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| Gregg Withdraws Nomination for Commerce |
| 2009-02-12 |
| Breaking Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire has withdrawn his nomination to become President Obama's commerce secretary. In a statement released by his office, the New Hampshire senator cites "irresolvable conflicts" on issues including the economic stimulus package. Gregg was named the Commerce nominee a week ago after the withdrawal of former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #13 Were Dem's looking ahead to 2010 to win over NH Senate seat by hoping he would accept this offer ?? What amazes me is that NH used to be a solid red state (Manch Vegas was my home town until 1987, when I became a Masshole). Now it's up for grabs on many levels. If I didn't hate that fucking rathole so much, it might be depressing... |
| Posted by: Raj 2009-02-12 21:31 |
| #12 possibly, but they were also looking for "bipartisan" cover for Obama's porkulus package, economic policy, and more particularly, IMNSHO, the Census switch scam |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-02-12 21:16 |
| #11 Were Dem's looking ahead to 2010 to win over NH Senate seat by hoping he would accept this offer ?? |
| Posted by: Tom- Pa 2009-02-12 21:09 |
| #10 From Ed Morrisey at Hot Air: "Barack Obama will take another big hit to his transition, but the man who really deserves the obloquy this time is Rahm Emanuel. The census ploy was a transparent attempt to hijack the data for political purposes, and pulling that stunt after GreggÂ’s appointment made Gregg look like a political eunuch. It was classic overreach, and itÂ’s classic Emanuel. Now heÂ’s embarrassed himself, made his boss look impotent, and managed at the same time to damage ObamaÂ’s most critical piece of domestic policy legislation. If Gregg hits the media circuit to criticize Porkulus, his credibility as an Obama appointee will create a lot of heat on other Republicans and even a few Democrats to stop the runaway train of this bill and force it back into debate." |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2009-02-12 20:07 |
| #9 Absolutely. The one spot he pics for a trunk is the one area he needs his ass covered for his extra-constitutional power grab. Luckily for us, the MSM is all over this aspect of it. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2009-02-12 19:50 |
| #8 Could be, DMFD. I hadn't thought of that. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2009-02-12 19:47 |
| #7 Didn't want to be the "cover" from Rahm's census grab ("look the Republican Commerce Secretary is OK with it"). Obama tried to play him for a sap. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2009-02-12 19:36 |
| #6 This is a Constitutional issue with the census. The Constitution the power to clooect a census to the Commerce Department. Obama seems to have overstepped and Gregg doesn't want to be at the center of a Constitutional fight. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2009-02-12 19:36 |
| #5 I'm guessing the Census issue never came up when he talked with Bambi. It was only after he was nominated that the progressive groups started complaining about a Repub being in charge of the census, and Bambi -- I think -- seriously miscalculated. He could have told the progressives "don't worry, we'll take care of this quietly", but that wouldn't have satisfied them. So he did it publicly and made Gregg look like a fool. To Gregg's credit, he called Bambi on it. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-02-12 18:06 |
| #4 didn't like getting played over the census is the real reason. Judd grew a pair |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-02-12 17:38 |
| #3 Appears he at least has some principle remaining. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-02-12 16:51 |
| #2 Statement from Gregg's website: Sen. Gregg stated, “I want to thank the President for nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle. “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. “Obviously the President requires a team that is fully supportive of all his initiatives. “I greatly admire President Obama and know our country will benefit from his leadership, but at this time I must withdraw my name from consideration for this position. “As we move forward, I expect there will be many issues and initiatives where I can and will work to assure the success of the President’s proposals. This will certainly be a goal of mine. “Kathy and I also want to specifically thank Governor Lynch and Bonnie Newman for their friendship and assistance during this period. In addition we wish to thank all the people, especially in New Hampshire, who have been so kind and generous in their supportive comments. “As a further matter of clarification, nothing about the vetting process played any role in this decision. I will continue to represent the people of New Hampshire in the United States Senate.” |
| Posted by: Sherry 2009-02-12 16:50 |
| #1 Still a RINO. |
| Posted by: DoDo 2009-02-12 16:45 |