The Pryce is Wrong….

and she’s also outta here! The Columbus, Ohio representative, like a growing number of Rethugs, is not running for reelection in 2008. Are the rats leaving a sinking ship, or are they just drowning? Whatever the case, let’s all watch as Deborah says…..

Original DVD cover.

From the Washington Post:

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republicans scrambled to find a candidate for one of the nation’s most competitive congressional districts Thursday as Rep. Deborah Pryce, nearly a casualty of the 2006 Democratic surge, announced that she would not seek a ninth term.

Also announcing that he will not run for re-election in 2008 was Rep. Chip Pickering, a six-term Republican from Mississippi.

…snip…

Pryce, who last year faced the toughest race of her congressional career, rose to the No. 4 position in the GOP before it lost control in the 2006 election. Her decision means that of the four top House Republicans from that party’s last majority, only Roy Blunt of Missouri, the GOP whip, will seek election next year.

Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, stepped down last year, and party officials said former Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., planned to announce Friday that he would not seek re-election.

Here’s a little something from our friends at Wikipedia:

Connections to Abramoff scandal

On September 12, 2003, Pryce wrote a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton about a Louisiana casino proposal. In the letter, Pryce, the number four Republican in the House, said that Interior Department approval of a casino proposed by the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians would “set forth a dangerous precedent” and encourage “reservation shopping” by tribes. Republican Whip Roy Blunt sent a similar letter to Norton dated May 21, 2003. A third letter, dated June 10, 2003, was signed by Blunt, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and Republican Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor. Identical wording appears in all three letters.

An aide to Senate Indian Affairs Committee chairman John McCain said that investigators believe the letters were authored by Jack Abramoff and his employees and signed by the congressmen.

Federal Election Commission records compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine indicate that Pryce’s Promoting Republicans You Can Elect political action committee (PAC) got $8,000 in donations from Abramoff’s Indian gambling clients from 2002 through 2004.[4] She subsequently donated the money to charity.

Between 2001 and 2004, Pryce reported holding 10 fundraisers at Abramoff’s Washington restaurant, the now-closed Signatures, out of a total of 55 reported by members of Congress.

and this:

Contributions to Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio)

In November 2005, Pryce — along with Ohio GOP representatives Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and David Hobson (R-Ohio) — helped organize a fundraiser for Bob Ney (R-Ohio), who later resigned from Congress and was indicted on federal charges. Pryce contributed $2,000 “for Ney’s 2006 re-election bid, not a legal-defense fund Ney is forming.” However, when Ney abandoned his campaign in August 2006, federal law allowed him to use his leftover campaign funds to pay his legal bills.

Contributions to Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.)

On October 2, 2006, after the Mark Foley congressional page scandal erupted, Pryce returned campaign contributions from Foley’s PAC. In addition, she stated that, “anyone who was aware of these instant messages needs to take responsibility. Anybody who had knowledge of that needs to step down.” Pryce maintained that, before the public release of Foley’s salacious messages, she was unaware of Foley’s overtures toward congressional pages. However, when a magazine reporter asked Pryce a month earlier to list her friends in Washington, she included Foley as one of them. After the Foley scandal broke, Pryce said, “Apparently I did not know Mark Foley at all. Mark Foley was a friend of mine, but he was a friend of everybody. Mark Foley is very gregarious. We spent some time together but I, just like someone you know for a long time surprises you, he surprised everyone.” She also called Foley “sick,” a “predator,” and “disgusting.”

Oh, almost forgot. The reason Deb is leaving? To spend more time with her family…….. 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 Damn! I knew I wouldn’t be able to report that with a straight face! Ahhhh, these funny, funny Rethugs, how they make me laugh!