And the next House retiree is... Vern Ehlers (R, MI-03)

[JohnnyLongtorso]

http://www.wwmt.com/articles/margin-1372392-bottom-rep.html

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Obviously bad news for the Democrats.

[Sam Spade]

Who?

[JohnnyLongtorso]

Eight-termer, nuclear physicist and apparently a twin of Bernie Sanders:



(Ehlers is on the left)

[JSojourner]

Kudos to any old fart who has the sense to ditch the comb-over.  Senator Coats, are you listening?

[Torie]

This is the Grand Rapids district, no?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Yeah it is.

R hold.

[Bo]

The GOP should keep this one. The Dems might have took it over with a good candidate in 2006 or 2008, but Ehlers smartly waited until 2010 when the atmosphere nationwide will be much friendlier to Republicans.

[Lunar]

Eight-termer, nuclear physicist and apparently a twin of Bernie Sanders:



(Ehlers is on the left)

Those are two different people?  Really?

[Lunar]

Is there a more artificially boxy looking district out there [not determined by state border a la Wyoming]?

I can't believe a district actually looks like this.  It's like a giant cross.

[Vepres]

Wow, this really illustrates so many national trends, time to analyze!

1 hour later...

Who's Vern Ehlers?

[timmer123]

Is there a more artificially boxy looking district out there [not determined by state border a la Wyoming]?

I can't believe a district actually looks like this.  It's like a giant cross.

Well most Michigan counties are squares, so it's not surprising.

[Lunar]

Oh right, I didn't notice that.

Freak place.

[Padfoot]

Oh right, I didn't notice that.

Freak place.

rectangular counties are extremely common in the midwest actually.  Its you freaky northeastern states that have all the odd shaped counties.

[Lunar]

Oh right, I didn't notice that.

Freak place.

rectangular counties are extremely common in the midwest actually.  Its you freaky northeastern states that have all the odd shaped counties.

I just moved here, I wouldn't know.  I've only been in two counties in the Northeast in my entire life (Brooklyn where I live, Manhattan where I work).  I've hung out in Chicago a couple times with some girl, but that was the North Shore (Kirk's district) & the city.  Once had a plane diverted to St. Louis, and I think when I was 11 or something I went to a family reunion in Branson, Missouri, but I'd say I'm still pretty unfamiliar with both regions

[dmmidmi]

I'm actually kind of bummed about this. Vern votes as a lock-step Republican on a whole host of issues, but he's real big on environmental and green initiatives. I can't help but think that he has helped with securing funding for LEED-certified buildings. The city has a fantastic recycling system, as well.

Democrats hold State Representative seats in Grand Rapids (the city itself is not nearly as conservative as the surrounding area), and Kent County went for Obama in 2008. But there are more than enough Republicans in Ionia, Lowell, Walker, Grandville, and to the north of GR to stop a Democrat from representing MI-03 in the US House.

I'm sure I won't be happy with whoever his replacement is.

[Lunar]

Wow, maybe THIS played a role in his decision...he was getting a primary challenge (and his wife had a heart attack last week)

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=118351&catid=48


Grand Rapids, MI (WZZM) - Wednesday morning Grand Rapids Republican Congressman Vern Ehlers says he will announce his decision.  Will he run for reelection or retire from the U.S house?

"I would be surprised if he announced his retirement," says Calvin College Political Science Professor Douglas Koopman. "He has a fairly large campaign war chest. He's still in good physical health and there is really no indication he is winding down."

Whatever Ehlers decides, Republican State Representative Justin Amash of Grand Rapids says he is running for Ehlers' 3rd congressional seat.

"I was planning to run regardless of his intentions," says State Representative Amash. 29-year-old Amash is serving his first term in the state house.

"My candidacy is about what I bring to the table and whether he's running or it's a multi-candidate field - makes no difference."

If he decides to run, Ehlers would be a candidate for his 10th term in the U. S. House.

Now that he is a candidate for congress, Representative Amash says he can't run for reelection to the state house.

[Torie]

Oh Lunar, you are such a card.

[Linus Van Pelt]

I'm actually kind of bummed about this. Vern votes as a lock-step Republican on a whole host of issues, but he's real big on environmental and green initiatives.

This. Ehlers was pretty much the only religious conservative Republican who took climate change seriously - not a coincidence that he had a PhD in physics.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I've never heard of this man.

[JSojourner]

I'm actually kind of bummed about this. Vern votes as a lock-step Republican on a whole host of issues, but he's real big on environmental and green initiatives.

This. Ehlers was pretty much the only religious conservative Republican who took climate change seriously - not a coincidence that he had a PhD in physics.

I believe he was a supporter of Michigan's Au Sable Institute, an Evangelical-run laboratory work on environmental issues. They do fine work there.

[dmmidmi]

Wow, maybe THIS played a role in his decision...he was getting a primary challenge (and his wife had a heart attack last week)

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=118351&catid=48


Grand Rapids, MI (WZZM) - Wednesday morning Grand Rapids Republican Congressman Vern Ehlers says he will announce his decision.  Will he run for reelection or retire from the U.S house?

"I would be surprised if he announced his retirement," says Calvin College Political Science Professor Douglas Koopman. "He has a fairly large campaign war chest. He's still in good physical health and there is really no indication he is winding down."

Whatever Ehlers decides, Republican State Representative Justin Amash of Grand Rapids says he is running for Ehlers' 3rd congressional seat.

"I was planning to run regardless of his intentions," says State Representative Amash. 29-year-old Amash is serving his first term in the state house.

"My candidacy is about what I bring to the table and whether he's running or it's a multi-candidate field - makes no difference."

If he decides to run, Ehlers would be a candidate for his 10th term in the U. S. House.

Now that he is a candidate for congress, Representative Amash says he can't run for reelection to the state house.

I seriously doubt Amash had anything to do with it. If Vern wanted his seat, all he had to do was put his name on the ballot.

[Bo]

I've never heard of this man.

Not many people did, even within the U.S.

[Joe Republic]

I don't know why some media sources are saying that Ehlers is "the only nuclear physicist in Congress".  Doesn't Bill Foster count?

[Meeker]

I don't know why some media sources are saying that Ehlers is "the only nuclear physicist in Congress".  Doesn't Bill Foster count?

I think Foster's a "particle physicist". I don't know enough about science to know if there's a big difference.

[Joe Republic]

I'll bet that muon2 knows, given that he's also a phyicisicyhist, and he knows Foster IRL AFAIK IIRC BYOB.