Armey has no plans to return to Congress

Former U.S. Rep. Dick Armey at the Republican National Convention: Getty Images PhotoBLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Former U.S. Rep. Dick Armey (R-Texas) said Thursday that he had no interest in returning to Congress, even under a McCain administration.

“There’s an old country western song called, ‘Burning Bridges,’” Armey said as he left the Oregon caucus breakfast meeting, where he talked to the delegation about the challenges and new outlook for the Republican Party. “I think I did that.”

The former House Majority Leader and TX-26 representative from 1985-2003 was probably referring to the 1983 George Jones song that said, “Burning bridges behind me, it's too late to turn back now. Burning bridges behind me, all I want is to forget you somehow.” Armey retired from congress in 2003 after he saw Republicans straying from the issues he wanted to focus on.

"They've turned in a direction that's... very parochial and very political,” Armey told NPR in 2006. “I think it reflects a certain amount of insecurity on the part of the Republicans with respect to whether or not they can hold their majority. I think they've had an obsessive concern about losing their majority, and in the process, they have compromised their agenda."

Armey is currently the chairman of FreedomWorks, a grassroots organization dedicated to lower taxes and smaller government.