Great Interview with Sen. Jeff Bingaman in Politico Magazine

At Bread reception in the 1990s

The politics-oriented news magazine Politico this week published a great interview with retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman.  According to the article, entitled "Jeff Bingaman lets his work define Senate legacy," our senator from New Mexico stood out in the increasingly polarized political environment.. 

Here is an excerpt.

Over his career, Bingaman has witnessed a dramatic shift in political dynamics. Where once lawmakers from both parties collaborated on major pieces of legislation that could dramatically change the policy landscape, now every bill is a knock-down, drag-out fight. In that respect, Bingaman is the last of a dying breed.

The New Mexico Democrat, in two recent sit-down interviews with POLITICO, expressed frustration with the state of the Senate while stressing that his decision to retire, which he announced in February 2011, was a personal one that stemmed in part out of a desire to move back to Santa Fe with his wife.

“I’ve been here 30 years. It’s time to do something else. I never considered the move to Washington to be a permanent move,” he said, sitting in his spacious office in the Hart office building — a perk of being one of the Senate’s most senior members.

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Sen. Bingaman only has a few days in office before he retires to Santa Fe.  He will be replaced by former Rep. Martin Heinrich, who was elected to the Senate in November.  With Sen. Bingaman's retirement, Sen. Tom Udall becomes our state's senior senator.