logo

The DC Swamp Is Getting Too Polluted for Its Inhabitants

image
Juan HernandezJuan Hernandez
Published: 01 Feb, 2018
1 min read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLBklg_fE18

Video Credit: CBS News

US Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) announced his retirement from Congress Wednesday, making him yet another Republican lawmaker who will not seek re-election in the 2018 midterms. Gowdy is returning home to practice law, and is reportedly leaving because he isn't happy with the divisive political environment in Washington.

“Whatever skills I may have are better utilized in a courtroom than in Congress, and I enjoy our justice system more than our political system,” said Gowdy. “As I look back on my career, it is the jobs that both seek and reward fairness that are most rewarding.”

Interesting to note: Many politicians retiring in 2018 in one way or another have alluded to the current state of politics in DC, yet they are also among the most partisan themselves. Gowdy, for instance, oversaw the politically divisive House investigation into the 2012 Benghazi attack, and votes with his party nearly 100% of the time, while enacting few bills that can garner bipartisan support.

Apparently the DC swamp is starting to get too polluted even for its own inhabitants.

You Might Also Like

Ballrooms, Ballots, and a Three-Way Fight for New York
Ballrooms, Ballots, and a Three-Way Fight for New York
The latest Independent Voter Podcast episode takes listeners through the messy intersections of politics, reform, and public perception. Chad and Cara open with the irony of partisan outrage over trivial issues like a White House ballroom while overlooking the deeper dysfunctions in our democracy. From California to Maine, they unpack how the very words on a ballot can tilt entire elections and how both major parties manipulate language and process to maintain power....
30 Oct, 2025
-
1 min read
California Prop 50 gets an F
Princeton Gerrymandering Project Gives California Prop 50 an 'F'
The special election for California Prop 50 wraps up November 4 and recent polling shows the odds strongly favor its passage. The measure suspends the state’s independent congressional map for a legislative gerrymander that Princeton grades as one of the worst in the nation....
30 Oct, 2025
-
3 min read
bucking party on gerrymandering
5 Politicians Bucking Their Party on Gerrymandering
Across the country, both parties are weighing whether to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Texas, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah, Indiana, Colorado, Illinois, and Virginia are all in various stages of the action. Here are five politicians who have declined to support redistricting efforts promoted by their own parties....
31 Oct, 2025
-
4 min read