Judd Gregg tells Pres. Obama I’m doing my hair for the next four years:
New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg withdrew from consideration as Commerce secretary Thursday, saying his differences with the Democratic White House ran too deep.The announcement was a fresh embarrassment for an administration rocked by a number of setbacks. While his recent predecessors each lost one or two early cabinet nominees, Mr. Obama has lost three less than a month into his term. And Mr. Gregg’s withdrawal comes two days after a bank rescue plan was widely panned by financial markets and lawmakers from both parties, partly because of its lack of detail.
Note to Oly Snowe, Arlen Spector, Sue Collins et al: if he’s smart enough to spit out the Kool Aid, aren’t you?
Amen, Brotha! I wish they would wake up and realize there should be no R’s next to this giant piece of crap they are about to pass.
Memo to President Obama: The try at bipartisanship was nice. But your most committed opponents are douchebags. They don’t do nice. You won the election. If you’re truly interested in bipartisanship, borrow one of the core principles of the other side: “If you’ve got ’em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.”
You need to take a page from Reagan’s book and leverage your personal popularity to force your opponents to take a constructive role in policy or risk looking like anti-American obstructionists to their constituents. The other guys don’t care about the country as much as you think they do. They are merely trying to build themselves up by tearing you down.
Hey Clownie: There is no attempt at bipartisanship. Bipartisanship is a code-speak for ‘you ready to sell your soul yet?’ This will be a cleansing experience for Republicans. We now know (if we didn’t already) three US Senators who need to be purged from the rolls. You see, Clownie, in our party we petition to throw traitors overboard. Hopefully, when their reelections come around, the Republicans of Maine and Pennsylvania will remember who sold the country down the river.
Memo to President Obama:
Translation: Cover blown, pants around ankles. Return to base for further instructions.
The Emperor is not wearing pants.
I wonder if Gregg woke up & realized that the only reason he was selected was so his Dem governor could seat another android in the Senate? I can’t believe he didn’t see that to begin with.
I wonder if Gregg woke up & realized that the only reason he was selected was so his Dem governor could seat another android in the Senate?
Actually Gregg broached that very subject with the NH governor at the beginning of the vetting process. Sen. Gregg was assured that his Senate seat would be turned over to a Republican, otherwise he would have declined the President’s offer of Commerce secretary immediately.
Didn’t know that… but what is a promise in politics? Especially from a Democrat?
I dunno, Mr. Shirt. If the President of the United States asks you to join him, it has to be tough to turn him down. Gregg probably hoped that he could have influence on what Obama would do if he had a seat at the table. With the census gone, his portfolio would have been pretty empty.
Brad is right about the NH governor appointing a caretaker Republican. It was my understanding that the caretaker was not going to run in 2010. And as far as 2010 goes, it sounds like Gregg is going to retire anyway, so it would have been an open seat under any scenario. It’s up to the Republicans to hold the seat in any event. If Obama’s plan works and things turn around, the seat will go blue anyway.
Guy agrees to take a job. The job description of said job then changes substantially without the guy’s concurrence. Guy decides not to take the job.
Seems pretty cut and dried.
Where else can you find a cnversation between a Mr. D and a Mr. Shirt? Only at SITD!
You want to hear a real knee-slapper? Democrats talking bi-partisanship when they are in the majority. What A Hoot!
All you need to know about Democrat bi-partisanship was displayed in the Porkulus conference committee meeting.
What could he have done if the Democrat governor decided to put a Dem in there anyway? It’s the Governor’s right to appoint anyone he likes no matter what he promised to the person vacating. You can’t trust these people! The fact that Gregg could look at the evidence before him & decide that he’d be able to “mix it up” with Barry kinda shows he’s a bit naiive.
I’m not worried about 2010. I’m worried about now.
I think that this has a lot to do with the removal of the responsibility for the census from Commerce to Rahm Emmanual’s pocket.
I think we learned in 2000 that you can’t leave wingnuts in control of counting stuff.
AC,
Don’t blame Republicans because retired leftists from New York in can’t figure out how to vote.
But the Good Guys won in 2000, Angry Clown.
Lieberman for veep wouldn’t have been too bad, but President Gore? That dude is seriously delusional.
Angry Clown believes the smart, competent people have been in charge in the senate since Jan 2007.
Holy Crap! Senate Intelligence, now that’s an oxymoron.
The Year: 2001
Memo to President Bush: The try at bipartisanship was nice. But your most committed opponents are douchebags. They don’t do nice. You won the election. If you’re truly interested in bipartisanship, borrow one of the core principles of the other side: “If you’ve got ‘em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.”
How’d that work out for him, Cathcart? Hahahaha!
He served two full terms?
Counting stuff?
AC, you couldn’t count to 20 and one-half without being naked.
Yeah, I don’t know how that could be considered a hit, AC. Check your snark bag; there’s apparently a hole in it.
Here’s a lesson from Reagan that Obama should heed:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123440526764875671.html?mod=todays_us_opinion
One of the main themes that emerges from the IAP report is that Reagan and his team didn’t assume that a landslide victory meant they had a mandate to do whatever they wanted. To the contrary, the report’s authors, Richard Wirthlin and David Gergen, wrote: “The election was not a bestowal of political power, but a stewardship opportunity for us to reconsider and restructure the political agenda for the next two decades. The public has sanctioned the search for a new public philosophy to govern America.”
Establishing a new governing philosophy, in other words, would require sustained public argument — something for which Reagan had an abiding instinct. Even in private sessions with Democrats, Reagan relished vigorous arguments about the welfare state. This was much to the annoyance of then House Speaker Tip O’Neill, who just wanted to cut deals.
Reagan never attempted to stifle debate by saying “I won.” The IAP noted that President Jimmy Carter “failed to realize that leadership means more than ‘laying it all out;’ it also means keeping at it.” Like Mr. Carter, Mr. Obama seems peeved that Washington won’t roll over for him.
Mr Shirt those retired leftists from New York have been voting in both New York and FLA for a long time. How dare you insinuate that they can’t figure out how to vote in multiple elections.
My bad syntax! I was trying to insinuate that they couldn’t read the ballot in Florida!