Retiring Republicans, now with data

Yesterday I wrote that every day there seems to be "another Republican or two" announcing their intent not to seek re-election.

Well, the L.A. Times noticed, too, and did some reporting:

This is crunchtime for members of Congress who must decide whether to seek reelection next year or leave office, and so far Republicans seem to be lunging for the exits. While 16 GOP lawmakers have decided to throw in the towel on their Capitol Hill careers, only two Democrats so far have called it quits -- and they both are seeking higher office.

The disparity underscores the sharply different moods in the two parties: Democrats, still heady from winning control of Congress last year, are enjoying the fruits of power. Republicans, their party in disarray and reduced to minority status in the House and Senate, see more allure in retirement or private life.

I don't have the list of 16 Republicans sitting in front of me (compiling it might be a fun project for some intrepid blogger) but my sense from following the news pretty closely is that these are politicians that skew moderate. All for the better if they're all replaced by Democrats, I suppose, but that comes with a couple important caveats. The first is that they may well be replaced in many cases by other, crazier Republicans. And the second is that, almost no matter what, this will push the GOP Congressional Caucus to the righ--which is to say that though they may have less power in the next Congress than they do in this one, their proposals and rhetoric won't be any less ridiculous.