Hell No, He Won't Go

I was surprised to see that my "favorite" Congressman, John Dingell (rhymes with "jingle") Jr. was not swept away in the Republican tidal wave. My soft spot for Dingell is a function both of his funny name and of there having been a John Dingell representing the same Michigan congressional district--John fils took over from John pere, who died while in office--since 1933. Here's the Detroit Free Press's report on the latest Dingell victory:

U.S. Rep. John Dingell won an unprecedented 29th term in Congress Tuesday over Superior Township cardiologist Rob Steele by almost 14,000 votes.
With 80% of precincts counted, Dingell held an 11-point lead.

Meanwhile another longtime Michigan Democrat in Congress, Rep. John Conyers, easily defeated his Republican opponent, Don Ukrainec.

Toughest challenge to Dingell since 2002

Dingell faced his toughest challenge since 2002, when he was thrown into the same district with former U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers, D-Ann Arbor. He handily won that race and his winning percentage has never been less than 59 in the nearly 56 years he’s been in office.

“You can rest assured that I will never stop fighting for you. I will never stop being your watchdog,” Dingell told supporters.

Dingell is the longest-serving member in Congress in a year fraught with anti-incumbent and anti-Democrat sentiment. And he was the godfather of the health care reform act, triggering angry town hall meetings and a tea party challenge from Superior Township cardiologist Rob Steele...

Doesn't that say it all re the lunacy of the Dingell angle: a career politician who has spent his entire career in the rarefied world of the House champions imbecilic policy that will have a tremendous--and tremendously bad impact--on the lives of health care professionals and their patients in the real world. I don't know about their hearts, but those voters who returned him for an unprecedented 29th term certainly need their heads examined.