Deal: Gregg fill-in would be a Republican

Source: Manchester Union Leader

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama was poised to tap Republican Sen. Judd Gregg as his commerce secretary but officials cautioned yesterday the move would not deliver Democrats more firm dominance of the Senate as they had hoped.

Leading the pack to replace the fiscal conservative was his former chief of staff and a veteran of the Reagan White House, Bonnie Newman. Officials expect New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, would name her to fill the final two years of Gregg's term. Newman would not seek the seat for a full term in 2010

...snip...

An administration official said last night the White House would worry about the Cabinet pick, not the politics.

"The President will choose the best person for the job, and if it's Sen. Gregg, then Gov. Lynch will have the sole responsibility for choosing his replacement," the official said on the condition of anonymity. .

Read more: http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Deal%3a+Gregg+fill-in+would+be+a+Republican&articleId=bda1ba5a-521a-4c5c-acfc-412e522b4d5f

it's now the New Hampshire Union Leader....that said it's still a right-wing rag that often publishes wishful thinking as news...Just sayin' it wouldn't be the first time they floated a trial balloon.

race in 2010.

Other Republican open seats in 2010 - Ohio, Florida, Missouri.

Ohio - Voinovich
Missouri - Bond
Florida - Martenez

Did I forget one? I was thinking it was 4 before New Hampshire.

Ohio - Voinovich
Missouri - Bond
Florida - Martenez
Kansas - Brownback

And now this would make it 5 but the OP article seems questionable, in that a Democrat would probably be appointed to serve for the next 2 years if the New Hampshire seat is vacated.

Because it has been looking like a different kind of agreement is being worked out.

Catnhatnh thinks the source of the article is suspicious and doubts their motives in publishing it. Unless there is something different about the process in New Hampshire, or about Governor Lynch, I don't anticipate a Democratic governor appointing a Republican to fill the empty Senate seat.

Just a hunch.

Edit: Just learned that WaPo is speculating Gregg won't accept the Commerce Secretary appointment unless Governor Lynch agrees to appoint a Republican to fill his Senate seat. Hmmmmm. The thick plotens.



I certainly hope Governor Lynch does not make such a concession. Then Democrats would win either way. If Gregg turns the appointment down, Obama's open hand would have been met with a closed fist of partisanship. If he accepts, we get Senate seat number 60 with a Democratic incumbent running running for re-election 2 years from now.

Boy, being nice to those Republicans is working out just great!!

That economic philosophy of their party has done a steller job this last 8 years.

(Well, I know its only conjecture, but Id be bewildered to see this)

No house votes, and Senate repubs vowing to defeat stimulus. Why not just take the 60th seat? How stupid not to?

In 2 years, in the increasingly Dem state he represents, he is in for a rough time getting re-elected. So he can be a minority party moderate senator, in a caucus that increasingly doesn't like moderates for only 2 more years, or he can be a powerful commerce secretary in an age of change for possibly the next 8 years. He's 61 years old, so the cabinet post will take him right to retirement.

Sounds like an easy choice to me.

He's NOT that moderate. Compared to Collins/Snowe/Specter he's a rightwinger. (thus not a good choice for the President really)

He's not had trouble winning before save for his first election in 1992 and would not be assured of a tough race in 2010.

Let's face it, 61 is a baby for the Senate.

He obviously cares about his party's fortunes, I don't see him giving us his seat.

What a lousy deal this is. Why do we want this guy anyway? Now we have a Dem governor being forced to name a GOP replacement? This is just lousy.

the heck President Obama wants this guy. LaHood at least has a record at bi=partsanship and was sent to penny ante Transportation (just like Mineta).

Gregg for commerce makes sense for a McCain or Bush cabinet not for a Democratic administration. Bad move. Reaching out the right? So they can bite his hand off?

founded "Republicans for Lynch" here's her reward. I support immediate special elections.

the Republican approach to commerce has been an unmitigated disaster, and he wants to put one of them in charge of the cabinet department? . . . makes absolutely no sense to me . . .

Gregg is a smarmy little busybody. Under Obama's thumb, his ability to make or get into trouble is lessened, and the oversight greatly increased.

No other reason than having an additional Democratic senate seat is good enough to appoint a member of the pro-privatization, anti-regulation party to head the commerce department.

I don't like making Republicans, whose pet policies have destroyed our national defenses and economy, to positions that involve those two sectors. They have demonstrated their incompetence, although their massive PR messaging efforts, disseminated through our conservative-owned mass media conglomerates, have trumpeted the opposite.

Appointing Republicans to those positions reinforces the myths they have spent billions of PR dollars to propagate. That the party of great destruction that detests regulation and government is somehow "better" at governing our economy and national security. Wish we wouldn't look for the exceptions to appoint to those posts but rather keep their ilk far away from those areas altogether.

Their big bipartisan gesture when they took power and forced Bush upon us was to appoint Norm Mineta as Secretary of Transportation.

No conditions, no deals. If the President asks you to serve your country, you serve.

Bake

In effect, John Lynch will be selling Gregg's Senate seat in exchange for
getting in Obama's favor for helping him with a Federal appointment. OK,
it is a bit different, but fundamentally both cases involve political
dealmaking with a US Senate seat being a bargaining chip. I would tread
very carefully on this one, if I were John Lynch. Another question:
why can't Obama find a Democrat for this position?

when money is involved, as with Pay-Rod, that's called "pay-to-play" or, more simply, "bribery". That is illegal. This isn't.

If Gregg won't leave the Senate without a deal, then screw him.

Disgusting.

EDIT: And yet again, I fall prey to the fact that -- despite the change in leadership in DC -- the press prints rumor as fact.

Gotta break that habit...

How is it that Democrats can only make crappy appointments and bad deals???

spray :puke:

Unless there's a deal to:

1. seat Al Franken and
2. confirm Hilda Solis Labor Secy

then it should be a big fat NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Appeasement is appeasement. There wasn't a single Democrat that could go to Commerce?