The Rise and Fall of Tom Reynolds
New York Rep. Tom Reynolds announced today that he is not running for reelection in November, capping off a congressional career whose arc neatly mirrors that of the GOP majority he helped lose.
Elected near the apex of Republican power in 1998, Reynolds rose quickly on the strength of his forceful personality, fundraising chops and tactical acumen to the GOP leadership table and the position of potential Speaker-in-waiting. But a series of events eroded his standing, as the disastrous 2006 election, the demise of the New York Republican brand and his supporting role in a pair of scandals reduced Reynolds to what he is today -- an endangered member of the minority with scant prospects for future advancement.
Reynolds is the 22nd House Republican to announce his plans for retirement this cycle, compared to just three Democrats who have done so. Another three Republicans and three Democrats are running for other office, and four more Republicans have already left the chamber during this Congress.
Having previously served as state Assembly minority leader, Reynolds arrived in Congress full of ambition and -- as he never tired of pointing out to reporters and colleagues -- a clear-eyed view of what it meant to serve in a legislative minority and an appreciation of how fortunate Republicans in the Capitol were to hold the reins of power.
Reynolds quickly became a protégé of Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), spending long hours plotting strategy with his mentor behind closed doors. Just four years after coming to the House, Reynolds was elected chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee in the 108th Congress. Running the party campaign arm, Reynolds cemented his power, expanding his fundraising network and cultivating a base of members grateful for his support in getting them elected or re-elected.
Until the wheels started to fall off in the 109th Congress, Reynolds had a defined path to power. He was seen as a potential heir apparent to his ally Hastert, either as a candidate for Speaker when the Illinois lawmaker decided to retire or a candidate for Majority Leader or Whip if one of those jobs opened first.
Assuming the GOP had retained control of Congress in 2006, Hastert was expected to reward Reynolds for his successful tour at the NRCC by appointing him chairman of the Republican leadership, an unelected post akin to the Speaker's consigliere. The last occupant of that job was Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), another close Hastert friend who left the House in 2005 to serve in President Bush's cabinet.
But then the trouble started. In September 2005, Rep. Tom DeLay was indicted by a Texas grand jury and was forced to step down from his post as Majority Leader. Rep. Roy Blunt (Mo.) -- a Reynolds rival -- was named to take the job temporarily, and then Blunt lost the contest a few months later to replace DeLay permanently to Rep. John Boehner (Ohio). Boehner's ascension to the No. 2 leadership post threw up a roadblock to Reynolds's ambitions for the Speakership, and Reynolds was unable to enter that Majority Leader race because he was too busy helming the NRCC.
In September 2006, news broke that Florida Rep. Mark Foley (R) had sent inappropriate, sexually suggestive electronic messages to House pages. At Reynolds's urging, Foley quickly resigned, but the New Yorker ended up being further ensconsed in the scandal. Reynolds said he had heard of some of Foley's questionable messages earlier in the year and warned Hastert about it. And it emerged that Kirk Fordham -- Reynolds' chief of staff at the time who had previously been Foley's top aide -- played a key role in the controversy. Fordham claimed that he had warned Hastert's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, years earlier about Foley's behavior, an assertion Palmer strongly denied.
Just as it helped contribute to the GOP's loss of the House majority, the Foley scandal also put a scare into Reynolds himself. Reynolds was re-elected in 2006 by a 52 to 48 margin against a relatively weak Democratic opponent.
Losing the majority gave Reynolds nowhere else to go in the leadership, as his mentor Hastert left the top ranks and then resigned from the House late last year. And while Reynolds holds a coveted post on the Ways and Means Committee, he has never been suited to the role of policy wonk and has too many members ahead of him on the committee roster to have any realistic chance at eventually becoming the panel's top Republican.
Further eroding Reynolds' position was the revelation last month that the NRCC's former treasurer, Christopher Ward, allegedly transferred several hundred thousand dollars out of the committee's coffers for his own benefit, mostly on Reynolds's watch. Ward's actions, the lack of a proper audit of the committee's books for several years and the enormous debt -- now pegged at $19 million, according to Roll Call -- left over from Reynolds' tenure have served to raise questions about his oversight of the committee.
On the home front, GOP ranks in New York and in the northeast as a whole have been decimated in recent years. Reynolds's seat, which stretches from Buffalo to Rochester and was once considered relatively safe by Empire State standards, is now perennially in play. When Reynolds was elected, Republicans controlled 13 of New York's 31 House seats. Now, after redistricting, they hold just six out of 29, with both Reynolds' seat and that of retiring Rep. James Walsh in danger of falling to Democrats.
As Democrats eagerly point out, Reynolds' impending departure means that five of the six elected Republican leaders from the start of the 109th Congress are now gone or going -- Hastert, DeLay, Reynolds and retiring Reps. Deborah Pryce (Ohio) and John Doolittle (Calif.). Only Blunt is still around, and all five of those seats have either flipped or are in danger of doing so; DeLay's seat went Democratic in 2006, Democrats captured Hastert's seat in a special election earlier this month and Reynolds' and Pryce's districts are high on Democratic target lists. Doolittle's seat looks relatively safe for the GOP, but only because the scandal-tarred incumbent is retiring.
So given the circumstances in both Washington and New York, Reynolds' announcement today is not surprising. Republicans have a long road ahead before they can hope to regain power, and even many of the most senior and previously powerful members of the party are no longer interested in going along for the ride.
By Ben Pershing |
March 20, 2008; 12:30 PM ET
2008 Campaign
, GOP Leaders
, House
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Posted by: votenic | March 20, 2008 01:59 PM
A failed ideology, a failed party, a failed President, a despicable and unjustified impeachment that helped Bin Ladin attack America. No Taxes, No Government, No Sex, No Gays, Guns in every house, God in every classroom, Women back in the kitchen. Any wonder why these failures are leaving in droves. Shame on then all!
Posted by: thebob.bob | March 20, 2008 03:22 PM
He has his quarter million a year pension--and all the lobbyist contacts and opportunities to be another gazillionaire from the tax payer's trough. What more does he need?
Why don't you folks ever include the before and after financial snaphost of these pigs --start with Reynolds and the bug exterminator criminal Tom Delay (and their families while you're at it)?
Posted by: Crooks like Reynolds are ruining this country | March 20, 2008 03:39 PM
Once again --the bob.bob hits the nail on the head.
Here are a couple of other reasons that the Republicans are bailing out -
A continuing war in Iraq that has cost our nation nearly 4,000 young kids killed (19 more dead so far in March), and moreover nearly 26,000 wounded - many, many of them grievously wounded.
Patraeus can tamp down violence - but when do we win? Seriously - what is the criteria for a victory?
That continuing war in Iraq that is costing our treasury about 10 BILLION dollars each and every month with many other hidden costs - including the incalculable loss of our respect and honor in the world community.
An attenuated effort in Afghanistan - curtailed by the drain on our armed forces and treasury of an ill-conceived and hopelessly mismanaged effort in Iraq. AlQaeda is in the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan - Osama bin Muhammad bin 'Awad bin Laden is there...remember him? Check out the story on this topic here in the WaPo
How about the housing mortgage collapse that is driving down the value of all of our homes - for most of us our homes are our greatest investment and we are losing money everyday.
And the credit market collapse that dwarfs the mortgage industry problems and is threatening the very foundation of our capitalist society - here and among our allies. With the $30 BILLION underwriting of Bear Stearns - the Fed takes another step towards the cliff.
Gasoline prices at the pump predicted to rise past $4.60 per gallon by the end of May. Some industry guy on the radio yesterday was quoted as forecasting an AVERAGE price at the pump by election day (November 4) of $5.00 per gallon.
Additionally, we see tens of thousands of workers losing their jobs every month while new jobs are not coming on line and the nation teetering on the edge of a very serious recession which will bring industry closures and hundreds of thousands of layoffs. Delta Airlines announced yesterday a buyout offer to 30,000 of their employees and cited fuel costs as primary problem.
As one Republican lawmaker stated a few days ago the problem is President Bush:
"It's no mystery," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.). "You have a very unhappy electorate, which is no surprise, with oil at $108 a barrel, stocks down a few thousand points, a war in Iraq with no end in sight and a president who is still very, very unpopular. He's just killed the Republican brand."
November 2008 is going to be an electoral disaster for the Republican Party - thanks in the most part to the guidance of Dick Cheney, the ineptitude of Don Rumsfield, and the blind stubbornness of their "boss" - the Dunce of D.C.
Posted by: gandalfthegrey | March 20, 2008 03:44 PM
Like Darwin pointed out this is survival of the fittest.
The stupid, the corrupt, and the weak are soon extinct.
GOOD BYE - AND DAMNED GOOD RIDDANCE.
10 years from now:
"Grandpa, what was a republican?"
Posted by: Tom | March 20, 2008 03:58 PM
Like Darwin pointed out this is survival of the fittest.
The stupid, the corrupt, and the weak are soon extinct.
GOOD BYE - AND DAMNED GOOD RIDDANCE.
10 years from now:
"Grandpa, what was a republican?"
Posted by: Tom | March 20, 2008 03:58 PM
has Chenney announced the charity he is going to give his ill gotten gains of the Halliburton stock options?
Posted by: | March 20, 2008 04:08 PM
has Chenney announced the charity he is going to give his ill gotten gains of the Halliburton stock options?
Posted by: ghalmos | March 20, 2008 04:09 PM
Goooooooooooooooood Riddance!
Posted by: JBE | March 20, 2008 04:17 PM
More good news for the U.S.--another corrupt, GOP greedhead tanks out.
As a life-long liberal Democrat I want to thank Bush, Cheney, et. al. for their effective destruction of the Republican party. Disasterous and shameful as it has been, the GOP hold on government the past seven years succeeded in convincing the voters that the Republicans are totally unable to govern.
The November elections will see a Republican train wreck the likes of which has never been experienced by a political party in our nation's history--and, unlike 1964, they will never recover from it.
Posted by: reporter1 | March 20, 2008 04:32 PM
The Republican brand is tarnished beyond the next decade. Reynolds out, Tom Cole in. After the elections this fall, goodbye Mr. Cole.
Posted by: infuse | March 20, 2008 05:44 PM
Reynolds barely squeaked by last time against a nutjob who even in the midst of the Foley scandal was still worrying about the Mexicans. Also Reynolds was one of the vote stealing boys who went down to Florida to insure Bush's misadventure. A thug of the first water. Gone but not forgiven.
Posted by: Hebephrene | March 20, 2008 05:53 PM
Reynolds barely squeaked by last time against a nutjob who even in the midst of the Foley scandal was still worrying about the Mexicans. Also Reynolds was one of the vote stealing boys who went down to Florida to insure Bush's misadventure. A thug of the first water. Gone but not forgiven.
Posted by: Hebephrene | March 20, 2008 05:53 PM
As a citizen of western NY state, I also would like to wish him good riddance.
Posted by: kvs | March 20, 2008 05:59 PM
So gutted from within is the GOP these days that only the truest true believers still profess their faith. Bush has knocked every pillar of rectitude, maturity, prudence and wordliness out from under it. Now it's just a shell echoing with the self-righteous baying of the ones who don't yet understand that they are the victims of an historic swindle.
Posted by: DFC | March 20, 2008 06:27 PM
So gutted from within is the GOP these days that only the truest true believers still profess their faith. Bush has knocked every pillar of rectitude, maturity, prudence and wordliness out from under it. Now it's just a shell echoing with the self-righteous baying of the ones who don't yet understand that they are the victims of an historic swindle.
Posted by: DFC | March 20, 2008 06:27 PM
Another spend-spend-spend Republican with an anything goes philosophy bites the dust.
Posted by: Nick | March 20, 2008 06:45 PM
Not to put 100% of the blame on the Republicans for everthing wrong, however, they are 75% to blame for the sad state of the country today both economically, ethically, judicially, and internationally and 100% to blame for the corruption of the Bush/Cheney regime. They still back the most corrupt administration to ever lead this country. They loved their party and their money more than the love this country that is for sure!
Posted by: Janet1 | March 20, 2008 07:08 PM
Yet another crony-beholden, Bush suck-up is out the door -- and no one will miss him. While McCain may be elected, I have a funny feeling 2008 is NOT going to be the year of the Republican -- and the party no one to blame by itself.
Posted by: vegasgirl | March 20, 2008 07:25 PM
Like all cowards, the repulsives run away when they know they are beaten, so where's the stoic 'we'll stand up for our principles, and for the American way of life' because they have no principles or morals, these are the people that the statement 'principles are fine until they cost you something' was written for, the other reason of course is the total and abject fear that they will all be investigated, and now they are in the minority can no longer block the legal and statutory oversight that has been missing from the admin for 8 years, and that is the definition of a coward and hence a repulsive
Posted by: Terry | March 20, 2008 09:30 PM
Good riddance to bad rubbish! He will not be missed.
Posted by: Wink Williams | March 20, 2008 09:35 PM
Reynolds is another of those who believed in the BushCo creed, "Party before Country". They all got rich and can now retire on their illegally gained millions.
All of these Bush Crime Family cronies will be judged; today, tomorrow, and forever.
Posted by: rel615 | March 20, 2008 10:13 PM
This chorus of condemnation seems very unified. But lest we get carried away in our glee, we should see the smiles on the faces of Republicans as the Democrats continue to shoot ourselves in the foot. Caught between the choices of two worthy candidates, we still can't focus our message on McCain as Bush's heir.
In the candidates bashing of each other lies the GOP's shot at redemption.
Hillary, let it go! Back Barak.
Posted by: Natural Ned | March 21, 2008 12:37 PM
The departure of Republican,and particularly Bush cronies,is a much needed bit of fresh air. However, I do believe that if there is a Republican disaster in the fall elections, we could wind up with problems again. What sent the Republicans into a tail spin was an arrogant incompetent president, VP, defense secretary and a Karl Rove personality that is equivalent to pond scum. It summed into "ONE PARTY RULE". I fear that could also come from the other side with a Democratic landslide. How do we control that? How do "We the people" reform a government and not let a Bush-Cheney-Rove disaster rebound in a different package?
Posted by: oskar | March 21, 2008 03:32 PM
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Posted by: votenic | March 21, 2008 03:35 PM
Member of Congress don't get pensions anywhere near $250,000 a year. The average is about $42,000, and Reynolds' will be relatively low since he'll only have served 10 years in the House. Check snopes.com.
Posted by: Sandwich Repairman | March 22, 2008 02:13 AM
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