Neato

  That just gets rid of any possible privilege issues when his ass gets indicted.

  Makes me sad.  Back when I was little, I loved fighter planes.  And loved hearing about Randy "Duke" Cunningham's flying.  I can still see the painting of his engagement with, I think, a North Vietnamese MiG-17 in my head.

  It's a damn shame that he turned into another one of these empty suit puffups who talk about honor, duty, country, courage, and past accomplishments because that's all they have in life.  It's like listening to some drunken high school football player recount his days of glory, when all the other kids have grown up.

  Power corrupts.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Money, however, corrupts power.

  by socratic on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 10:38:54 AM PDT

  •  well, that's odd

    This comment isn't showing up in my comment list.  Am I here?  Did I break the internets?

    by socratic on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 10:44:52 AM PDT

  •  I once met the Duke

    back 15-20 years ago, when he was the Commanding Officer of the adversary squadron at Miramar.  

    He was much thinner then.

    by B Rubble on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 11:08:47 AM PDT

•  LOL n/t

  by Cedwyn on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 10:43:26 AM PDT

•  I wish I could have wrote the title....

  ....I was dying to say:

  Breaking: Cunningham to S.D. - "Sit on it"

  or

  Breaking: Cunningham "Bails Out"

  or

  Breaking: Cunningham "Flames Out"

  Or

  ..."Screws the Potch"

  or

  ..."Ejects"

  or

  Cunningham's "Happy Days" are Cancelled

  etc.

  by Al Rodgers on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 11:10:45 AM PDT

  •  LOL

    How about "Cunningham crashes and burns"

    Topgun gets shot down

    Cunningham calls "No Joy"  (fighter parlance for can't get a shot or is it a missed shot, I can't recall, anyway, too much of an inside joke)
    

    by B Rubble on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 11:43:58 AM PDT

•  Well

  CA-50 is a punishing district for Democrats. The seat includes heavily Republican precincts north of San Diego. It includes towns like Del Mar, San Marco, Carlsbad, and Escondido. There are no Democratic precincts to be found anywhere in that district. Republicans have an approximately 52,000 vote advatage in the district. Whoever wins the Republican primary will have no problem in the general election.

  by jiacinto on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 12:31:18 PM PDT

•  Down goes the Duke!

  One big fish down and more crooked Rethugs to go.....do you hear footsteps.... Tom Delay?

  All these guys are just like Dean and Kerry called them, crooks!!!!

  by alnc on Thu Jul 14, 2005 at 01:22:09 PM PDT