Kuhl retirement watch continues
Earlier, we told you that Kuhl’s anemic Q2 fundraising might be a sign he won’t run in 2008. Kuhl had a bit more to say about that in Hornell Trib article that is mostly about Kuhl’s decision to vote against a recent education bill (h/t Fighting29th):
A decision (on whether or not to run in 2008), he said, won’t likely be made until next spring.
“We’re keeping all the doors open,†Kuhl said. “The fact that we haven’t raised as much money as he has, well, we’re not in campaign mode.
Why might Kuhl choose to retire? Maybe for financial reasons: he’s once again (see our post) one of the biggest debtors in Congress (ed. note: at least in terms of credit card debt):
Rep. John R. Kuhl (R-N.Y.) disclosed a Bank of America Visa card with more than $10,000 and Chase credit cards with over $15,000 in college expenses for his three children.
Kuhl argued that the card debt had been a shrewd financial move, since he had secured low interest rates of 3.9 percent and 4.9 percent.
It’s worth nothing that he hasn’t been completely forthcoming about his debt, claiming he paid a lot of off a couple years ago, only for it to jump back up.
He’s got three kids in college, so this isn’t particularly suspicious. But personal debt plus possible golden parachute (a la Billy Tauzin, though I doubt Kuhl would get the kind of deal Tauzin did) equals a very good reason to think about leaving Congress.
Maybe we could find him a nice cushy spot in a public authority.
I would be surprised by a Kuhl retirement and I don’t think 25K worth of debt is worth retiring for.
Also, IIRC, Kuhl the credit card debt is Kuhl’s only real personal debt, and for someone with his income, it’s not that much. If Kuhl used a second mortgage on his house (a.k.a. Home Equity Line of Credit) to finance his kid’s colleged education, it would be at worse terms than 0% or 3.9%. Since a HELC is not “credit card debt”, this would be a non-story.
I guess my point was more that if he has expenses that are forcing him into credit card debt, that would be a reason to go make more money.
I agree that the the gameplan of every Member of Congress — except for perhaps Ron Paul — is to get a better-paying job after they quit. My only point is that Kuhl’s debt vs his pretty large income isn’t enough to push him into an early retirement.
He’ll hang around long enough to cash in on the Congressional retirement. He played this same ridiculous game about supposedly being “undecided†in the last election cycle. He’ll wait until the last minute to declare so he can take full advantage of all those glossy mailings at taxpayer expense.
Stick a fork in him…he’s done!
My guess is that if Kuhl doesn’t run again, George Winner might run for Congress.
[...] Randy Kuhl is on record saying he is contemplating retirement from Congress.ÂÂ And his anemic fund-raising efforts so far — only 68K in Q2 — tell the same story. [...]