The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Putnam IS Finishing His Term

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I offer abject apologies to the excellent Rep. Adam Putnam. Based on several reports (in newspapers I won't name, because the fault is mine for not double-checking) with terribly misleading wording, I had commented below on the idea that Putnam would be resigning from Congress to run for state Ag. Commissioner in Florida. I was rather angry, as you can see. I am happy to report (although embarrassed) that Putnam WILL, repeat WILL, fill out his current term in the House. So he is not being derelict in his duty at all. I still hate to lose him from the House -- he clearly was a rising star, and a good guy -- but at least he is setting himself up, and his conservative supporters up, for higher things, WITHOUT letting down his current constituents.

Putnam's communications director Keith Lee Rupp contacted me and corrected the record -- and said that he is trying to get it corrected in the other papers that misreported it, as well. I hereby correct it here, and again apologize for relying on second-hand info.

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Price Nelson| 2.1.09 @ 8:57PM

Putnam should indeed resign. In 2008, he ran, in large part, on his leadership post as HRCC. On the night of the election, which was the closest he'd faced, he resigned that position. To all of us who understand politics, Putnam resigned the leadership post so that he could campaign for another office. If he had stayed as the HRCC, John Boehner would have been his boss, telling where to be and when to be there. As a back-bencher fifth termer, he now has the ability to literally never go to Washington again. He can instead spend his final 22 months in office criss-crossing Florida to build support for his Ag Commissioner run -- all while the American taxpayer pays his salary and the constituents of FL-12 go without representation (which we haven't had since he took office).