Should Shadegg Stay or Should Shadegg Go?

John Shadegg is giving his announced retirement a second thought now that 140 or so of his colleagues, and some of his potential replacements, have asked him to stay. The Congressman from CD 3 has learned to act like a starlet who threatens to walk off the set in the middle of filming in order to force the director to give her that close-up she’s been wanting.

What kind of serious-minded person makes a life altering decision that will affect hundreds of thousands of constituents, set off major and potentially irreversible career decisions by his peers, and alter his family life significantly, then say, "Well, on second thought…" What a flibbertigibbet!

If I was a cynical man, I might think that Shadegg just wanted a little attention and stroking by his peers… oh, wait. I am a cynical man. I do think that John Shadegg maybe just wanted some appreciation and attention, possibly even some guarantees of support for another run at the hapless Mr. Boehner for minority leadership, and thought that maybe a threat to just up and resign would be an ideal way to get everyone to appreciate him bit more. Mission accomplished.

Now, I’ll be the first to acknowledge that the Republicans, and by extension the country, would be better off under any leadership other than Mr. Boehner, but really this little stunt by Shadegg is unworthy and childish. If Shadegg decides not to resign after all, and then announces he’ll be challenging for minority leadership again with the support of some of those 140 colleagues who didn’t support him last time around, I get to be the first to say, "I told you so."