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- THE WEEK, Page 24NATIONThe Bums Throw Themselves Out
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- Scandals and frustration inspire an exodus from Capitol Hill
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- At the rate they're fleeing Capitol Hill, lawmakers may make
- the term-limits movement obsolete. Already, 47 members have said
- they will quit the House at the end of this term, and 11 have
- been thrown out in primary elections; the exodus is the largest
- since 49 House members left voluntarily in 1978. A few say they
- are leaving because recent scandals have driven public regard
- for Congress to a new low. Throw in the effects of
- redistricting, and up to one-third of the 435 House members may
- be newcomers in November.
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- Seven Senators have announced they will not seek
- re-election, including North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad, who
- said he would pack it in after a single term if the deficit had
- not been reduced; he was as good as his word. The latest:
- Colorado Democrat Tim Wirth, also quitting after one term. Like
- New Hampshire Senator Warren Rudman, who bailed out last month,
- Wirth cited his frustration over deadlock and partisan bickering
- on Capitol Hill. But like many fellow incumbents, he may also
- have foreseen a tough re-election campaign. In 1989 Wirth sought
- to ease restrictions on junk-bond trading; his opponents point
- out that the bankrupt investment firm Drexel Burnham Lambert --
- which specialized in junk bonds -- contributed $41,000 to
- Wirth's campaigns.
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