One Dingell Out-- Another One In?

Not Debbie Dingell-- this is the good potential replacement

It's wonderful when people feel it's time to retire and then just do it. Congratulations to John Dingell, who made the announcement this morning. At age 87 he's the second-oldest Member of the House, after 90 year old Ralph Hall (who smelled food and inadvertently wandered into an LGBT event recently and was swaying to "I Will Survive" before realizing everyone in the room was a… Democrat, and fleeing in horror). Henry Waxman (74) and George Miller (68) set very classy examples of bowing out at the right time.

A centrist Democrat with a mediocre 74.26 ProgressivePunch crucial vote score this session, Dingell has been good on labor issues and so-so on most everything else (except on issues of women's Choice, where he's… as Jerry Garcia, Vassar Clements, Peter Rowan and David Grisman might have phrased it, "old and in the way." He inherited his father's House seat in 1955-- which his father had held since 1932-- and now he's trying to pass it along to authoritarian and incredibly lame Michigan Democratic Party boss Debbie Dingell, his wife, a GM lobbyist. Presumably, there will be plenty of support for her on K Street.

As the longest-serving member of Congress in history, and with three decades as the top Democrat on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), has seen dozens of his former aides move on to successful K Street careers.

Those who have passed through the revolving door and are currently registered lobbyists include Peter Filon, who worked on cable, telephone, Internet and broadcasting issues at the committee until 2006, when he was hired by Comcast to be a senior lobbyist-- a busy job these days.

Michael Robbins, Dingell's former chief of staff, made a move in 2011 to the Air Line Pilots Association, where he is director of government affairs. And Jeff Donofrio is on the lobbying team of the Ford Motor Co.

Back home, she's politely described as a "power broker." Over the years, I haven't heard many Democratic candidates describe her with that much neutrality. Grassroots progressives usually have something nasty to say about her heavy-handed brand of Establishment politics. Marisa Schultz, the DC-based political writer for the Detroit News makes it clear she's running.

Debbie Dingell, a Democratic power broker and chairwoman of the Wayne State University Board of Governors, is expected to run for Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, now that her husband, U.S. Rep. John Dingell, announced his retirement Monday, political experts said.

Debbie Dingell, 60, one of Michigan’s longtime representatives on the Democratic National Committee and a former president of the General Motors Foundation, decided in April not to run for the U.S. Senate to replace the retiring Carl Levin, D-Detroit, saying she wanted to avoid a costly primary with U.S. Rep. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township. The move effectively cleared the field for Peters, who is running against Republican Terri Lynn Land.

The retirement of John Dingell, 87, unlocks another rare open seat in Washington for Michigan’s politically ambitious Democrats, who often are sidelined by senior members serving in Congress for decades. If Debbie Dingell enters the race for the seat that includes parts of Wayne and Washtenaw counties, she would be the one candidate who could discourage others from competing.

“She would be the prohibitive favorite in the race,” said Lansing-based political consultant T.J. Bucholz.

The Dingells are considered a powerful political team. Debbie stresses bipartisanship on Michigan issues, like her husband, and has long organized Michigan's inaugural ball regardless of which party won the presidency. She also has been active for decades in community events and fundraising and has built a vast political network.

…The 12th Congressional District leans Democratic and became more blue after the 2012 redistricting, which shed the more moderate county of Monroe. The district starts in the Dingells’ hometown of Dearborn, then heads south through Downriver Detroit and west to Washtenaw County’s Ann Arbor. President Barack Obama beat Republican Mitt Romney by 34 points in the new district in 2012.

Wayne County makes up about 62 percent of the voters in the district, compared to about 38 percent for Washtenaw County, home to state Sen. Rebekah Warren, a strong, progressive female voice in the Legislature who insiders believe could also make a strong congressional candidate.

Candidates for Congress have until April 22 to submit at least 1,000 petition signatures to make the ballot for the Aug. 5 primary election.

Debbie Dingell can be “a polarizing figure” within the Democratic Party, Bucholz said. “There are some people who really like her and there are some people who have challenges with her."

But John Dingell, in office since 1955, yields tremendous political influence and an endorsement for his wife would carry weight within the party and potentially could ward off a contentious Democratic primary.

“Debbie Dingell has political gravitas. John Dingell has three times more,” Bucholz said. “... No one in Michigan will second guess Congressman Dingell on who should be his replacement. If they do, it wouldn’t be in public.”

The district, which boasts a D+15 PVI, gave Obama a 67-31% win over McCain in 2008 and then a 66-33% win over favorite-son Mitt Romney in 2012. Dingell did even better, beating his GOP opponent 68-29% in 2012 and with 71% in 2008. It may be time for new blood in Michigan's Democratic Party… but don't bring that up to any Michigan Democrats. Progressives are begging Rebekah Warren to run.