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!
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.
One source said that after Cooper informed the staffer that the family could not enter through the door, the staffer called Shays and tried to have the officer speak with him. When the officer refused, Shays himself came down to the post and proceeded to "scream obscenities" at Cooper before touching his nametag to read it in the rain and storming away.
...we already thought you were nuts. The signs that Chris Shays was going colorfully mad started with the sex ring proposal and the Kennedy comment.
July 23rd: Shays on suicide bombings: they aren't that important:
The 20-year incumbent said it would be a mistake for the public to use the number of suicide bombings as a yardstick for measuring the success of the surge. "If that's going to be the basis of (what) we're going to decide, we're doomed all over the world," Shays said.
July 23rd: The Hartford Courant scolds Shays for verbally assaulting a Capitol Police officer the previous week:
U.S. Rep. Chris Shays of Bridgeport is known as intense, theatrical at times, something of a hothead - but generally thoughtful and effective. Last week his temper got the best of him, and he crossed over the line into the territory of unacceptable conduct.... it was a major embarrassment. It shows an unflattering raw side to the congressman and undermines his credibility. Mr. Shays must keep his temper under control.
"I didn't make a good vote when I voted to have our troops go to Iraq."
And that he "didn't lose sleep" over the summer vacation for Iraqi lawmakers which took place while American troops sacrificed their lives:
"And frankly, I think they need to get away from each other. I think they need to cool down and come back with a fresh approach. So, I don't lose sleep that they're not going to be talking to each other for the next month."
Aug 19th: The Washington Post reveals that Shays was a major beneficiary of Karl Rove's use of federal assets to help Republican candidates the 2006 campaign. The district benefits by receiving a handful of photo ops, some nice $23 weather radios, and Chris Shays for another 2 years.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Ca., who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent letters Tuesday to the heads of 18 federal agencies seeking documents to determine if that is so....
Shays has been critical of the investigation, and voted April 25 against issuing subpoenas to the Republican National Committee seeking e-mails that White House officials wrote on RNC e-mail accounts about using federal resources to help Republican candidates.
At the April meeting, Shays complained that "I feel like we are straining out gnats and swallowing camels."
There are "so many huge issues that we should be debating," he added.
Aug 24th: Shays blows up, attacks blogger at press conference:
Sept. 4th: Shays comes out in favor of permanent bases in Iraq:
His statement, Hawkings said, was "twisted" in some newspaper articles, and Shays meant that he needs to focus primarily on the "difficult" race against Democratic challenger Jim Himes, and not worry about earning a party position for which he is "next in line."
Sept. 20th: Shays lashes out at journalists in a speech on Iraq. Journalists hit back, calling Shays' comments "dangerous," "ludicrous," and "absurd".
Sept. 20th: House GOP Whip Roy Blunt suggests that Shays stop talking about threatening to retire over committee assignments:
The 4th District Republican said last week that if he does not get strong support to be top Republican in 2009 on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, he will not seek re-election. And if re-elected, he said, he would resign if he did not get the committee slot.
So, Blunt, House minority whip and second-ranking House Republican, was asked if Shays had that support.
Blunt smiled and suggested Shays stop talking about it.
Oct 2nd: Shays repeatedly defends Blackwater in House hearing, famously tells Blackwater CEO that his company is doing a "perfect job"
Oct. 7th Shays says he is "ashamed" of opposing the Broadwater natural gas terminal in the Long Island Sound. Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), at an event with him, is both confused and vexed:
His remarks shocked some of the forum's attendees and took its host, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) -- a vocal Broadwater foe -- by surprise.
"I disagree with him fundamentally on it," Israel said after the forum. Broadwater "turns Long Island Sound into an industrial zone."
Oct. 9th: Did Shays green-light the Turkish incursion into Iraq?
Shays also said Democratic control of Congress defused the single most common argument challengers used to defeat him: His seat prevented Democrats from controlling the House. "Now you don't have to defeat me to have a Democratic Congress," he quipped.
Oct. 18th: Shays defends his defense of Blackwater and Eric Prince on WSHU.
Shays was Rice's most visible defender yesterday....
While other lawmakers each got five minutes to question Rice, Shays managed to grab three turns. When he wasn't speaking or raising his hand to speak, he was coaching four GOP colleagues before their questioning time.
Shays lobbed the softest of questions at the secretary. "Tell me what would be gained," he asked, referring to the Democrats' questions, from "a frontal assault against the prime minister." ...
And when the hearing finally ended, he hurried to intercept Rice and gave her a hug. The secretary clasped his hand tenderly as she departed.
Oct. 27th: Shays completely backs down on retirement threat:
"I am eager to run again," Shays said Thursday. "I'm loving my job."
Oct. 29th: The Connecticut Post slams Shays for his comments on refusing to help out victims of predatory lending - Shays named Wanker of the Day:
So when Rep. Christopher Shays says, "I can't imagine helping people who should not have gotten a loan in the first place," it's worth wondering who he's taking out his anger on. Is it the people who were defrauded, or the ones who did the defrauding?
Nov. 27th: Shays to set off on record-breaking pony-finding Iraq trip number 19:
Dec. 13th: Shays claims baseball players were the "worst behaved" he's seen in 20 years in Congress. Wins the Bronze on Olbermann:
Dec. 27th: On the day of the Bhutto assassination, Shays calls up both the AP and the New York Daily News to talk once more about the pre-eminent crisis facing our nation: steroids.
Dec. 27th: Shays talks to a local newspaper to opine on his inability to define which particular sadistic techniques might constitute "torture," while attempting (unsuccessfully and a little creepily) to defend a recent vote against banning waterboarding:
"I don't know where to draw the line on some of these issues," Shays said, adding that torture used to involve pulling out fingernails and maiming people with knives.
"I wouldn't be able to go through each item and tell you," Shays said, "because I don't know the sensation. I haven't had anyone do it to me."
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Help bring better Democrats to D.C. And help make 2008 Chris Shays' retirement year.
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!
