Last night, Tennesseans received the word that John Tanner will retire from Congress when his current term of office ends in January 2011. Tanner is a Democrat, and so the Democratic political establishment regards his retirement as a worrying thing.
“Tanner’s departure alarms Dems”, reads the headline from Politico. D.C. Insider rag The Hill calls the retirement “more trouble” for the Democratic Party.
For progressives, however, John Tanner’s decision to retire is welcome news. That’s because John Tanner is an anti-progressive member of the right wing Blue Dog Coalition.
Tanner voted in favor of allowing George W. Bush to rush American into war in Iraq. He voted in favor of the Patriot Act, to help George W. Bush spy on Americans. He voted in favor of the Military Commissions Act, to revoke habeas corpus and legalize torture. In the current session of Congress, Tanner has earned a progressive rating of only 23 percent.
John Tanner is an example of the sort of regressive Democrat who has led the Democratic Party off the rails, betraying the values of Democratic voters and blurring the lines between the Democratic and Republican parties.
Democratic Party leaders may moan about the loss of a vote in support on procedural matters, but the fact is that Tanner usually voted with Republicans on the issues that matter most. For progressives, John Tanner’s retirement is good news.
