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It's been a long, hard slog of a year for Chris Shays, who began 2007 in the minority as the only remaining Republican from New England, and is ending it more out of touch than ever.
From verbally assaulting Capitol Hill police officers and constituents alike, to articulating increasingly incoherent positions on Iraq, to threatening to retire, it's been quite the show.
Read more below the fold... then send a message to Shays by contributing today.
Chris Shays' Greatest Hits of 2007, Part 1 (January-June)
Jan 5th: Shays kicks off the new Congress by celebrating at the Connecticut for Lieberman party in D.C.
Jan. 19th: Shays is the only member of the CT delegation to vote against HR 4, the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act.
Feb. 15th: Shays says he will support the escalation in Iraq, claiming that the Democratic resolution was a "stay-the-course resolution" and that it was"counterproductive for 535 members of the House of Representatives and Senate to micromanage the war."
Mar. 19th: Shays yells at NASA scientist James Hansen, lampoons Al Gore.
Mar. 20th: Shays refuses to attend the Govt Oversight Committee hearing with Valerie Plame. Why?:
"We felt the committee is so biased," he replied, "we would do better to just stay away."
Mar. 21st: Shays goes on Chris Matthews, makes absolutely no sense while attempting to explain his position on Iraq. This will become a pattern.
Mar. 24th: Shays responds to a constituent asking about Iraq by admitting that he thought the surge had less than a 50% chance of working. (According to his own definition, it hasn't worked:)
In my judgment, the President's strategy will only work if Iraqi troops do their part; Sunni and Shia politicians resolve their differences, meeting benchmarks against firm timelines like they did in 2005; and the United States and Iraq engage in a diplomatic surge with all of Iraq's neighbors, including Syria and Iran.
Apr. 18th: Shays back from Iraq for the 16th time: "the surge is working".
Apr. 25th: Shays still refuses to vote for timelines, says he's in for at least two more Friedman Units. Claims that Congress, actually, has no right to set such timelines:
"I think the president should come to Congress with timelines and state when we remove first our combat troops and then when we remove our support troops. But I don't think we should be the ones setting that timeline. Based on what?
Apr. 26th: Shays yells at Henry Waxman for daring to suggest that Condi Rice testify in front of Congress:
Once Rice testifies, "then what? Then are you going to impeach her?" Shays challenged Waxman, his voice rising.
Apr. 29th: Shays returns to his district (no, not Baghdad-04... CT-04), gets really cranky when asked about Iraq by his constituents:
Shays suggested that those present save war topics for the last half-hour of the talk.
That was met with grumbling and a few walkouts, though Westport resident David Royce's opinion was clear for the entirety of the session. Royce held up a 10-foot sign emblazoned with the words "Get out."...
"He didn't talk about it at the end of the day," Cowden said after the meeting. "It was kind of disingenuous. He described a lot of stories and 50 people he met and name-dropped, but he never answered the questions."...
May 2nd: Shays gets cranky, insults the the entire town of Westport, CT.
May 10th: Shays votes to give Bush a blank check on Iraq.
May 18th: Shays announces he's going to Iraq for the 17th time.
May 25th: Shays says he's OK with Iraq govt taking a summer vacation while American troops die.
Jun. 15th: Shays creepily defends Lurita Doan (implicated in Rove-GSA scandal):
SHAYS: Ms. Doan, I think you're a remarkable person. I think you're a beautiful person. I regret that you've been treated the way that you've been treated....
...You know what? I just want to thank you for your service. I hope it doesn't discourage other people like you to get into this. And I will say this to you, I find it -- and this is my own view -- but I find it when an African-American happens to be a Republican, somehow she is treated differently by Congress, and unfairly so.
Jun. 21st: Shays solves the Iraq problem - more studying!
Jun. 26th: Jon Soltz of VoteVets slams Shays:
"Chris Shays has done nothing but thump his chest, talking about his 17 trips to Iraq and how he knows more than anyone, including the Iraq Study Group," complained Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets.org., a group chaired by 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark.
Stay tuned for Part 2... it gets much better.
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Help bring better Democrats to D.C. And help make 2008 Chris Shays' retirement year.
Make a last minute contribution here and help Jim Himes reach his goal of 500 contributions for the quarter!
(Disclosure: I am proud to consult for Jim Himes.)