More on the Gregg withdrawl from Politico:
Republican Sen. Judd Gregg abruptly withdrew his nomination as President Barack Obama’s commerce secretary Thursday, telling Politico that he “couldn’t be Judd Gregg” and serve in the Cabinet.
The harsh response from a White House caught off guard: Gregg was the one who asked for the job – and he repeatedly promised that, “despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the president’s agenda.”
White House aides described themselves as “blindsided” by what White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs described as Gregg’s change of heart.”
…in months to come, Gregg will be worth celebrating. He is one of the smart guys on Capitol Hill, especially when it comes to fiscal policy. And he provides Obama with a third strong Republican Cabinet member, joining Defense Secretary Bob Gates and Ray LaHood at Transportation.
Gregg and North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad, the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, respectively, have been pushing for the creation of a bipartisan commission that would tackle the looming bankruptcy of the three big entitlement programs — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Conrad told me that he deeply regrets the departure of his partner and does not know where to find a substitute.
But help may be on the way. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the No. 3 man in the Senate Republican leadership, quietly joined the Budget Committee last month. When I asked him why, he said it was to “help move the Gregg-Conrad commission proposal forward.”
Moreover, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader of the Senate, told the National Press Club that a bipartisan deal on entitlements is something he thinks can and should happen in this Congress.
Obama said the same thing when he visited The Post just before his inauguration, and now he has in Gregg someone who can help him lobby Congress to move the project forward.
Ha ha.
The parable of the frog turtle and the scorpion:
A scorpion, being a very poor swimmer, asked a turtle to carry him on his back across a river. “Are you mad?” exclaimed the turtle. “You’ll sting me while I’m swimming and I’ll drown.”
“My dear turtle,” laughed the scorpion, “if I were to sting you, you would drown and I would go down with you. Now where is the logic in that?”
“You’re right!” cried the turtle. “Hop on!” The scorpion climbed aboard and halfway across the river gave the turtle a mighty sting. As they both sank to the bottom, the turtle resignedly said:
“Do you mind if I ask you something? You said there’d be no logic in your stinging me. Why did you do it?”
“It has nothing to do with logic,” the drowning scorpion sadly replied. “It’s just my character.”
Obviously, this is a huge setback for the struggling Obama administration. The only way to rectify it would be to appoint Mitt Romeny as auto czar.
Update: A Democratic staffer writes TPM:
It’s hard not to think that Gregg’s withdrawal, with the grumbling about the census and the stimulus, was not timed to cause the most damage possible to the Obama administration. Releasing the statement just as Obama took the stage in Peoria was clearly designed to undermine the President’s event. The fact he scheduled a presser only seems to confirm it. The classy exit would have been to wait til tomorrow afternoon to quietly bow out. Basically Gregg decided not just to politely decline, but rather to blow shit up and burn the bridge behind him. Do not think this portends good things for the wider political climate.
Brian J
Isn’t "FailDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Obama Administration!!!!!!!!!!!!!" more accurate than "struggling Obama administration"?
nonymouse
Why does the ‘parable of the frog and the scorpion’ not have a frog?
Rick Taylor
I’ve been trying to keep an open mind about all the talk of unity and bipartisanship, and watching to see how it turns out. Of course we’ve just started, but so far we haven’t had much to show for it.
Zifnab
It’s like they’re trying to make themselves irrelevant. I mean, what else can you say? Obama gift-wrapped Gregg a giant bag of power. He would have had more influence on policy than he could have hoped for as a minority Senator. And yet, here he is throwing it all back in Obama’s face. Presumably because he wasn’t given the leyway he petulantly demanded.
Now that conservatives are stonewalling the Obama administration and giving the entire Washington Establishment the finger, do you think we can start nominating actual progressives to these posts? You know, what with this being a center-left administration? Maybe a few lefty administrators? Maybe? Eh? No? Well fuck it. Guess I shoulda voted for McCain.
Stuck
From the tone of the WH statement, it sounds like they’re relieved to dump this Scorpion. And kick a little sand in it’s face to boot. No more Bipartisanship for you wingnut!
Shinobi
Maybe you just don’t understand the parable.
Also. this is good news for John McCain.
Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist
Why does the ‘parable of the frog and the scorpion’ not have a frog?
Not in the excerpted bit – they meet a frog at the bottom of the stream, who never jumped out because the heat was raised too slowly for him to notice until it was boiling, or something.
DougJ
@nony
Because frogs are partisan extremists while turtles are sensible moderates.
(I fixed it.)
John Cole
At some point, there needs to be a phrase like “Friedman Unit” for Broder, as his conventional wisdom is always, intractably, irredeemably, unquestionably wrong.
nate
"Why are you so surprised? You knew I was a fucking snake."
Mark-NC
I don’t buy the strugling part. It’s not relevent.
Fighting the non-stop lying of Republicans is a hard climb, but it isn’t Obama’s fault that Republicans have no morals, no values, and no integrity.
blogenfreude
@John Cole: Who coined "High Broderism"?
And Doug – "struggling"? At least give it a month – then we can pronounce it dead.
Stuck
@John Cole:
"Dufus Meter" that way we could get measurements on all the Washington Wankers. And later expound outwards.
Joshua Norton
Damned dyslexia – I keep reading Judge Dredd.
nonymouse
Replacing the turtle in the parable with the frog makes more sense. Can a scorpion sting thru a turtle shell? Most of his fleshy bits are underwater when he swims.
Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist
@John Cole: At some point, there needs to be a phrase like “Friedman Unit” for Broder
There is the phrase "high Broderism" – which I think Atrios defined pretty well in 2007:
"We normally think of "High Broderism" as the worship of bipartisanship for its own sake, combined with a fake "pox on both their houses" attitude. But in reality this is just the cover Broder uses for his real agenda, the defense of what he perceives to be "the establishment" at all costs. The establishment is the permanent ruling class of Washington, our betters who know better. It is their rough agenda which is sold as "centrism" even when it has no actual relationship with the political center in a meaningful way."
ETA: I see blogenfreude mentioned this term too – and I don’t know if Atrios made it up, just that the definition I quote here is the sense I get off the term.
georgia pig
Hope "struggling" was intended as sarcasm. This smells more like Republican panic.
DougJ
But you’re okay with Mitt for auto czar?
superfly
@John Cole:
How about "Broder-mide"
From the definition of bromide:
3. a platitude or trite saying.
4. a person who is platitudinous and boring.
MazeDancer
If Gregg plans to vote yes on the stimulus, it certainly would have smoothed his exit if he said that at the presser. He declined to answer, parried with a wait til tomorrow response. A "Yes" response would have been part of the headline of his leaving. And he was otherwise so supportive of Mr. Obama. So, must be a no. And not just that he didn’t realize he’s not really good at not "being my own man…on my own" as he said over and over.
DougJ
How about “drinking the Broderade” for someone who loves “bipartisanship” too much?
Zifnab
Also, I don’t know how this hasn’t been mentioned yet, but…
SLAP IN THE FACE!
UNDER THE BUS!
Xenos
Solis in, Gregg out. A good day, all around.
More, please.
demkat620
Did y’all catch how excited Tweety got over this? It was another of his He-man GOP crushes.
Swooning over Gregg’s principles.
Laura W
I deeply regret that youtube seems to contain no version of Tom Jones singing this immortal classic.
Ssssssssssss…..aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh…The Snake!
Face
whomever above referred to the turtle as a "he" is a damn sexist. Only a chick turtle would be that dumb. Probably got lost, too.
Lev
Seriously? He’s quitting over the census? I think not. I’d really like to know what manner of power the GOP has over moderate members of its caucus who are seemingly possessed of a brain but will follow the insane dictates of the leadership in all things, even out of a job.
Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist
Do not think this portends good things for the wider political climate.
Indeed, but a political climate in which Rush Limbaugh is openly acknowledged as the ideological leader of the opposition is buggerdiddled anyway.
TenguPhule
The Scorpion Clan’s amended version:
The Grand Panjandrum
Here in NH the Republicans were furious with Gregg for abstaining from voting on the stim package. That abstention sent the bitter enders into a tizzy. They are still mad at him for being one of the primary architects of the original TARP bill that Bush, Paulson, et al gave away with almost no strings attached. Republicans here are still fiscal conservatives and have never cared for the previous administration’s handling of the budget and spending.
@superfly: Broder-mide gets my vote.
Zifnab
@TenguPhule:
Adrienne
@Face: No, if it the turtle was a chick and got lost as you say, she would have had the good sense to stop and ask for directions.
Joshua Norton
Next nominee is a toss-up between Caroline Kennedy and that “Free Money from the Government” guy from the infomercials.
Joshua Norton
I deeply regret that youtube seems to contain no version of Tom Jones singing this immortal classic.
Try Al Wilson.
former capitalist
40 or 41, although they aren’t necessarily wise.
El Cid
BTW, scorpions often tend to be pretty relaxed around non-prey and non-scorpion larger animals that aren’t f*@%ing with them. It’s the big spiders which are the [email protected]
Darcy
@Xenos:
Wait, where? She’s in? Did they vote to confirm? Please don’t tease, I can’t stand it :)
TenguPhule
The rule of thumb is that All Republicans negotiate in bad faith until proven otherwise, which requires a loaded and cocked gun to their head and even then you’d be wise to check their statements against a third party.
Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist
@Joshua Norton: Next nominee is a toss-up between Caroline Kennedy and that “Free Money from the Government” guy from the infomercials.
Or, for real bipartisanship, Harriet Miers.
Xenos
Solis is through the committee. Nothing but a filibuster can stop her.
Knocking on wood…
Zuzu's Petals
@Joshua Norton:
Just what I was thinking.
Al Wilson
georgia pig
But you’re okay with Mitt for auto czar?
Hell, no, but it ain’t going to come to that. Commerce is a meaningless post (arguably, "Car Czar" is too) and Gregg was merely a hood ornament. Gregg’s life was being made miserable by the nutjob wingers, he panicked and vamoosed. The pressure must really be on the moderate Repubs, but all this pressure right now from the right stands to fuck them in the end. They risk looking like nuts, which a lot of their supporters are. Who the fuck announces how glad he is to be joining the Obama administration one week and then quits over "irreconcilable differences" the next? Forget what Broder and those other tools in DC think. Regular folks will think "that’s pretty fucked up, kinda like Brittany Spears and K-Fed."
Broken
The Whitehouse did not plan to remove the Census from Commerce. They wanted Census run consistent with counting minorities with a statistical model which yields higher populations than the GOP wants to use. They wanted Gregg to agree.
Gregg said the census issue was minor in light of other policy differences. I think Gregg couldn’t take the heat from the Sean Hannity wing.
Maus
Faux-"independents" always use this to tar the potential for progressivism and endorse conservative/randroid candidates. Our congressmen ARE nearly as bad as the republicans, but mostly because they passively, but at least not actively trying to bring about our destruction. "Equally as bad" for its own sake is masturbatory.
TheHatOnMyCat
Based on what we’ve seen so far, this is much ado about whatever is less than nothing.
Absolutely inconsequential. Which I assume is why the blogs are all the fuck over it.
If something really happens, or some actual information about this story becomes available, then we’ll see.
This guy was nobody before, and he is still nobody.
Laura W
pardonnez-moi
Zifnab
@Xenos: Don’t be retarded. "Filibuster" is the default setting of the current GOP. You might as well just resign yourself to it. Expect half a dozen annoymous holds followed by another half dozen whiny objections that take up half the day.
Rome Again
@El Cid:
Really? Just a few months ago I was walking down a sidewalk in a desert area and had a scorpion coming right towards me from the other end of the sidewalk. I had to jump off the sidewalk to give him right of way. He wasn’t in the least concerned that I was 5’2" and he stood 3" tall.
Laura W
@Zuzu’s Petals: Thanks. I fuxxed up the link anyway.
sssssssss……..nice!
Rome Again
@TheHatOnMyCat:
Uhhh honey? It’s very possible he’s one more no vote on the final Stim package than they had before.
Andre
@Laura W:
http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com
Well, it COULD be Tom Jones with the snake bit.
stickler
This whole thing makes no damned sense. Why would Gregg decide to do this bizarre backstabbing Kabuki dance in the first place? He just threw a dart at Mr. 70% Approval’s chest. For what possible gain?
Obama’s going to nominate someone else, Tweety will chortle for a few days, and Gregg has earned the undying hatred of the Executive Branch and the Dems in Congress too. Oh, and he betrayed the GOP, too.
I mean, seriously. What the hell?
Punchy
Fuckin christ, it really is going to be 59-41 for every fuckin vote in the Senate for the next 4 yrs, eh? All-out interparty warfare and Repub bitching every fuckin nite? Honestly, I can’t take 1400-plus nites of this shit. What fucking 5-yr olds they are
TheHatOnMyCat
The only thing that counts is one less Yes vote, as long as there are 60 of those …. well, you know.
But even so, he would have to have been talked out (or talked himself) out of the cabinet job just to cast a vote?
I can’t make sense of that at all. Something is missing, we just don’t have the whole story here.
DesertScorpion
Just a few months ago, I was walking down this sidewalk and a fully grown (and really gorgeous) human jumped clear out of my way.
Biggest moment of my whole week, that was.
Welp, gotta go listen to some Sting records. Talk to you all later.
DougJ
You think he found out about the Kenyan birth certificate? Isn’t Commerce in charge of birth certificates?
(I agree that there is something missing here. I don’t know what it is.)
Laura W
@Andre: I had a hard time following the multi-layered plot there, but my 16-yr-old kitty was digging it.
Xenos
@Zifnab: Temporary stuff only. Just a matter of waiting the right moment.
Polish the Guillotines
Brodacity (bro-DAH-sity) -noun: Irredeemable wrongness. The pundits were flummoxed by his intractable brodacity. See also, Brodacious -adj. The blogosphere shredded his brodacious pronouncements.
jcricket
And Greg has announced he’s not running for his Senate seat again in 2010, likely meaning a Democrat will win that then.
This is crazy. Republicans really are deciding to try the "shoot the moon" strategy.
Rome Again
@TheHatOnMyCat:
If Kennedy doesn’t show (CNN reported earlier he will not be voting on the final package) and Lieberman switches sides, we might only have 59 and Gregg would be just one more NO to contend with, am I wrong?
Do you feel comfortable with Lieberman being the deciding factor here?
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: Careful now.
Rome Again
@DesertScorpion:
Cute sweetheart. ;)
Thanks, I needed that laugh. Somehow I thought that scorpion would not be as nice as you are to me.
ThymeZoneThePlumber
@Rome Again:
Yes, if we fall below 60 anything is possible I guess.
Lie-berman? He should kiss my entire ass.
DesertCricket
@Rome Again:
I thought you looked familiar.
DesertScorpion
@DesertCricket:
Hey, I thought I ate you?
Rome Again
@ThymeZoneThePlumber:
I don’t know why you repeatedly say your "entire" ass… your ass isn’t big at all. ;)
And btw, no, he shouldn’t… I don’t want him coming anywhere near you. ;)
Rome Again
@DesertCricket:
Sockcricket!
Rome Again
@Polish the Guillotines:
I like Brodacious myself. :)
DesertCricket
Nuh uh. I rub my hind legs together entirely on my own.
(Well, faster or slower depending on the temperature).
Polish the Guillotines
@Rome Again:
Make it so, Number One.
charlotte
Gregg looks like a cock-teasing asshole. Census interruptus. Speaking of scorpions, the Republicans seem to enjoying stinging themselves to death all over the tube. Too clever by half. Color me nuts and naive but I don’t think that most folks are in the mood right now for this kind of fancy pants bullshit. And Obama in super controlled rage mode tends to be awesome.
Zifnab
@jcricket: They are aware this is national politics and not a game of Hearts, right? I don’t think the Republicans win if they hit zero Senators.
Zzyzx
Lieberman was out talking up the plan. I don’t think you have to worry about him flipping. It’s the 3 Republicans who scare me.
DougJ
Good stuff. I may use “census interruptus” as a title later.
Stuck
"Wider political climate" It’s the Global Warming equivalent of increased Neverending Shitstorm.
AnneLaurie
Well, I hope ol’ Judd’s got a lot of rich buddies ready to Galt theirselves up to your Live-Free-or-Die-Trying home, ’cause from here in Taxachusetts it looks like the Hampsters just kissed an extra helping of "shovel-ready stimulus" goodbye. Maybe it’s just hometown propaganda, but I thought NH was looking at a the kind of doomsday fiscal scenarios where you’d finally have to institute a state-wide income tax AND you’d have to increase property taxes AND you’d still be shutting down schools and government offices in the myriad trailer-home boonies, unless scientists have discovered a way to turn stubborn into gold?
jcricket
For the last fucking time, Social Security is not facing "looming bankruptcy". After years of running a surplus (which was borrowed by other programs, with treasury guarantees as IOUS) it’s now going to run a mild deficit starting around 2018 (although that keeps getting pushed a year or two as people delay retirement these days). By 2041 the IOUS will be exhausted. Then there will continue to be a mild deficit, especially under pessimistic forecasts for the next 30-40 years. But the solutions are easy, raise the wage cap and/or the retirement age a couple years.
I’m not a fan of us raising retirement age either – all fine and good for those of us in "white collar jobs", but what about blue collar/physically demanding jobs? Or ones that require fine motor skills (like surgery)? Hard to keep working until you’re 67 as it is, let alone 69 or 71. I say either eliminate the social security wage base cap (and raise benefits), or implement a "donut hole" version of that, where the cap stays in place, but goes away again if you earn more than $250k (and no raise of benefits). Problem solved, program in tact, let’s move on. There’s no crisis, and I’m not a fan of idiots like Broder (or frankly, Sully) who keep conflating all three programs into one big mess.
Medicare + Medicaid, on the other hand,do threaten to eat up geometrically larger pieces of the federal budget. Unfortunately there’s no easy fix, unless we fundamentally alter the US healthcare system (for example, making Medicare an option for everyone).
Given the popularity of these programs, and the massive uncertainty, fear and risk involved in market-based investments/healthcare, I’d bet dollars to donuts that entitlement programs get expanded and beefed up (what do you think SCHIP is, if not that?) in the next 10 years, not reduced.
Steeplejack
@jcricket:
I am so glad to hear someone else point this out, and you summarized it very well. It irks me to see Sullivan regularly mention the "entitlements crisis" as if it’s a universally accepted given. Yes, our health-care system desperately needs to be reformed, but Social Security is nowhere near the top of the list of problems.