Lesko Leaving: Another GOP House Retirement

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Technically, I suppose, I have a connection to three members of Congress, although only one of the three truly represents my views on just about anything.  Jason Smith, a knee-jerk Republican from Missouri's  most rural district, represents the area where I actually live, and I dutifully go to the polls and vote against him every two years - and he always easily wins.   Although a lawyer and real estate developer by trade, Jason fancies himself a farmer, and most weekends when he manages to get home, Jason dons a pair of old blue jeans and goes out to get his picture taken with his rural constituents - often with farm machinery and/or livestock in the background.

I also closely follow the actions and votes of Sharice Davids, a Democrat from the third district of Kansas - located in the suburbs of Kansas City.  Ms. Davids, the only Democrat currently serving in the Kansas delegation to Congress, is a former mixed martial arts professional fighter and the only openly LGBTQ+ member of Congress from Kansas.  She was also one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress.  Sharice represents the district where two of my grandchildren live, and I am happy to send her campaign donations.  We think alike on most issues.

My third member of Congress is another Republican, a woman named Debbie Lesko who represents Arizona's 8th congressional district, an over-developed patch of desert west of Phoenix where I used to live when I worked at Luke Air Force Base.  Back when I lived there, a decade ago, the area was represented by another Republican, Trent Franks, a staunchly religious and pious individual whose main interest in being in Congress was to do everything that he could to stop abortions.  Politically, Trent was very much a one-trick pony.  But a couple of years after I left and came back to the Ozarks, Trent got in some trouble for suggesting to a couple of his female aids that they consider being surrogate parents for him and his wife.   After that story broke nationally, Trent quickly resigned and a special election was held which Lesko, a fairly new state senator, eventually won with a surprisingly small plurality.

But Debbie survived and grew in office.  She is now in her third full term and did not even have an opponent in her last race.    A native of Wisconsin, Congresswoman Lesko has learned her Arizona constituency well and gives them as much conservatism as they can handle - which is quite a lot.  In most ways Lesko is like my other GOP congressman, Jason Smith, except that she doesn't dress like a slob when she comes home to glad-hand constituents  - and she has more personality.

I regard Lesko as my third representative because she somehow or another has my name on her email list - although I was never on Trent's.    I get her weekly emails as well as the occasional questionnaire, and though I never give answers on the questionnaires that would strengthen her already-firm positions, she keeps me on her mailing lists none-the-less.

This week Debbie Lesko, who has served only three terms in Congress and appears to be doing quite well by low-bar Republican standards, has announced that she is stepping down and will not run for re-election in 2024.  Lesko, who is sixty-four, says that she wants to spend more time with her family, a laudable goal, and she also bemoans the obvious fact that "DC is broken."

(When your seemingly best option for a House Speaker is political bully who contributed to the sexual abuse of college athletes through his silence, then yup, DC definitely has some shortcomings!)

Good luck Debbie, and enjoy your family.  Be sure to let your successor know about my invaluable political insights.  I would be happy to receive his or her emails as well.