Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) announced his retirement today. (FOX Photo)
“Blue dog” democrat Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) announced his retirement today and clobbered Barack Obama on his way out the door.
Hotline on Call reported, via Free Republic:
Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., announced his retirement from Congress this afternoon — and he issued a scathing parting shot at President Obama’s track record on his way out.
In a statement explaining his decision, Cardoza, a leader of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, said he was “dismayed” by the administration’s “failure to understand and effectively address the current housing foreclosure crisis.”
“Home foreclosures are destroying communities and crushing our economy, and the Administration’s inaction is infuriating,” Cardoza said.A former chairman of the moderate Blue Dog Caucus, Cardoza also bemoaned the increasing partisanship in Washington, and blamed the media for fueling the ideological divide in the country, not giving enough attention to moderates.
Cardoza is the sixth member — all Democrats — to announce plans to retire outright so far. He’s also the third member of the Blue Dog Caucus to head for the exits — joining fellow moderate Reps. Dan Boren, D-Okla., and Mike Ross, D-Ark.
The five-term congressman had become an increasingly-vocal critic of his own party’s leadership in recent months, fueled by the skyrocketing unemployment in his Central Valley district. He’s previously criticized the administration on its handling of the foreclosure crisis – but it’s rare to see a departing congressman blast the president in an official statement.
Given his growing dissatisfaction with his party, Cardoza’s departure didn’t come as a surprise to Democrats, but his sharp criticism of Obama is bound to sting at the White House, which has already seeing many members of his own party, particularly those in battleground states and districts, keeping their distance.
