Editorial calls for Burton to retire

The Indianapolis Star is calling for Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) to retire rather than face a crowded primary in 2010.

Burton, first elected in 1982, faces at least four Republican opponents in the conservative district, a rarity for a longtime incumbent.

The Star says Burton has “failed to lead” and criticized his “bizarre behavior” while in Congress.

“Combine an undistinguished legislative resume with a record of self-serving, sometimes bizarre behavior that has drawn national negative press and cost the veteran lawmaker in terms of party favor and committee assignments,” the Star wrote in an editorial.

(Burton’s district includes many of Indianapolis’s suburbs, though not the city itself.)

The Star cited Burton’s decision to skip a House vote to play golf and to cast the only vote against new ethics rules as evidence that he’s not serving his constituents.

Burton was one of Bill Clinton’s fiercest Congressional critics, spearheading investigations into the Whitewater controversy and alleged irregularities in DNC fundraising.

Burton also pushed the conspiracy theory that Clinton aide Vince Foster, who committed suicide, was actually murdered.