Absolutely NO to Judd Gregg. No, no, no! If Mitch McConnell is

[Raven]

saying that Gregg has assured him that his seat will be warmed by a Repub, then I say "No Judd, stay around in NH and have your ass handed to you in 2010". Also, Gov. Lynch up here in NH might just appoint a Repub to warm that seat. I don't want Judd Gregg in this Administration...I want to watch him go down in defeat in 2010. This is the guy who authored the last Bush bailout and I still have seen NO evidence that it did any good except to make the fat cats fatter. What the hell is this idiocy??? Someone explain the logic of a Gregg appointment to me.

[BlooInBloo]

1. You obviously know more than Obama does, so why bother?

[Raven]

3. Are you stalking me or are you just a wiseass? Don't you ever have anything

to contribute to the discussion other than snide remarks...half of which don't make much sense, BTW. Oh, and I live here in NH and I'm very active in politics up here and I would bet that I know lots more than you do about it....

[BlooInBloo]

6. Have I even responded to you before? lol!

And yes, I think it would be fair to say that I'm a wiseass.

And I'm pretty sure that others have little difficulty in understanding my remarks (agreeing with them is another issue, naturally). You may wish to consult your own brain on that issue.

And your knowing more than *me* means exactly what? Wanna cookie?

[Raven]

7. Yes you have and yes you are an asshole.

[BlooInBloo]

8. (shrug) I'll take your word for the former. The latter is well-known.

[ZombieHorde]

11. fun

[BlooInBloo]

12. Oh boy.

[sarge43]

2. OK, why would Lynch appoint a Repub? n/t

[Raven]

5. He is a "funny" Democrat. He is known to do this. He is a good guy,

don't get me wrong, but he is known for this. He has appointed Republicans before. Nobody knows what he's going to do and there is a lot of speculation up here that he may appoint a "good" republican.

[sarge43]

14. Well, true enough. But if he would, he'd blow every bit of

political capital he has. The whole reason for this chess game to ensure 60 Dem senate board. He probably wants to move on and up. Screwing the national party and POTUS with a gesture of bi-part will make him no friends. It's one thing to appoint a tame Repub to a 'looks good, means nothing' state post , but if he wants to play with the Bigs, he'd better not play 'em.

[Raven]

15. What concerns me up here is that there are so many people who

call themselves Republicans because that is what has always worked...but they are really not. I just don't know about Lynch on this. I would assume that Obama will know exactly what Lynch will do before he makes the pick. But I still can't understand picking Gregg.

[sarge43]

20. Just a wild guess, but he could be the Repub the Repubs have

written off. Another senator could start trouble, but Jughead is a dead man walking. The Repubs aren't going to waste a lot effort or money in New England, let alone NH, anymore.

And he may be the one Repub senator who went for the offer. Better a cabinet post than a humiliating defeat.

[cascadiance]

16. Is there such a thing as a "good" Republican any more?

I think many of those moderate Republicans have been voted out (Leach, Chaffee, and many others). These would have been the "good Republicans", and many of them lost long held seats, because the voters in those areas realized they were being "played" and that they were tired of still not being heard on important issues when the Republican Party would call in their chips from these "moderates" to vote with them on important issues (that work against us).

I think this nominating this Republican is a bad idea. You put pressure on the governor too, and he might take some heat for either nominating a Democrat or a Republican in the next election too. Leave the guy alone to lose the next election and get someone more from the relatively UNREPRESENTED progressive side of the fence to be in the position of Commerce. It is so important we get some progressive viewpoints in how our economy will be run now.

[Warren Stupidity]

19. In NH, actually yes. Jim Squires is a fine Republican.

Although he is really old at this point. One of the last of New England's progressive Republicans.

[AllentownJake]

4. I'll give the President the benefit of the doubt on his cabinet picks

and who he wants to implement his agenda, give him advice, and in the room when decisions are made.

[Raven]

10. That is exactly the position I've had on most of his appointments but

this one bothers me. Why would you appoint the architect of Bush's last give-away?

[AZ Criminal JD]

25. The last give away that Obama's Treasury Sec signed off on

Forget that?

[FrenchieCat]

9. Read....

This by Nate Silver about the Republican who is in the aisle; one who endorsed Barack Obama during the election, and why she may be a good choice in a long run....if indeed a Republican is to be selected.

For Democrats, Best Choice May be a Republican
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/for-democrats-best-choice-may-be.html

[Raven]

13. I saw that. She seems like a good woman but why take the chance?

[FrenchieCat]

17. Well, we must begin by honestly understanding that there may be some things we don't know....

Although we can be, by now anyways, somewhat comprehending that Obama ain't about giving away the store. That I do know.

For the time being, I'm not into "on the face of it" political conclusions based on what Obama is doing, simply because Barack Obama has proven so many so wrong so many times. I'll leave it to him on this and see what comes of it. In otherwords, I am giving him the benefit of the doubt...which has worked out pretty good thus far.

The objections on this action reminds me of those rearview mirrors with the small print warning that "Objects are closer than they appear". It is possible that in being backseat drivers looking in the rearview mirror, makes it is easy to misjudge Obama's plans and visions by looking only at the surface of it without an awful lot of information. He rarely does what is predictable or CW, and we all know that Obama, whether as a candidate or as the President elect or as president has been misjudged before.

[FrenchieCat]

18. I would add that making absolute statements is not your best quality......

But since you are from NH, I understand why you would be most skeptical of all...with good reason.

However, I only stress that everything that Obama seems to do has a reasoning that outweights the immediate short view.

[Raven]

22. Good point. I will suspend judgment and hope for the best. :-)

[Thrill]

21. If the seat won't be taken by Democrat. Gregg shouldn't be the Commerce Secretary

There are more than enough Democrats qualified for the position.

[sampsonblk]

26. You looked at my answer sheet!

That's exactly what I say.

[brianna69]

23. If Gregg is replaced by a democrat I am all

for him getting the post as it would get us to 60 senate seats. If he isn't being replaced by a democrat then a democrat should get the commerce position.

[Phx_Dem]

24. I trust Obama's judgement.

The Concord Monitor has a story about some possible replacement candidates, a couple of which would probably vote with the Dems much of the time. I'm linking to a Daily Kos post that sites a Concord Monitor story because I can't get the Concord link to open.

From Daily Kos:

Two more names are in circulation:

Franklin Pierce Law Center Dean John Hutson, a former Republican who endorsed Obama and spoke at the Democratic National Convention, declined to say if he would want the job. "I'm honored and surprised that my name is mentioned," he said in an e-mail. "I have the utmost respect for Senator Gregg and will quote him by saying I have no comment."

In recent years, Hutson has accumulated a strong record of objection to Bush administration policies on detainees and torture. Last summer, at the DNC, he said he had left the Republican party:

Because the Republican Party I once knew has become something different, something I no longer recognize. The "Grand Old Party" is no longer grand. It's just old. The same old, failed policies. The same, old Washington culture. Instead of new ideas and innovation, they offer trillion-dollar tax breaks for the very rich at the expense of the middle class, a deficit out of control and a government unable to help its most vulnerable citizens after Hurricane Katrina.

Instead of inspiring the world with the power of American ideals, they offer war as a first resort, an overstretched military, justification for torture, and trampling of civil liberties. From the invasion of Iraq to the devastation of Katrina, I see arrogance abroad and incompetence at home. And I simply cannot tolerate, and America simply can't afford, more of the same.

Another name mentioned by the Monitor is that of Liz Hager, a former longtime state representative who lost her Republican primary after a group of conservatives joined together to campaign against her. Hager is "proudly pro-choice, proudly pro-government," but her votes on labor issues are mixed. She voted, for instance, against a bill prohibiting employers from requiring employees to attend religious or political meetings. On the other hand, she voted to kill "right to work" legislation.

Hager is paraphrased but not directly quoted implying she would not run in 2010; in any case, her ability to survive a Republican primary would be in question.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/31/15630/1401/151/691411

[FrenchieCat]

27. Would having a friend caucusing with Republicans help Barack Obama?

Would he get information that he wouldn't otherwise? Just curious.

[matt819]

28. What about Paul Hodes?

Frankly, I just don't see Gov. Lynch naming a Republican, not if he wants to be re-elected. I've seen the posts suggesting that he might name a former Republican or a moderate Republican, but Lynch as undoubtedly seen the writing on the wall. The Republicans are going to vote in lock-step and hope that Obama would fail. (In contrast, we on the left didn't so much hope that Bush would fail, only that we were absolutely certain that he would fail regardless of what we hoped for.) Your so=called moderate Republican will vote with the Republicans every time, moderation and conscience be damned.

So how's this for an idea? Lynch names Rep. Paul Hodes (or, for that matter, Carol Shea-Porter) to the Senate seat. That gives him/her the two years they would have as a representative in any case, and then almost ensure at least another six. Then, and perhaps Raven can weigh in here, wouldn't Lynch then get to name Hodes'/Shea-Porter's replacement? If he chooses a moderate dem or so-called moderate Repbublican, so what? We have the votes in the House in any event.