I get why Obama would tap Republican Sen. Judd Gregg (NH) for Commerce. Democrats get a 60 vote majority in the Senate, Obama gets bipartisan cred and a vetted Commmerce nominee who seems like a reasonable guy. That’s fine, but why does Gregg want the job? Whatever the pluses (e.g., he escapes a radicalized caucus that hates and abuses moderates like him), Gregg can look forward to the kind of hate that only Jim Jeffords and a sick twelve year old kid can possibly understand.
Before Judd Gregg makes up his mind, I suggest that he sit down with Graeme Frost and talk about living as a magnet for hysterical rightwing hate.
Fencedude
Something I haven’t seen discussed, but am mildly curious about, what are the chances of some Republicans (Senators especially) jumping ship and changing party affiliations?
Gregg would be near the top of my list of possibles for such a move, even if the possibility is quite slim.
JoyceH
I think this is just fiendishly clever, even floating the possibility! There are a handful of moderate non-southern GOP senators who are grandfathered in states that have turned blue underneath them and survive by personal popularity. I don’t think GOP moderates are particularly well treated by their colleagues.
Well, those colleagues had better start thinking about treating them a little better and paying some attention to their concerns, because there are plenty of cabinet level jobs out there. And Obama treats folks nicer.
Xenos
Maybe he wants out of that caucus. GOPism is a dead end. Of course it isn’t, but the time to poach some moderates is when people are most dispirited.
John S.
Maybe Obama observed the Dems maneuver the GOP into committing seppuku in Tennessee and decided to give it a go himself.
WarrenS
Judd is being offered the opportunity to be the first major public voice of a Republican party that isn’t completely insane. Obama is plotting the resurrection of moderate Republicanism as a "loyal opposition," and he’s offering Gregg the opportunity to lead the team, gain a major reputation as a good guy, and completely marginalize everyone else.
Remember…right now practically everybody hates the Republicans. So having them heap hate on you is actually a blessing.
evie
Mark my words. If he’s offered it and then takes it, it will be because the governor agreed to appoint a Republican in his place.
randiego
I don’t see how he would become the "magnet for hysterical rightwing hate"… Bob Gates joined the administration and the flying monkeys have been quiet on that front…
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unless you mean the part where he’s giving Dems the magical 60th seat? Nate Silver has been saying forever – and I agree with him – that we don’t need the 60th seat. We need a Senate Majority Leader is what we need.
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As for Gregg wanting out – he’d be crazy not to.
TR
I can’t wait to hear about what kind of countertops he has.
Red State Dork Force — Assemble!
Crusty Dem
If he stays with the GOP and votes like he does now (fairly consistently democratic), and refuses to filibuster reasonable bills, do you think he’ll be treated any differently than if he actually jumps ship? I doubt it. By hanging around, he’ll be discussed by Rush et al. every day for the next 2-4 years, if he jumps, he’ll get a 3 week firestorm followed by relative obscurity (although he’ll always be poison either way..). The guy’s not getting any wingnut welfare under any circumstances.
I’d rather put a bullet in my head than have to take regular meetings and phone calls from the GOP geniuses on a daily basis, maybe he feels the same.
Tonal Crow
Obama appears to be pretty skillful politician.
Conservatively Liberal
If Judd did this he would be reviled by the wingnuts. If I were Judd, that alone would be reason enough to accept the offer. This is a shrewd move by Obama and I am sure that there will be the expected uproar about even the offer being floated. Wingnuts are going to bombard Judd with threats until he cries "UNCLE!" and says what they want to hear.
Still, a good political move by Obama. Keep the nuts off balance and howling incessantly. People will get tired of that shit real fast when they realize that it is leading to nothing getting done about the problems we face.
BC
If Obama is really thinking of Judd for Commerce, he’s probably thinking of avoiding any filibuster of judges or cabinet nominees – maybe like Solis. With 60 votes – and Lieberman will not filibuster Obama’s choice – there won’t be any need for Reid to threaten the "nuclear option." Republicans would call that bluff. I don’t know whether Democrats in opposition were just feckless or whether they looked at governing differently and decided to do what would advance governing.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
The reason that Gate’s hasn’t received the wingnut ire is that a) he’s not in an elected position and never has been, and b) it’s SecDef. The righties think they own defense and thus, having one of their own "helping out" a) makes em sleep better at night, and b) convinces them that only by having one of their own as SecDef, regardless of administration, than the country remains nominally safe.
Remember that Bill Cohen was Clinton’s second SecDef, another Repup, and he didn’t get right-wing death threats either.
And all because (mostly) there was nothing electoral at stake.
MikeJ
There’s no way he could win a general election.
oh. Wait. What’s that? I’m so glad I listened to those people who warned me against voting for a marxist musselman.
Brian J
Perhaps he’s reading the writing on the wall in New Hampshire politics. Maybe he’s sitting on more solid ground than John Sununu, but maybe not. Unless there’s a complete collapse in Democratic luck and a remarkable reversal in Republican fortunes in the next two years, the Democrats are going to come after him hard in his next election. He could just not be up for another Senate election, or could just feel the old call of duty that when a president asks someone to serve, the person serves in that role. Now that Bush isn’t president, maybe it’s back in vogue.
John O
By sheer statistical probability, not all Congressional Republicans can be drop cases.
It’s at least possible that Gregg is allegedly doing something that requires quite a bit of courage. Because he WILL get ravaged.
Stevenovitch
What makes a moderate republican? I can’t really decipher this fully, but it looks like he tends to join them in voting against cloture quite a bit.
If that’s true he has to know what Obama is up to here, and probably doesn’t like it.
Brian J
@Fencedude,
When I was looking at his Wikipedia page to get a better picture of what he was like, Gregg seemed to be closer to a moderate Republican than, say, Orrin Hatch, but he doesn’t seem like a true moderate like Olympia Snowe. Even if he was interested in switching, which seems questionable, it’s probably easier to try to knock off vulnerable Republicans in two years. There are plenty of possibilities, it seems.
Incertus
No real right-wing explosions yet. I can’t wait to see what Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage does with this.
Zifnab25
Queue the obligatory "HA Ha!"
If the flaming monkey poo comes Judd’s way in response to all this, it would be all the more reason for him to jump ship. I mean, does he really want to start receiving burning dog shit or used condoms or whatever Red State is issuing in its weekly mailer as gratitude for his party affiliation? Fuck that.
If Judd was a Democrat and Obama was Ronald Regan, this wouldn’t even take thinking about. I can’t imagine him resisting the temptation.
And yeah, "Magic 60" doesn’t mean a damn thing given the Senate’s propensity for crossing party lines. But it is a very psychological number. The very fact that Dems could – in a party line vote – basically run the board will make Congressional Republicans balk pulling another Boehner-style stunt.
Brandon T.
I love how Limbaugh is taking the bait and assuming his new role as "ideas guy" of the GOP (I assume that’s what his smarty-pants editorial in the WSJ today means).
The more Limbaugh does this, and the more Obama keeps using Limbaugh as his foil, the more the wingnuts will rally around Rush. GOP, meet national obscurity.
bruins01
If Gregg takes the Commerce job, it would be more of a reflection of what he thinks his chances are for reelection in New Hampshire than anything else, I bet.
Mike in NC
Most of my family now lives in NH and has done so for close to 15 years. It’s not remotely like it was in the 70s and 80s when the crackpots at the Manchester Union Leader set the agenda. NH is now safely blue and will always be thus.
Comrade Darkness
When I saw "Judd Gregg" I thought immediately of "Judge Dredd."
This means one of two things. I shouldn’t drink the cheap vodka. Or there is no living down too many comic books in youth, no matter how geezerly you get.
[delurk]...[/delurk]
Obama really likes win-win situations and I’m more and more appreciating his ability to set them up. If Gregg does jump ship and change his party affiliation, or even goes "Independent" like the execrable Lieberman in reverse, Win!
If the poo-flinging Trailer Trash Party™ make enough of a spectacle of themselves screaming about this (and everything else Obama does) that they become unelectable next time around, Gregg and a few others become the nucleus of a semi-sane Republican party that no longer endangers the country and the world. Win bigger yet!
JGabriel
Tim F. @ Top:
I could be wrong, but I don’t think that will happen. There seems to be, or at least used to be, a loophole or exception for people accepting Cabinet posts. For instance, I don’t remember Bill Cohen coming in for any special rightwing hate vendettas for accepting the position of Sec’y of Defense under Clinton.
Granted – that didn’t swing the balance of Senate cloture power. So I suppose the Rightwing Hate Machine could swing into action. I just don’t think it’s a certainty.
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Incertus
@JGabriel: I think that the best example is that of Jeffords, because when he switched, it caused a transfer of power, and this is similar, if not quite as dramatic. When Jeffords did it, the right wing noise machine was largely in regular media because the internet hadn’t really gotten dense with this stuff yet, but now, it’ll be full-bore two-minutes-hate quality vituperation, led by Malkin and the other idiots.
I mean, there’s an outside chance that the wingnuts will have the air taken out of them by something like this, but it’s still a little early for them to be out of energy.
JasonF
Senator Gregg is the only Republican federal officeholder in New England and he’s up for re-election in two years. Like the man said, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
Joe K
Zifnab25 @ 20:
Where are the wingnuts gonna get used condoms? There’s only "abstinence" and "procreation" on the menu over there.
AnneLaurie
The gigantic migration to NH over the past 20+ years has been divided, politically, between liberal-leaning Massachusetts commuters looking for cheaper housing and self-styled libertarians hunting the ‘Live Free or Die’, a/k/a ‘Every Penny of Public Spending Kills Us’ dream. Local obsession with avoiding a state income tax at all cost has collided with the NCLB bureaucracy, and it’s no longer going to be possible to protect young NHampsters from such socialistic horrors as public-school kindergartens and libraries. If Obama’s stimulus package dumps a metric shiteload of money on education, maybe NH will be able to avoid closing schools in the poorer districts or doubling property taxes, or both. This gives Senator Judd dual reasons to (a) keep BHO happy, and (b) get the fvck out of NH electoral politics while he can.
Of course I’m a Masshole, and my prejudices may be showing.
JGabriel
Joe K:
From their visits to the airport restroom.
This has been another edition of Simple Answers To Simple Questions.
.
JGabriel
JasonF:
Olympia Snow, Susan Collins, John Sununu…
I think you’re confusing Gregg with Christopher Shays, who is the only Republican House Representative left in New England.
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Conservatively Liberal
Following El Rushbo around on his visits to the brothels of the Dominican Republic.
mak
While this may be a real possibility, the timing of the leak (by "Democratic Senate aides" according to HuffPo) suggests that it may have as much to do with getting Senate repubs to fall in line with the stimulus now as with getting to the magic 60 number beyond that.
Heard Grassly on the radio this afternoon sounding all blustery and insistent on getting what they want in the Senate stimulus, so you know McConnell and the lesser d-bags are preparing to spank Harry Reid into submission again. Could be that the Obamans, ballsier Senate Dems, or even the endangered Repub moderates themselves floated this now to get them to simmer down.
If, down the line, Gregg Judd actually bails and they get to 60 as a result, so much the better.
realnrh
@JGabriel:
Neither Chris Shays nor John Sununu is holding elected office right now. It’s Judd Gregg and the ladies from Maine. Shays and Sununu lost. There are no Republican Representatives in the House from New England anymore. They can’t reconcile ‘crazy enough for the remaining base’ with ‘sane enough for everyone else.’
Gregg is the only remaining Federal officeholder from New Hampshire, though, with Jeanne Shaheen having beaten John Sununu this year, Paul Hodes beating Charlie Bass two years ago and Jennifer Horn this year, and Carol Shea-Porter having beaten Jeb Bradley back-to-back.
Adolphus
Sununu lost to Jeanne Shaheen.
Your point is still valid, but the list is shorter than you realized, making Gregg more endangered as a result.
JasonF
@JGabriel: I completely forgot about Maine’s two Senators, but Sen. Sununu and Rep. Shays were defeated in November by Sen. Shaheen and Rep. Himes, respectively.
Max B.
i was a student at dartmouth college; senator gregg’s son was two years ahead of me. he was in the alpha delta fraternity, since immortalized as the basis for the deltas in "animal house."
i’m sure some of you remember that judd gregg was the lucky senator that won the powerball a few years back. well, senator gregg, already independently wealthy, was generous enough to donate the proceeds to charity…but not until he bought himself a very expensive red convertible first.
we always knew when senator gregg was visiting his son when that car was parked outside the frat. rumor had it that he was more than willing to play beer pong, but only with seniors and parents, to respect the law.
also, his wife survived a very traumatic abduction experience, one in which she managed to outwit some very nasty people who were eventually captured.
none of this is intended to "reflect" on the senator or his character, just to add some information to the conversation.
Feebog
If true, this is a diabolically clever move by Obama. Judd has good reason to fear the 2010 election. Chances are good that Paul Hodes (D) will challenge him, and would quite possibly win. I don’t think he is particulary moderate, nor that good a choice for commerce, he serves at the pleasure of the Prez.
Mnemosyne
Eh, I don’t see anything so horribly wrong with using part of a windfall to buy one toy for yourself before you give the rest away. It may not be saintly, but it’s still more than many people would do.
clussman
I have no idea whether he will take the post or not, but I do believe it is in the works and has been for some time. Read this post from the Union Leader that was written a week ago — well before any rumors were floated:
Gregg, Obama in sync so far
Don’t let the bland title fool you. There’s more red meat in that article than in a slaughterhouse. A few snippets:
I bet that sounded innocent at the time.
Uh-oh. Sounds like someone drank the post-partisan kool-aid.
It reads pretty much like the proverbial writing on the wall would. Much more — go read the entire article.
Common Sense
OT, but I don’t like this it all:
"It’s 3 p.m. and the phone in the White House press secretary’s office is ringing. It rings and rings and rings. Eventually, a recorded voice asks callers to leave a message—followed by a second voice saying the voicemail box is full.
After a full week of such calls, a human being answers. But Ben Labolt immediately bristles when asked to spell his name, refuses to give his job title, and says he is going “off the record” until I stop him to explain that the reporter grants that privilege, not the other way around—a basic journalistic standard that Labolt seems unaware of. He soon hangs up without even hearing what I called to ask about.
A return call is answered by Priya Singh, who spells her name when asked, but does not know (or will not say) what her job title is and several times describes requests for information about how the Obama administration press office is operating as a “complaint” which she would pass on. She says she is not authorized to comment, though she at one point tells me she is a spokesperson."
…
"I worry that Milbank may be forced to do just that. My questions to Labolt and Singh prompted a return phone call the next day from Nick Shapiro, who spelled his name, but had to be prodded several times to give his job title: assistant press secretary.
During our brief conversation, Shapiro, like Labolt (whose name Shapiro did not recognize), started one sentence with “off the record.” Told that the journalist grants the privilege, and that none would be granted here, Shapiro expressed surprise. His surprise was double-barreled, at both the idea that the reporter issues any privilege and that any reporter would decline to talk “off the record.”
The reportorial practice of letting government officials speak without taking responsibility for their words has been an issue with the public and is being questioned now by some journalists, as shown by this article from Slate’s Jack Shafer.
Questions about whether Shapiro knows the difference between off-the-record, background, deep background, and on-the-record did not get asked, because Shapiro made it clear he had no interest in answering anything about how the Obama press secretary’s office is operating and what its tone will be. He said questions should be submitted in writing by e-mail to [email protected]. I sent Shapiro an e-mail outlining the contours of what would be covered in an interview, but have not received a response as of this writing, the following day.
Shapiro did say that there are press office numbers to call beside 202-456-2580, which has been the main White House press office number for decades. “You should have used one of them,” he said.
And those numbers are? Shapiro said these numbers would be made public soon. (Thoughts of the illogic made famous by Kafka, Catch-22, and Lewis Carroll’s King of Hearts come to mind here.)
But there is more to this than just the answering, or not answering, of telephones and questions."
——
This isn’t just coming from some hack. David Cay Johnston is no establishment tool (even if he did apparently get the White House Press Number wrong).
Look, I understand that the media sucks as a general rule in this country. But that story is just bizarre. And there’s no excuse for an administration that pledged transparency and openness to be so obstructive when talking to any member of the press.
Common Sense
(sigh).
I guess there’s no shortcuts in BJ.
I’m off to go order a book on programming so I can comment legibly. Just know these two things: that the two passages surrounding the "…" (preceded by a paragraph in italics) are quoted from Johnston’s article. The outlying commentary that is not italicized is my own. And that if this really is just a case of Johnston dialing the wrong damn number than my objection is withdrawn.
JL
Gee, I figured that Obama would appoint someone from a blue state but my guess was Olympia Snowe. I thought that he would give her an ambassadorship. It has to be uncomfortable to be a moderate repub these days.
The Grand Panjandrum
Not only did Obama win NH in the GE, he won in every county. Including Grafton County. Even John Kerry didn’t carry every county when he took NH in 04.
Now that we live here in NH what I’ve found is that people here are just plain sick and tired of the Republicans. Many Republicans here in NH would be Democrats in southern states.
bob h
Powerlessness of the kind the GOP now faces must be a dispiriting thing-maybe he just wants a challenge beyond kvetching about Democrats. As Commerce Secretary, I guess he will be instrumental in dealing with the auto companies, etc., and have plenty on his plate.
Maybe he just wants to be part of a history-making administration.
over_educated
Common Sense-
Why would that in any way worry you? Considering the press has been sucking George Bushes *#*# for eight years and gotten zero access and were willfully complicit in spreading his BS rumors in the run up to Iraq, I find the presses decision to get religion now more than a little suspect. Obama has given more press conferences in a week than GW did in months. If the press wants to get all "we don’t do off the record" now they should start getting used to being shut out. Especially considering there are a LOT more options for Obama to get the word out than the traditional media.
joe from Lowell
Would you want to run as a Republican in 2010 in a New England state that Obama won by 10 points in 2008? How about if Obama cuts a couple of ads for your opponent?
What’s it gonna be, Senator Gregg? Silver or lead?
Cyrus
I thought this news was pretty exciting and stuff, but when you put it like this it makes me wonder. Bipartisan cred? How much of that does Obama need? He already has Gates as Secretary of Defense, Republican considerations were included in the stimulus bill without getting anything in return, he bent over backwards to be civil during the campaign… all those were good moves, but when is bipartisan cred being pursued for some useful purpose and when is it being pursued for its own sake?
gex
This is so full of win. On the stimulus the GOP was urging their members to vote against it BEFORE Obama came to talk to them, got their tax breaks in the bill and had some items they objected to removed, and after a sincere effort by Obama to work with them they voted unanimously against it.
If they want to now go around publicly complaining that Obama appointed a Republican as SoC, doesn’t that look even more like they reject any and all attempts to govern in a bipartisan manner? Once again, Obama extends an invitation and they just cry like WATBs.
Meanwhile, he’s peeled away more of the moderate right to his side.
Deborah
Remember a couple of days ago when some House Republican talked about how Rush could run his mouth and rile people up, but those of them in elected positions had to get stuff done? And he was inundated with calls and had to do a groveling apology to Rush? If I were a moderate Republican I’d look at that, look at the fervent cleaning of the yurt ("Okay, we’ve tossed out the infidels! People will flood back in any minute!" *minute* "Clearly the problem is we haven’t purged enough infidels."), and find a position other than Congress awfully tempting. He’d still be serving the people who first elected him senator, just serving them in a different capacity.
No one knows what party Gates belongs to, so he doesn’t count as a Republican cabinet member. He’s hired by both parties because he can get stuff done, which is what Obama looks for in an ally.
At this point generating hysteria from Red State Strike Force et al is practically a badge of honor, marking a conservative who cares about conservative principles. (Zakaria, Larison, and on and on through those conservatives who couldn’t vote for Palin.) If the party leadership continues to carry on as it has been this month, those conservatives may no longer be thrilled to identify as Republicans. Ambinder had a nice piece yesterday on young Republicans who are not feeling heard, to put it mildly.
Besides, Judd Gregg’s name is only mildly comical and he isn’t southern, so it’s not like he can ascend to a leadership position in the party.
Deborah
I love how Limbaugh is taking the bait and assuming his new role as "ideas guy" of the GOP….The more Obama keeps using Limbaugh as his foil, the more the wingnuts will rally around Rush.
(Shudders.) But very true–it’s like Obama was offered a chance to pick the head of the GOP, and he suggested some sensible moderate who can compromise to get things done. "No way," said God, so Obama then asked if the GOP could just defer to…okay, how bout the fat multiply divorced draft-dodging drug addict with a call-in show? "No problem," said God.
Paul L.
I suggest that he sit down with Graeme Frost and talk about living as a magnet for hysterical rightwing hate.
Government employees will go through your private records and release any embarrassing information to the media to discredit you.
Or is that just Joe the plumber?
Jason F
@Common Sense:
That’s funny. Johnston’s statement was certainly true thirty or forty years ago, but I don’t think those terms have been operative for years.
Jason F
Secretary Gates has been mentioned a couple of times as a Rpeublican in President Obama’s cabinet. For reasons that have never been explained to me, he does not count as a Republican — presumably because he’s not registered as a Republican (he lives in a state that doesn’t have party registration), notwithstanding the fact that he has a history of activism in the Republican Party and served in three different Republican administrations.
Josh Hueco
@Paul L.:
You forgot Valerie Plame.
NonyNony
And then get fired and be unable to work in government for the rest of their lives.
Seriously, Paul L. – take a look at how that played out here in Ohio. The people involved were investigated and fired.
You’re like a broken record with this thing. The system actually worked this time around. And if Joe the Plumber hadn’t decided to turn himself into a circus clown, everyone would have moved on about it. Hell, I’m surprised he hasn’t filed a civil suit against the state – maybe his rodeo clown antics prevent him from mounting a serious case at this point.
gwangung
You either have a short memory, or are not very well read.
Hm. Perfect description of a 21st Century Republican.
Paul L.
Seriously, Paul L. – take a look at how that played out here in Ohio. The people involved were investigated and fired.
So That is the Narrative.
I remember Gov. Ted Strickland defended Helen Jones-Kelley.
BTW, Helen Jones-Kelley resigned with this BS using the Obama "distraction" excuse . She was not fired.
"It is with sadness and clarity that I have decided to resign my position as director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services," Jones-Kelley said in a statement released by the governor’s office.
"This decision comes after having a time of pause," she said, "in which I realize that I continue to be used as a political postscript, providing a distraction from urgent state priorities."
Karmakin
Nobody made the obvious joke? I’m disappointed.
Somebody better check to see if Gregg has granite countertops.
joe from Lowell
So he suspended her and ordered and investigation that lead to her having to resign?
Huh. All this time, I’ve been using the word "defend" incorrectly.
Some people can’t get out of bed in the morning without a good, strong shot of victimhood. Oh, hi, Paul L.
Paul L.
Agency head defends ‘Joe’ searches
Governor Statement on Inspector General Report
Dr. Loveless
The more I see of Obama, the more convinced I become that he is a true master of the Xanatos Gambit.
liberal
@Deborah:
Yeah, if "get stuff done" means "blocking rapprochement with Iran".
Zandar
We’re asking the wrong question.
The real question is "Why is Obama considering somebody who voted against Ledbetter and the Employee Free Choice Act as Commerce Secretary?"
Yes, 60 votes in the Senate would be great. Having somebody who thinks Ledbetter and EFCA are not good policies and would be responsible for helping to implement them is not worth the vote.
Peel off Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe should you need to get to sixty, and either find a decently progressive Commerce Secretary or do away with the cabinet position altogether (after all, Congress regulates interstate commerce and you already have a Labor Secretary.)
Common Sense
@over_educated:
David Cay Johnston was a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist for the NY Times. He wrote "Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super-Rich–and Cheat Everybody Else" as well as "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You With The Bill." In absolutely no way shape or fashion was he a Bush enabler. I am worried because I don’t like when a President feels he doesn’t have to answer to our press — and "they don’t like me anyway" is not an excuse. I didn’t buy it when Bush ignored reporters he found inconvenient, and I ain’t buying it now.
JGabriel
@realnrh:
Thanks for the correction, realnrh. Somehow, I had thought Shays held onto his seat in the last election.
As for Sununu, that was just a brain fart. I knew Shaheen had won, but forgot. My bad, and my apologies.
.
D-Chance.
Before Judd Gregg makes up his mind, I suggest that he sit down with Graeme Frost and talk about living as a magnet for hysterical rightwing hate.
—
Or he could sit down with Joementum and see how the Jackasses embrace "mavericks"…