Artur Davis: Barney Frank Among More Dems to Exit?

I would guess that Barney Frank’s retirement is fifty percent disgust at the rancor of modern campaigns – his 2010 win was brutal and expensive – and fifty percent a recognition that whether Barack Obama wins or loses, there is virtually no chance of a winning liberal legislative agenda in the near future.

And yes, Frank and Charlie Gonzalez are signs of a trend that will sweep in another five to ten senior Democrats in the next sixty days.

There is no serious Democrat in Washington who expects the House majority to change hands, and while they expect Obama to win, Hill Democrats are no fans of this White House. They see a second term of small bore initiatives, deficit reduction, jockeying over the successors to Obama and Pelosi, and retrenchment on healthcare and financial reform.

It’s not what they signed up for and a lot of them are heading for home, or “up or out” statewide races.

(Cross-posted, with permission of the author, from Politico’s Arena)