U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska.) announced his plan to retire from the U.S. Senate Tuesday, a seat he has held since 2000.
The 70 year old senator made his announcement from his home in Nebraska Tuesday, simply put, he feels it is “time to move on.” He is the seventh Democratic senator to retire from the current term, and several Republicans in the state of Nebraska will look to contend for his seat in 2012, including Attorney General Jon Bruning, State Treasurer Don Stenberg and State Senator Deb Fischer.
“As your Senator, we’ve opened new markets for our agricultural and manufacturing products; expanded the use of ethanol; secured STRATCOM’s future; built new veterans’ clinics, a soon-to-be veterans’ hospital in Omaha, and research facilities at our universities; and kept taxes low,” Mr. Nelson said Tuesday in a video posted to his senatorial website.
“And while I relish the opportunity to undertake the work that lies ahead, I also feel it’s time for me to step away from elective office, spend more time with my family, and look for new ways to serve our state and nation. Therefore, I am announcing today that I will not seek reelection. Simply put: It is time to move on,” Mr. Nelson added.
The Nebraska Democrat also served as the governor of Nebraska for two full terms in the 1990s.
It did not take long for Republicans to respond to Mr. Nelson’s retirement, Brian Walsh, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, believes that the move by the Nebraskan senator was more of a realization that he would not be re-elected than his actual preference of retirement.
“”It speaks volumes,” Mr. Walsh said Tuesday in a statement obtained by The New York Times.
“Even after national Democrats poured roughly $1.5 million into Nebraska in the off year, at the expense of other vulnerable seats in Montana, Missouri and elsewhere, Senator Nelson recognized that his support for President Obama’s reckless tax-and-spend agenda left him in a grave political situation. It’s a credit to Ben Nelson for him to acknowledge that reality,” Mr. Walsh added.
In a likely reference to recent allegations of congressional insider trading exposed by a “60 Minutes” special that aired in November, Mr. Nelson spoke of the personal responsibility of lawmakers in his retirement speech.
One of the more moderate Democrats during his term in the Senate, he also spoke of the need for more bipartisan leadership in both chambers of Congress.
“I encourage those who will follow in my footsteps to look for common ground and to work together in bipartisan ways to do what’s best for the country, not just one political party,” Mr. Nelson stated.
“Public office is a place for public service, not personal profit. It’s about promoting the common good, not the agenda of the radical right or the radical left,” the Nebraskan Democrat added.
