Republican Early Retirements From Congress Create Open Seats = Democratic Opportunities

Nine-term powerful Republican congressman and committee chair Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania is only the latest surprise retirement among GOP ranks. Mike DeBonis suggests he's retiring because he has to give up his committee chairmanship next year. Life without a gavel on Capitol Hill is apparently unthinkable.

(Note: Three other powerful committee chairs are also retiring, perhaps for the same reason: Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) of the Judiciary Committee, Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) of the Financial Services Committee, and Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) of the Science, Space and Technology Committee. Republican Party rules mandate replacement of any committee chair after three terms.)

Shuster represented Pennsylvania's 9th Congressional District, which looks solidly Republican and even the open seat doesn't seem likely (at the moment) to attract an electable Democrat. But we'll see.

Meanwhile, look at all these other Republican retirements (listed in chronological order of their announcements):

Rep. Kristi Noem (South Dakota)
Rep. Sam Johnson (Texas)
Rep. Lynn Jenkins (Kansas)
Rep. Jim Renacci (Ohio)
Rep. Evan Jenkins (West Virginia)
Rep. Raul Labrador (Idaho)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Florida)
Rep. Steve Pearce (New Mexico)
Rep. Luke Messer (Indiana)
Rep. Lou Barletta (Pennsylvania)
Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. (Tennessee)
Rep. Diane Black (Tennessee)
Rep. Todd Rokita (Indiana)
Rep. Dave Reichert (Washington)
Rep. Charlie Dent (Pennsylvania)
Rep. Dave Trott (Michigan)
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee)
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Texas)
Rep. Lamar Smith (Texas)
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (New Jersey)
Rep. Ted Poe (Texas)
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (Virginia)
Rep. Joe Barton (Texas)
Rep. Blake Farenthold (Texas)
Rep. Bill Shuster (Pennsylvania)

Some of these people are running for higher office. Some of these people got caught doing shit they shouldn't have done. And some of these people are just plain tired of trying to govern when they don't believe in government, and who can blame them?