Rogers wants to ‘move the needle’ in 2016

Retiring Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said Tuesday he wants to “move the needle” in 2016 with the radio program he is slated to host when he leaves Congress at the end of the year. 

Rogers, who announced Friday he will not seek reelection, said his planned syndicated show on Cumulus Radio will reach a broader audience than he can garner as chairman of the Intelligence Committee. 

{mosads}”I think I’d like to try to move the needle on the debate for 2016 at the very minimum,” he said on MSNBC. “So if you think about what I’ve been able to do in the last four years, the committee was absolutely dysfunctional when I became chairman.”

Rogers said the Intelligence Committee, under his leadership, has reestablished its oversight over the intelligence community and has taken partisanship out of national security. But he said he wants to expand his message beyond foreign policy and national security.

“Yes, it is an important position,” he said. “Yes, it provides certainly a national platform, but it doesn’t give us the opportunity to expand that message. And I really thought that this was an opportunity to have that broader message all over the country, that I don’t have today.”

When asked to answer yes or no about his own plans for 2016, he reiterated his point. 

“Moving the needle on 2016, ‘yes,’ ” he said. 

A frequent guest on the Sunday morning political affairs shows, Rogers over the weekend said he would like a larger microphone to push back against what he called “celebrity politicians” whose views on national security are detrimental to the country. He declined to name anyone in particular. 

While making his pitch Sunday, he named a number of early presidential nominating states, including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. 

When asked if he was considering a run, he said “Ronald Reagan used his platform on radio to run for president of the United States? I had no idea.”