GOP Rep. Announces Retirement Very Early, Says Sick Of ‘Rhetoric And Vitriol’

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 05: The U.S. Capitol Building seen on February 5, 2019 in Washington, DC. President Trump delivers his State of the Union address tonight in Washington, a week after Speaker of the House Nan... WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 05: The U.S. Capitol Building seen on February 5, 2019 in Washington, DC. President Trump delivers his State of the Union address tonight in Washington, a week after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi withdrew her initial invitation because of the partial government shutdown. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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After spending time with his family at their lake house, Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI) announced his retirement, saying that “there’s a whole world out there outside this city that’s a pretty damn nice place.”

“You look at the rhetoric and vitriol, it overwhelms policy, politics becomes the norm,” he told Politico Playbook. “Everything’s about politics. Everything’s about an election. And at some point of time, that’s not why I came here. ”

“I was commenting earlier to our senior staff, ‘Do we see the next four [years], in the near term, the better angels coming out of this?'” he added.

Mitchell is leaving a very safe Republican seat in a district President Donald Trump won by more than 30 points.

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Notable Replies

  1. Maybe if you had the courage to call out your leadership as the culprits, Rep. Mitchell, there’s a chance that positive change could begin.

  2. I guess Simon Legree had some beefs about slavery, too…

  3. Avatar for bdtex bdtex says:

    As if there is nothing a Republican in a "very safe Republican seat " can do about it.

  4. Avatar for noonm noonm says:

    The post Congress gravy train is much more appealing than that.

  5. Well, I imagine if I had the luxury of contemplation at my lake house, I might come to the same conclusion.

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