Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Bunning Is the GOP's Burris

Despite electoral peril and party pressure, gaffe-prone Kentucky senator won't retire

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted Mar 6, 2009 7:05 AM CST

(Newser) – Senator Jim Bunning, a former Hall of Fame pitcher, may have absorbed too much “quitters never win” talk while still an athlete: The New York Times reports that the erratic Kentuckian won’t go away, despite his Republican colleagues’ best efforts. Bunning barely held his seat in 2004 after a series of bizarre gaffes; by recently predicting the death of cancer-stricken Justice Ginsburg and threatening to sue the GOP, he hasn’t exactly allayed concerns.

Bunning hasn’t appreciated the not-so-subtle suggestions that he step down. “When you’ve dealt with Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra and Stan Musial," he says, "the people I’m dealing with now are kind of down the scale.” Says Senator John Cornyn, the Republican senators’ coordinator on reelection: “We’re trying to give him space to make his decision.” “I don’t believe anything John Cornyn says,” Bunning replies.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (2)]

Senate Finance Committee member, Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky. questions Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 4, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

In this Oct. 23, 2008 file photo, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reads from a small book version of the U.S. Constitution while talking about constitutional law in Princeton, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

Senate Banking Committee member Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., promises to to block a proposal to grant the Fed sweeping new powers in response to the nation's bruised financial system, July 15, 2008 (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

In this Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008 file photo, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex., talks to supporters at an election night victory celebration, in Austin, Texas. Cornyn clearly hopes for Bunning to step down. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

He is perceived as being out-of-touch, hot-headed and generally counterproductive. - Phil Musser, Republican consultant

You never know what
a cornered animal is
willing to do. - Al Cross, columnist for the
Louisville Courier-Journal

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Getty Images

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Man in Mugshot Explains Why He Has Half a Head (HuffPost)

These Exes Were Spotted Making Out … and That's a Bad Thing (Bleacher Report)

Help! I'm Having an Incestuous Relationship With My Twin (Slate)

Which Celeb Dedicated Song to Her Famous Husband Despite Divorce Rumors? (NewsOne)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 8 comments

Rob

Mar 6, 2009 5:54 AM CST

Why are all the outraged people here silent on the Burris stories?

Guest

Mar 5, 2009 10:58 PM CST

He said he wants him to fail in the process of implementing Socialism, and base on "The Bama's" daily shrinking approval numbers, so do almost 40% of Americans. Thats almost as many people as voted for him.

AdaptAndOvercome

Mar 5, 2009 9:11 PM CST

I wouldn't believe anything John Cornyn says either. He's a liar and a Llimbaugh Republican. Funny how they defend that fat tub of crap when he says he wants the President to fail and today they are succeeding in blocking aide to the American people to achieve their goal of failure and they have the audacity to call this guy names. Their motto: Do as I say--not as I do.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

E-Cigarette Explodes in Man's Mouth

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds Major Cash Inside

New York Times (Source Grid »)

Bunning denies threat to resign as revenge
Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.)

Politics

Senate • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Kentucky • Senate Republicans • John Cornyn • Senate race • Jim Bunning • Election 2010 • National Republican Senatorial Committee • Bill Maher Grid

More Newser Stories

Republicans Won't Retake Senate

GOP would need to stage three or four massive upsets

(NEWSER) - Republicans are hoping to clean up this November, but they can pretty much forget about taking over the upper chamber, David Catanese writes for Politico . The GOP needs to gain 10 seats to take over, and they have decent odds in six or seven contests. But to pick up those last four or five votes, Republicans would need to win in virtually impervious Democratic strongholds. More»

Specter: I'm Not 'Automatic 60th Vote' for Dems

GOP colleagues 'stunned,' angered by senator's party switch

(NEWSER) - Newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter said he will not blindly toe the party line, Politico reports. “I will not be an automatic 60th vote,” the veteran Pennsylvania senator said, pointing out recent opposition to a unionization bill. “If the Democratic Party asks too much, I will not vote with them.” More»

Sen. Bunning Apologizes for Grim Ginsburg Comment

It's great to see justice back, Republican says

(AP) - Sen. Jim Bunning apologized to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for saying he believes she is likely to die in less than a year from pancreatic cancer. The Kentucky Republican said over the weekend that Ginsburg has the type of cancer that is usually fatal within 9 months. In a statement released today, he said that it wasn't his intent to offend Ginsburg with the remarks and apologizes if he did. More»

GOP Feuds Over Senate Losses

DeMint's tactics cost party a majority, senators complain

(NEWSER) - While their counterparts in the House are celebrating a historic win, Senate Republicans are pointing fingers over their failure to recapture the chamber. Some prominent senators and party operatives blame Sarah Palin and South Carolina's Jim DeMint for helping candidates too conservative to win gain the GOP nominations in Colorado, Delaware, and Nevada. "If you think what happened in Delaware is ‘a win’ for the Republican Party then we don’t have a snowball’s chance to win the White House," says Sen. Lindsay Graham. More»

Jim Bunning Blocks More Obama Nominees

... over Canadian tobacco-flavoring law

(NEWSER) - Jim Bunning’s latest parliamentary maneuvering isn’t going to get in the way of anyone’s unemployment benefits, but might strike some as silly all the same: The Republican senator is blocking two minor Obama administration nominees to protest a Canadian law banning tobacco flavorings. And while the issue is important in Bunning’s native Kentucky, it’s adding a backlog of unconfirmed nominees longer than President Bush’s was at this same point, the Huffington Post notes. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Bunning Is the GOP's Burris