View Full Version : General Politics Obama to name Republican Senator as Commerce Secretary?
Holy Crap that would be funny! How would the Republicans respond to this?
If Obama can pull this off, it will be political brilliance. He gets credit for more bi-partisanship while locking up the Senate with a Veto proof majority in the process.
It's too good to be true, but it would funny to see.
http://www.rollcall.com/news/31881-1.html
Obama Looking at Gregg for Commerce Secretary
By Emily Pierce
Roll Call Staff
January 29, 2009, 5:51 p.m.
The Obama administration has been floating the idea of naming Republican Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.) to be Commerce Secretary, several Senate sources said Thursday.
mlyonsd
01-29-2009, 05:40 PM
Maybe all the Democratic contenders ended up being crooks.
StcChief
01-29-2009, 05:41 PM
the appointee has to ACCEPT the position.
beer bacon
01-29-2009, 05:45 PM
The only way this could happen is if Gregg is very frustrated with his own party. There is just no other way he accepts the job. It doesn't sound likely.
BucEyedPea
01-29-2009, 05:58 PM
...too late. The damage has been done because equal pays has passed and the stimulus will too. Maybe it's a way to blame this guy when the stimulus fails?
beer bacon
01-29-2009, 07:19 PM
...too late. The damage has been done because equal pays has passed and the stimulus will too. Maybe it's a way to blame this guy when the stimulus fails?
What can stop our country's economic collapse? Just a lil thing called the Austrian School of economics o:-)
BucEyedPea
01-29-2009, 09:37 PM
What can stop our country's economic collapse? Just a lil thing called the Austrian School of economics o:-)
Certainly not more of the same that caused it. You think you or Obama are pouring water on it when you're really pouring kersosene on it. BTW what's that other definition of insanity? Ya' know the one where the same thing keeps being done when it caused the problem. That one. That's what's going on.
The fact that we're in a correction is the treatment needed for the ailment. Painful medicine but it would be over faster. I call it the "Glorious Correction!"
Ayup! Means the market's working. It's the boom phase when it isn't because it's been artificially manipulated via interest rates.
beer bacon
01-29-2009, 09:41 PM
Certainly not more of the same that caused it. You think you or Obama are pouring water on it when you're really pouring kersosene on it. BTW what's that other definition of insanity? Ya' know the one where the same thing keeps being done when it caused the problem. That one. That's what's going on.
The fact that we're in a correction is the treatment needed for the ailment. Painful medicine but it would be over faster. I call it the "Glorious Correction!"
Ayup! Means the market's working. It's the boom phase when it isn't because it's been artificially manipulated via interest rates.
Hmmm, yes...Obama is really more of the same after eight years of Bush...really makes you think...
I am not going to start my PURE STRAIN GOLD 20 foot bull statue...I shall call it..."The Free Market." Massive corruption and unrestrained greed on Wall Street causing the downfall of the country? That's just the free market...my friends...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/us/politics/30repubs.html?ref=us
This actually makes more sense for Gregg than I first thought.
Democrats Set Sights on Republican Senators Who Oppose Stimulus Plan
By JACKIE CALMES and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: January 29, 2009
WASHINGTON — Senator Judd Gregg awoke to the bad news on Thursday morning that a coalition of Democratic groups had planned to run television advertisements in his state to pressure him to support President Obama’s economic recovery plan.
Mr. Gregg, a third-term Republican from New Hampshire, is one of five Republican senators who are targets; all face re-election in 2010.
“Those groups don’t impress me,” he said in an interview. “I’m trying to participate constructively, help the new president where I can be helpful and be part of the loyal opposition where I disagree with him.”
Gregg is facing the possibilty of losing his re-election in 2010. For an incumbent moderate Republican in a NE state, let's at least say his re-election isn't in any way a given. It was seats like that where Dems made all of their gains the last 2 cycles.
He might not be impressed with those ads today. They don't matter much. But the prospect of his losing isn't trivial.
Him being up for re-election so soon makes this a very interesting situation.
In the same way that Janet Napolitano ejected from Arizona for the Obama WH at a time when it was politically as easy to do as you might ever see... the same may be true here for Gregg.
Still unlikely, but more-so today in my mind than yesterday.
Frankie
01-30-2009, 09:28 PM
Is it me or is anyone else wondering why Chuck Hagel didn't get a cabinet job?
StcChief
01-30-2009, 09:31 PM
Is it me or is anyone else wondering why Chuck Hagel didn't get a cabinet job?balance of Dem power....
same they are trying to steal by appointing a Rep for commerce cabinet post... nice try dems.
Is it me or is anyone else wondering why Chuck Hagel didn't get a cabinet job?
He's going to replace Gates in a year.
Frankie
01-31-2009, 09:30 AM
He's going to replace Gates in a year.
are you speculating or have you heard this? Anyway That would not be a bad appointment.
Chief Henry
01-31-2009, 09:40 AM
Will this pick owe as much in back taxes like the other cabinet picks ?
Did you see what Tom Daschle owed ? Over $100,000 in back taxes !!!
That is some vetting team Barry has put togeather.
jiveturkey
01-31-2009, 10:33 AM
Will this pick owe as much in back taxes like the other cabinet picks ?
Did you see what Tom Daschle owed ? Over $100,000 in back taxes !!!
That is some vetting team Barry has put togeather.Good one. The dems can just play the Palin card for the next 34 years and negate your side of the argument.
banyon
01-31-2009, 10:48 AM
Hmmm, yes...Obama is really more of the same after eight years of Bush...really makes you think...
I am not going to start my PURE STRAIN GOLD 20 foot bull statue...I shall call it..."The Free Market." Massive corruption and unrestrained greed on Wall Street causing the downfall of the country? That's just the free market...my friends...
The tortured twists of logic to reach the point where somehow deregulation wasn't to blame are usually pretty hilarious. They talk about GLB and credit derivatives with the precision of kcnut analyzing the history of Mesopotamian pottery artifacts.
Ultra Peanut
01-31-2009, 11:00 AM
It's not really a masterstroke when everyone is calling you out on it before you even do it.
Besides that, Nate lays it out (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/gregg-poison-pill-for-democrats.html) and explains why it wouldn't be such an amazingly wonderfully glorious thing as it may seem.
Chief Henry
01-31-2009, 12:21 PM
Good one. The dems can just play the Palin card for the next 34 years and negate your side of the argument.
What you left wing nuts fail to realize is that Palin has more class
and smarts than 90 % of the dems in Washington DC right now.
Barry does have a plan to pay down the national debt. He's going to keep nominating hard core Liberal Dems to cabinet positions and they'll have to
make good on all of they're back taxes. Kudo's to Barry for his creativity on
paying off our national debt :D
are you speculating or have you heard this? Anyway That would not be a bad appointment.
I'm sorry... I'm speculating. I should have made that clearer in my post the first time.
Ultra Peanut
01-31-2009, 12:45 PM
Chief Henry, you are beautiful, no matter what they say.
sportsshrink
01-31-2009, 12:59 PM
he is not a conservative so it doesn't really make a difference. Rockefeller Repub,moderate or liberal they are all the same.
he is not a conservative so it doesn't really make a difference. Rockefeller Repub,moderate or liberal they are all the same.
I guess you were a coin flip away from supporting Obama.
Calcountry
01-31-2009, 02:07 PM
This is a way to get to the 60 voted needed for cloture. Gregg should decline this, yet another slap in Obama's face.
Chief Henry
01-31-2009, 02:22 PM
Ultra Pee, thanks for your vote of confidence. Some oone has to keep you dirt bags inline :) Now go fetch me a beer darlin.
Chief Henry
01-31-2009, 02:24 PM
This is a way to get to the 60 voted needed for cloture. Gregg should decline this, yet another slap in Obama's face.
Gregg could do it. To be a US Senator is a powerful position.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/01/judd-gregg-coul.html
Judd Gregg Could Be Picked for Commerce as Soon as Monday
January 31, 2009 11:48 AM
An Obama administration official tells ABC News that Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., is now the leading candidate for Commerce Secretary and could be announced as soon as Monday.
Gregg would be at least the third Republican to join the Obama administration, joining the ranks of Transportation Secretary and former GOP congressman Ray LaHood and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. (The political party of National Security Advisor and retired Army General Jim Jones is unclear, though he is a longtime friend of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and appeared at a McCain campaign event.)
Gregg's announcement, while making the Obama administration more bipartisan, would likely have the opposite effect on the U.S. Senate. New Hampshire's Democratic governor John Lynch could appoint a Democrat to replace Gregg, thus delivering to Democrats their elusive 60-vote majority, empowering them to stave off Republican filibusters.
Gregg, a former governor, is up for re-election in 2010 in a state that has been trending Democratic for the last few years.
- jpt
It's official... though the bummer part is that they agreed to have the Dem Gov of NH name a Republican to his place. I'm sure he'll name a true RINO or a weak regional candidate who couldn't carry a statewide vote in 2010. But no 60 vote majority. :( :p
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/02/obama_names_judd_gregg_commerce_secretary.php
Obama nominates Republican Gregg for Commerce job
REUTERS
Reuters North American News Service
Feb 03, 2009 11:19 EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama named a third prominent Republican to his cabinet Tuesday, nominating Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire as commerce secretary.
A respected lawmaker and accomplished negotiator, Gregg, 61, is the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. He could play a key role in selling Obama's nearly $900 billion stimulus package to skeptical members of his party.
"Judd is a master of reaching across the aisle to get things done," Obama said at a ceremony at the White House to introduce Judd.
"He will be an outstanding addition to the depth and experience of my economic team, a trusted voice in my cabinet, and an able and persuasive ambassador for industry who makes it known to the world that America is open for business," he said.
Obama did not respond to a shouted question from a reporter about the decision by Nancy Killefer, his nominee to oversee budget and spending reform, to withdraw her nomination for tax reasons.
In January, Obama's first pick for commerce secretary, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, withdrew in the face of a legal inquiry.
Richardson denied any wrongdoing in connection with the inquiry of a California-based financial company that had done business with the New Mexico state government.
Gregg had said he would not take the cabinet job if it pushed Obama's Democrats closer to the 60-seat mark in the Senate, thereby allowing them to pass laws more easily. The governor of New Hampshire has agreed to fill his seat with a Republican.
Gregg will join two other prominent Republicans in Obama's cabinet -- Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. While Gates is not formally registered with the party, he has said he considers himself a Republican.
Gregg has a reputation as a fiscal conservative respected on both sides of the political aisle. He helped draw up the Wall Street bailout last year and was one of a handful of Republicans who voted to release the second half of the $700 billion package to Obama.
As head of the Commerce Department, Gregg would help promote U.S. business at home and around the world.
(Writing by Ross Colvin; Reporting by Jeff Mason and David Alexander; Editing by Eric Walsh)
Source: Reuters North American News Service
dirk digler
02-03-2009, 09:58 AM
This is a way to get to the 60 voted needed for cloture. Gregg should decline this, yet another slap in Obama's face.
You're not looking too smart today.
tiptap
02-03-2009, 10:35 AM
I had thought it would be one of the Maine Girl Senators but the Democrats got to 60. Just as I predicted though I had hoped it would be reached in the election proper. Still this is a good selection.
aturnis
02-03-2009, 03:41 PM
What you left wing nuts fail to realize is that Palin has more class and smarts than 90 % of the dems in Washington DC right now.
Palin doesn't even have more smarts than former President Bush, and that should tell you how fucking stupid that bitch is.
I had thought it would be one of the Maine Girl Senators but the Democrats got to 60. Just as I predicted though I had hoped it would be reached in the election proper. Still this is a good selection.
No, not technically... though if the Dem governor had a Rep COS then she's definately a moderate R, I'd guess.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jxJfnyfBTr5aKSvJJeUT5hxwLS3g
New Hampshire governor names Republican to US Senate
20 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — New Hampshire Governor John Lynch Tuesday named a Republican state official to take the Senate seat of President Barack Obama's pick for commerce secretary, preserving the chamber's balance of power.
State officials said Lynch, a Democrat, had appointed his former chief of staff Bonnie Newman to the seat being vacated by Republican Senator Judd Gregg, who was nominated earlier in the day to join Obama's cabinet.
The decision to appoint the Republican Newman until elections in 2010 came after Gregg's insistence to Lynch that his departure from Congress should not upset the Senate's current composition.
The Democrats control 58 seats in the Senate to the Republicans' 41. Had Lynch named a fellow Democrat, Obama's party would have been close to the 60-seat number required to override Republican blocking tactics.
banyon
02-03-2009, 05:39 PM
Gregg Voted to Abolish Commerce Department
CQ Politics: Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) -- apparently President Obama's choice to be Commerce secretary -- voted in favor of abolishing the agency as a member of the Budget Committee and on the Senate floor in 1995.
Said one Republican Senate aide: "I guess if you can't destroy it, go be in charge of it."
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/02/03/gregg_voted_to_abolish_commerce_department.html
Gregg Voted to Abolish Commerce Department
CQ Politics: Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) -- apparently President Obama's choice to be Commerce secretary -- voted in favor of abolishing the agency as a member of the Budget Committee and on the Senate floor in 1995.
Said one Republican Senate aide: "I guess if you can't destroy it, go be in charge of it."
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/02/03/gregg_voted_to_abolish_commerce_department.html
Holy wow!
Direckshun
02-03-2009, 10:10 PM
LOL
Team of rivals indeed.
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