Seems the nominated Commerce Secratary Gregg is not going to be able to work with Obama because of his decisions. Don’t worry Senator Gregg, Obama’s promises in private are “just words”, now you know what a lot of us already do. Good on you.
Well I think Obama pulling the census out of Commerce (Gregg’s control), and putting it essentially in Rahm’s, was a bad start for the guy.
Could you imagine if Bush did this. It would be all over the news. I never say anything about it. But hey it’s change!
“token”?
Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates (R)
Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood (R)
try again.
If anyone looks bad here its Gregg. He knew what the stimulus package was all about when he first accepted the job, now he says he can’t work for the administration because he doesn’t like it.
US Senate to crap commerce cabinet post was a stupid move from the get go. He has finally come to his senses albeit late in the day.
Gates is busy defending our nation, he will not be a problem for Obama. LaHood, you got me there. But Sec of Comm that would challenge him would be too much to handle…
I think Obama is a hard leftist, but goes to great lengths to put on a more centrist face. People like gregg bought the "appearance" of what Obama offered, the reality differed enough that he could not countenance it. Kudos to him for stepping away quickly, after seeing what he had signed on to.
Are you willing to withdray the “token republican” accusation or not?
And for the record both Transportation and Defense spend in a day what Commerce spends in a year; they are far bigger and more powerful positions…two of the biggest in the cabinets.
Commerce has probably the smallest budget and the least influence of any cabinet position; Judd Gregg would not have presented any challenges or problems for anyone had he decided to buck the administration from the inside.
Can you name the last 3 Commerce Secretaries off the top of your head…quick…no Google!
Not that there’s a thing wrong with it (and it was also a nod to the new digital realities in the media), but did you notice who a one of the journos were who was seated up in the front row at his first news conference? One of them was from the Huffington Post, and he took a question from the writer representing it, and of course, good old Helen Thompson (who’d been banished to the nether regions of the briefing room by Bush).
The thing with the HuffPo writer is definitely a payback to the far left, but is Obama himself that much of a leftist? I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem that way, as yet. Maybe Reid and Pelosi rolled him on this new stimulus package? Who’s to say?
BK
If anyone looks bad here its Gregg. He knew what the stimulus package was all about when he first accepted the job, now he says he can’t work for the administration because he doesn’t like it.
I think the larger issue is Obama’s attempt to hijack the census for political gain.
Commerce has probably the smallest budget and the least influence of any cabinet position
Except for that whole census thing next year. You know that little thing that says how many people live in each state. That only effects the representatives in Congress and the distribution of Federal funding. Pretty minor stuff.
Judd Gregg would not have presented any challenges or problems for anyone had he decided to buck the administration from the inside.
Except when he saw that instead of counting people they were going to start “estimating” people. I think this block in Chicago has 1500 people in it. I think this block in Dallas has 15 people living in it.
Yep. Thats the deal breaker. The Repubs will fight that one out in court.
Except when he saw that instead of counting people they were going to start “estimating” people. I think this block in Chicago has 1500 people in it. I think this block in Dallas has 15 people living in it.
I think the estimation thing was already examined in court and found wanting. The Constitution says something about an enumeration, which estimation doesn’t seem to be, or have met the legal test back when it was examined.
BK
You mean to say that the census has never had any estimates ever before? Only peoplr who participate in the census are counted? And everyone else is basically non existent in the number? Statistical science is not used?
**Well I think Obama pulling the census out of Commerce (Gregg’s control), and putting it essentially in Rahm’s, was a bad start for the guy. **
It was more about the census than the stimulus. If they were proposing that the census be managed out of the White House, I don’t blame Gregg for withdrawing his nomination.
If true, that is a bad idea.
From Gregg’s letter:
However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census, there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.
It is deeply concerning to me that the Census is going to be run out of the White House. How would the Democrats feel if Bush had tried that with Karl Rove?
The census needs to remain as apolitical as it possibly can be. If Obama continues on this course I think it is going to result in a very ugly court fight.
It’s too bad it took this for me to learn that the census is controlled by the Dept. of Commerce. Never knew that.
Doesn’t seem like the bi-partisan efforts we all hoped for will come to fruition after all.
“token”?
Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates (R)
Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood (R)
try again.
LaHood is a dirty Illinois politician, the fact that you are talking about him makes me laugh. How that guy got a Cabinet position is beyond me. I will give you Gates.
Losing Gregg is a huge blow to the supposedly bi-partisan Obama. You can’t dispute that.
He knew what the stimulus package was all about…
Maybe he was scared by the lack of a banking plan. He might have thought that a little pork in the stimulus was ok as long as overall there was a solid, coordinated and effective response. Not “we’ve been working on it for 3 months and we’ve got nothing… we’ll get back to you. In the mean time, have some pork”.
