Obama eyeing GOP Senator Judd Gregg for Commerce Sec.?
By SilentPatriot Friday Jan 30, 2009 11:00am
Reuters is reporting that President Obama is considering choosing New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg to be his Secretary of Commerce.
President Barack Obama is considering picking Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire as commerce secretary, a Democratic source said on Thursday.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the selection process, said Obama and his aides "are definitely looking at Gregg. It's not a done deal, but they're asking key senators if he would be acceptable."
Gregg was mum on whether he was being considered for the post, telling Reuters, "I have no comment."
If the speculation is true and Gregg accepts, Democratic NH Governor John Lynch would get to fill the seat. This means, of course, that once Norm Coleman acknowledges defeat and Senator Al Franken is sworn in, the Dems would reach super-majority status and render meaningless the entire Republican Party. The best part: Obama would score some useful "bipartisan" points, even after getting slapped in the face by the entire GOP House caucus. How's that for some brilliant political maneuvering? This is defintely one to keep an eye on.
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Gregg will never accept.
Oh, and he's just another repugnant rightwing nutjob, too.
He has to consider the changing tide in the electoral map and the money he'll need to raise to win again.
He hasn't been busy getting alot of money in the last year or two.
It's now 11:20 pst and on MSNBC, they are saying that the Dem governor is going to pick a has been Repug to be a 2 year "caretaker". If this is true, and unless Gregg is the Houdini of Commerce, screw getting another Repug in the cabinet. A great move if we get a Dem Senator; a totally needless move if he is replaced by another Repug.
If Gregg is the Houdini of Commerce, he would then be worth a has been Repug caretaker; otherwise, WTF?
I would hope Obama has been working behind the scenes w/ the NH Gov to make sure he picks a Dem. Otherwise, you're absolutely right.
shafting. That's how it's shaping up, that's what I personally anticipate, still waiting for any evidence, any at all that O is not a shit-talking sob. Brilliant indeed if this weren't the real world with a steady parade of incoming rethugs and 1992 bluedog throwbacks.
Even if 3 houses belonged to the dems, decisions coming down would still look republican as starched sky blue Fruit of the Looms.
have gotten to the rumor stage if Gregg hadn't already been approached and indicated that he'd be interested. Yes, both sides have a lot of wiggle room so it is far from a done deal and all we are right now seeing is some trial balloons, but there no way is all of this catching Gregg by surprise.
I recall those very words being used the same day Hillibrand of the Two Faces took the ny senate seat.
he would have to check in with rush the drugie first to gat his orders
I hope this is just a false rumour.
jeb, judd, what's with these republican names?
more frequently than others. This makes sense...
Bad news for the Pal'n Family.
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heeeeee heeeeeeeee jesus h! you elected a right of center lefty! heeee, let the excusses continuie for the dimwhitted ideas! and the beat goes on!
And how do you know if this is a bad move? It appears to be politically shrewd to me.
Judd Gregg
U.S. Senator, New Hampshire
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id...
About NH Governor John Lynch > http://www.governor.nh.gov/biography/index.htm
come on lefty wheres your sense of humor if you wanted repigs in the obama government why didnt you say so!
Call me what you will...I like this maneuvering. Obama's always thinking.
Hope your better soon. :-)
Tyree hee hee hee
sorry truth i aint been sick ! looks like your the one whos in denile! dont drink the water its full of cremated remains! i do like the comments interprataing obamas motives behind every move he makes though !kind of reminds me of the dumb news whore commentators explaing george bushes actions! keep em flying truth! works for the brain dead among us!
Bwaaaa haaa haaa haaa haaa. If Gregg accepts and is confirmed, Obama gets his 60 vote majority. If Gregg accepts, the Repugnantcants will pillory him. They like to eat their young. Yer a funny funny guy.
Both Tyree and I never dream that this Nation would elect a black President in our lifetimes. We are both surprised and a little freaked out for separate, generational reasons.
The thought of a President Obama keeps alot of older people like Tyree up at night.
sorry left and left but i sleep rather well, im not dependent on him or anyone else for my salvation, i made mine the hard way i worked for it! sorry if my pointing out that obamas more repig then democrat but thems the facts, enjoy the snow job and the repigs that run your government! oh and skip the racist crap its as boreing as being labeled anti semetic!
Your RNC is just about ready to nominate their chair, absent the concern of color, congratulations!!!
Duncan Drops Bid For RNC Chair http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/01/30/polit...
It's a new Day > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHWByjoQrR8
Breaking... Michael S. Steele the new RNC Chair > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Steele
eat the peach sonny!
Happy hour started early today, eh?
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Interesting. I wonder if he would accept knowing it would likely put another Dem in the Senate? If Obama even offers it the RNC will be up in arms and will accuse Obama of doing it only to gain a super majority. I wouldn't be surprised to see them file suit in NH to try to force the Gov to appoint a Rep. This could be fun.
This republican, and others like him, should know by now which way the wind is blowing (banishing their stink out to sea). A super majority is a very interesting prospect, even via this avenue. I mean, what does any member of the President's cabinet do at the end of the day? Why, answer to the Boss, of course. In the meantime, the D's have one more vote and a super majority. I don't know all the ins and outs here, so maybe I am looking at this with some naivete, but this looks promising on the surface.
Franken isn't a shoe in, and Gregg has to accept the nomination. His not providing comment shows there is interest. I'd monitor him closely as president if he did accept and was confirmed.
Franken's a shoo-in.
somebody's gotta represent Minnesota.
...that's all I am saying. It's interesting and if it works out, quite shrewd. Or stupid! I am leaning towards shrewd because I think Obama has the brains, level-headedness and, frankly, balls to handle a (as tyree so eloquently puts it) repig in his cabinet. Hey, if it wasn't for the win-win of grabbing another, very pivotal, senate seat, I wouldn't want just any old republican in the Obama Administration either, not just for the sake of bipartisanship at any rate. Fuck that (and bipartisanship had better land more heavily in the O Administration's favor every time or I am not down with it). I mean....they stink of dirty diapers!
That said, I am going to check out Truth Critic's links and see if my opinion shifts.
against the Piltdown Man.
no doubt. if this is true, and he accepts, it would be brilliant political maneuvering.
it would be great for the democratic party. the country though, not so much....
some past stances gregg has taken on the economy:
"Voted to pass a bill that reduces federal spending by $40 billion over five years by decreasing the amount of funds spent on Medicaid, Medicare, agriculture, employee pensions, conservation, and student loans."
Risk-takers like Wal-Mart create jobs--Gregg said while Wal-Mart "has a huge effect" on local businesses, market forces should remain a dominant economic factor. He added that the chain would not be successful if local consumers didn't prefer its prices and products. "We should always remain a market-oriented economy that rewards risk-takers," he said, "because the risk-takers create jobs."
Voted NO on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore.
Voted YES on restricting rules on personal bankruptcy.
Vote to pass a bill that would require debtors able to repay $10,000 or 25 percent of their debts over five years to file under Chapter 13 bankruptcy (reorganization and repayment) rather than Chapter 7
gregg would be a terrible choice for the country.
I think Gregg would be a fool to take this job. He cannot advance his beliefs, the senate will go supermajority, and Obama can fire him on a whim. I'll bet congressional republicans are shitting themselves at the mere thought of it. i can't help but laugh.
You mean they haven't been messin' on themselves all along?
Give the guy a break, he's just trying to earn a living...he's just jumping off the Titanic. The Republican party is terminally ill.
+1
The Boss is the boss.
Check out his hands:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6KBRU-yuwc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaffYDq_AFQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrdjxj3lMD0&fe...
He might accept, and he might not. Either way, just extending the offer is "bi-partisan".
....obstruction will be all they have left.
After the election the Republicans were looking for a fight because that all they know...Obama reaching out to Conservatives is really fucking with them.
I really don't know what he did in the Clinton grassroots.
"I" will no longer stand for Independent, it will now stand for Irrelevant as in Republican.
Don't get your hopes up. Limbaugh will intimidate Gregg not to take it. I'm sure he knows who's running the GOP these days.
Yuh. Limbaugh the unlikely lover of rock'n'roll (peculiar) can do one thing and one thing only to control Gregg: Sit on his face with L's loose-from-overuse asshole wedged snug against Gregg's nostrils.
... but I'm getting a little tired of this Republican love-in.
Obama ran his campaign saying it wasn't about him, it was about us.
So why does it seem lately like it's mostly about them?
In any case... we're f*cked anyways.
I don't know why you all think that just because the NH Governor is a Democrat that he would appoint another Dem giving a 60 seat majority. The Republicans would lose it and they would have every right to. This situation was brought up in South Dakota when Tim Johnson had a brain aneurysm. We were nervous that the Republican governor would appoint a Rep to take the seat but by most accounts it was said that the Gov. would appoint a member of the same party to the seat. There should be no difference regarding NH. So, chill everyone, if Gregg takes the Cabinet position, it is very unlikely that a Dem would be appointed to the seat. I dislike Reps just as much as all of you but you can't have it one way for us and different for the other party.
...Obama is not an idiot and the Dem would be picked before Gregg was hired. The pieces should be in place before bringing that R into the cabinet. It ain't worth it without the Senate seat.
I'm not sure what lagger was talking about.
lagger is talking about something that never happened.
SD's governor never got to prove if he was a man of his word or not.
Excremente!
More my kind of cabinet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhHi-G3A8-Y&fe...
"the Dems would reach super-majority status and render meaningless the entire Republican Party."
The thought of a single-party state seems to excite you. Perhaps you should consult the citizens of other nations where single parties enjoy autonomous rule before expressing so much glee. Oh..that's right. Citizens in those countries are prevented from voicing their opinion by their wonderful "single party" authoritarian rulers.
Debate is a good thing. Competition is a good thing. Enjoy the victory, but be careful what you wish for.
But Repug obstruction, after 8 years of attempting to bankrupt and destroy this country is not. They had their shot and failed miserably. It's time the Democratic Party gets to roll the dice and take their chances. If they succeed, they'll be rewarded with majority status for a long time to come, if they fail, the Repugs will get the opportunity to finish off the destruction of America.
super-majority, post-partisan, etc. is all distracting bullshit.
and, in addition, glenn greenwald:
These are the people who have largely been in power for the last two decades and the country is in the shape one would expect it to be in as a result. That's why all of this chatter about post-partisan transcendence and trans-partisan harmony and the like is so inane.
Why would anyone think that "common ground," on any consistent basis, can be found with people like this, or that it would be beneficial to eliminate real differences in order to accommodate their views? People in this country -- like most countries -- have radically different views of things, and politics is about having those ideas compete with one another for persuasive supremacy. This compulsion to eliminate differences and disharmony in pursuit of some feel-good, trans-partisan consensus is not only futile but also destructive. Why would it be a good idea to mold one's beliefs and actions to induce the assent of the Dick Armeys and the Texas GOPs, even if that could be done?
As I've documented many times before, Beltway "bipartisanship" means that Democrats adopt as many GOP beliefs as possible so what ultimately is done resembles Republican policies as much as possible (anyone doubting that should simply review these "bipartisan" votes of the last eight years). I'm glad that the stimulus package yesterday -- which Democrats watered down and comprised on as much as possible to please Republicans -- did not attract even a single Republican vote in the House: not one.
Republicans aren't interested in "bipartisanship" except to the extent that they can force Democrats to enact their policies even though they have only a small minority thanks to being so forcefully rejected by the citizenry. And why should they be interested in bipartisanship? Why should they vote for a stimulus package that they don't support and that is anathema to what their most ardent supporters believe? It's very hard to find any virtuous attribute of the contemporary Republican Party, but one thing that can be said for them is that -- unlike Democrats, whose overarching desire in life is to please the needy harmony fetishists by adopting as many GOP views as possible -- Republicans are willing to incur criticisms by opposing what they oppose and supporting what they support.
After their years-long, single-party rule and abysmal track record of turning everything they touch into disaster the Republicans fully deserve to be "rendered meaningless". Time to give the other party a swing at the bat.
that "abysmal track record of turning everything they touch into disaster" would not have been possible without democratic assistance
if the dems had been a true opposition party i would be more inclined to agree with you. but, certainly, the GOP is the party of death and inequality
Very serious work to do in the meantime. We got to clean the shit pile they left. We must take over right now...so long as we progressives conduct ourselves polar opposites as those lying murderers did all of the wretched, shitty years when they were in power. Those rotten failures aren't worthy of your pity.
We don't have "debate". When the Repubs had the majority, 2000 to 2006, the Dems were totally and intentionally marginalized. When the Dems got the majority in 2006, they froze the Repubs out. Now, President Obama (I never get tired of typing that) has reached out to the minority leadership, he has met with them THREE TIMES IN THE FIRST 10 DAYS of his administration, and the god damned loser Repubs have done nothing but whine about BEING EXCLUDED from the discussion!! The remaining few Repubs are liars, who care only for their tough re-election challenges, and NOTHING about the well being of our nation. May they all go down in flames! Then, we citizens will have a "debate" with our democratic government servants.
"Rated 0% by the AFL-CIO, indicating an anti-union voting record."
"Rated 92% by CATO, indicating a pro-free trade (see, neoliberalism) voting record."
"Voted YES on $17.9 billion to IMF"
and this:
Last week, in the midst of the Senate attempt to resurrect the failed “TARP” financial “bailout” bill, NH Senator Judd Gregg made a midday appearance on Fox News to excoriate opponents of the bill, and implore Americans to support its passage. Accusing adversaries of engaging in “hyperbole”, even as he exclaimed that the stock market decline of September 29 would look tiny if something were not passed, he said, to paraphrase: “These are people’s retirements we’re talking about. We’ve got to act in order to protect their savings.”
gregg was part and parcel of the wall street blackmail. he not only voted for it, he was a willing co-conspirator in the blackmail and lies.
Obama can do no wrong. Us pesky libs just can't comprehend the extent of his brilliance.
yeah, they keep sending it to me.
i always try to give the president kudos for things i find good, or agree with, etc. but i refuse to hold back when i disagree. maybe that is the 'son of the american revolution' in me...
i have said it before, and i repeat now: i will support, but i will not submit
Don't make me call the thought police, I am sure some of the posters in this forum will make sure to correct the error of your ways. Trying to doubt Obama's genius like that!
I am still trying to find an apologist to explain me how:
I thought the dems won, why do I keep seeing the GOP getting everything they want?
like you, i have been called out a lot, called naughty names--all that good stuff. after a good cry i try to come back anew.
Simple: the Dems are spineless.
No, they're just not democrats. Just as thieving as any rethug, only more a bunch of phony posers.
I thought the dems won, why do I keep seeing the GOP getting everything they want?
Rolling over for Republicans with this signing? Is he going to cave and veto this?
All the Republicans I know- and living where I do, I know a lot of them- have been waiting anxiously for Obama to follow their leads to do this. And my Republican neighbors and co-workers were overjoyed with this. You should have seen the parade they threw in downtown Grand Rapids for that one- Richie "AMWAY Fortune" DeVos and his brother-in-law, Erik "Blackwater" Prince were leading it.
And then there are the sweet nothings Obama is whispering into their ears, like this:
(responding to [Republican Representative Dave] Camp [who was asking Obama to compromise on his plans for tax cuts] ) Obama says tax relief for some working families must come from payroll so even families who don't pay income taxes get relief and they will spend it.
He said "feel free to whack me over the head because I probably will not compromise on that part.
Obama said that there will be time to beat him up and a time for politics. He said I understand that and I will watch you on fox news and feel bad about myself.
So, yeah, Barack Obama,
secretRepublican. You nailed it./snark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExWfh6sGyso
The re-Thuglics would never let him do it. They know they're being played and they don't like it.
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http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summar...
Senate Vote On Passage: H.R. 1424 [110th]: Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote...
sure put the fox in charge of the hen house!!! beyond all reason! nothing like letting in a fith collum in your adminisration! go team !
If the fox is watching after the hen house, it will be too busy to eat the chickens. Genius!!!!!
(... or whatever justification apologist will try to spin).
Putting another fox IN the henhouse? Brilliant? I call that fucking abusive to the people who elected his ass.
Obama professes he's got our backs. Does this mean our "fronts" will soon look like the final scene in the l954 Seven Samurai?
Sweet! Then he could make Gdubya the Secretary of Homeland Security! Seriously, WTF??? If this is, as some in media portray it, as a way of getting 60 Dem Senators, who says those 60 will vote for Obama all the time? Congress Dems didn't vote 100% in his favour for his Pork Simulation Bill.
that we REALLY haven't gotten to the important stuff yet and that he will need a super majority to make the world a socialist paradise?
If the Pres. can pull this off, it would be a masterpiece.
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