Bunning's Out

Sen. Jim Bunning has announced that he will not seek reelection, according to WHAS 11. He says that he is not planning to endorse anyone -- hard to square with him telling Secretary of State Trey Grayson to form an exploratory committee.

Bunning also blames national Republicans for his inability to raise money. It's most unfortunate to see a man who has served Kentucky well resort to the role of victim:

“To win a general election, a candidate has to be able to raise millions of dollars to get the message out to voters,” Bunning said. “Over the past year, some of the leaders of the Republican Party in the Senate have done everything in their power to dry up my fundraising. The simple fact is that I have not raised the funds necessary to run an effective campaign for the U.S. Senate. For this reason, I will not be a candidate for re-election in 2010.” (From Politico.)

He took much too long to clear the way for Grayson. Bunning's stonewalling is the best campaign contribution that Attorney General Jack Conway could ever get. But Bunning has done the right thing. He would not have been reelected. He probably would not have won the Republican primary.

Bunning has been an outspoken proponent of conservative ideals. And now that he is a lame duck, we can look forward to Bunning unleashed!