Rockefeller: Speech not a sign I'll retire

Source: Politico

My colleague Manu Raju caught up with Sen. Jay Rockefeller today, one day after the speech-heard-'round-West Virginia sparked talk about his political future.

Rockefeller flatly denied to him that his vote Wednesday against an effort to derail Obama administration rule targeting mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants and his floor speech should be taken as a sign he won't run in 2014.

"This speech has been building in me for about 3-4 years, and the last year-and-a-half it really, really built. It was a speech that I had to give," Rockefeller told POLITICO.

Asked if he was concerned that it would imperil his re-election bid, Rockefeller said: "You can’t worry about all that stuff. I’m getting some good feedback. There’s always a first reaction, which is predictable, often there’s a secondary and tertiary reaction, which is more thoughtful."


Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/charlie-mahtesian/2012/06/rockefeller-speech-not-a-sign-ill-retire-126958.html

---