David Dreier Retirement: California Congressman Will Not Run For Re-Election HuffingtonPost | 02/29/2012 Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, announced Wednesday he would not seek re-election. The California Congressman explained why he chose to make his announcement on the House floor. "First, this is where my fellow Californians sent me to represent them. Second, I am a proud institutionalist, and I believe that this institution is as great as it has ever been," he said. He added that he considered retiring three years ago, but ultimately chose not to. Dreier has served in the House since 1981, representing the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. He has been Chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee for nine of the past 13 years. His decision has been long expected due to a redistricting process leaving him without an obvious district to run in. Dreier, a bachelor, was passed over for a GOP leadership position in a controversial decision in 2005 that some observers speculated had to do with questions about his sexuality. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who is openly gay, was asked if Dreier was passed over because he was too "moderate." "Yes, in the sense that I marched in the moderate pride parade last summer and went to a moderate bar, Frank famously responded, adding that he had no knowledge of his sexuality. see: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...ornia-congressman_n_1310215.html?ref=politics .... Registered as a bachelor, Dreier is a republican elected to the House of Representatives and in the fall of 2004, journalist Doug Ireland claimed to "out" Dreier in print in L.A. Weekly, in its September 24September 30, 2004 issue. The L.A. Weekly printed that Dreier had had a romantic relationship with his longtime chief of staff, Brad W. Smith, who at the time collected a $156,600 government salary. Smith earned the highest possible salary allowed by law for a committee staff member and was reportedly the highest-paid chief of staff working for any House of Representatives committee chair. ("By comparison," wrote Ireland, "the chief of staff to the chair of the House Judiciary Committee makes $126,000, while the chief of staff to the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee makes just $100,696.") The alleged "outing" was a result of Dreier coming under increasing scrutiny from gay rights groups because of his voting record, which includes supporting the Defense of Marriage Act, as well as voting against gay adoption, and against inclusion of homosexuals as a protected class in hate crime. However, he did vote for employment discrimination legislation to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation in 2007. source:...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Drier ...... It must be a wild time for republicans who seem to be hesitant to run for re-election! I can understand David's wish to retire because of his 'outing' as a homosexual by a journalist and being passed over for positions applied for in the House. His votes against gay marriage, against gay adoption, and against inclusion of homosexuals as a proteced class in hate crimes is truly reprehensible. Regardless of his own sexual preference he should have been able to vote for what is right and fair.
..... ...and how about that $156,600 salary for his longtime chief of staff paid with taxpayers' funds. That is a prime example of government waste...
Conservatives in California have been waiting for his exit. Now perhaps we can get a conservative in that seat.
I've been waiting for his departure since 2004. Notice how all the RINO's are headin for the hills. They can smell what's cookin for Nov.
primary challenges by weaker candidates who will cost the party the race? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxJyPsmEask"]Christine O'Donnell ad - YouTube[/ame]