Obama May offer Sen. Gregg Commerce Post

This is pure genius. HuffPo is reporting:

There is a strong possibility that Barack Obama will ask Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) to serve as his Secretary of Commerce, Democratic Senate aides tell the Huffington Post.

The move would fill a vacancy that has lingered since Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his nomination. And provided that Al Franken emerges victorious in the Minnesota recount, it would give Democrats in the Senate a 60th caucusing member, as New Hampshire's Democratic governor John Lynch would appoint Gregg's replacement.

Asked for a response, White House spokesman, Bill Burton, in an email to the Huffington Post, said the "president hasn't made a pick yet."

The potential of Gregg leaving the Senate will almost certainly set off an intense lobbying effort from his fellow Republican senators to persuade him to turn down the Commerce post. Already, a GOP operative writes in to say: "No way that Gregg takes it."

As HuffPo reports, Gregg will be under tremendous pressure to reject the president's offer but this is where our prez shows his brilliance: Gregg is now forced to reject a very popular president while he struggles to hold the line with the GOP conference. Granted he may in fact resign from the Senate when his term ends in 2010 but his voting record may spur the voters of NH to prefer a Democrat once his term expires.

Stay tuned...

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Armey Resorts to Pettiness

After being outclassed and cornered, watch Armey insult Salon's Joan Walsh

"I'm so damn glad you can never be my wife because I surely wouldn't have to listen to that prattle from you every day," Armey told Walsh, editor-in-chief of Salon.com. "That's what I'm talking about -- she's making a political malarkey here."

"Boy...that makes two of us sir," Walsh replied. "That was really an outstanding comment."

"You're talking like a paid political hack here," Armey interjected, "trying to score political points."

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Hannity and Rudy Rant on Obama plans

Well its official! Per Hannity, Obama is an ideologue.

In a recent snarkfest captured by Media Matters, Hannity is quoted:

HANNITY: You know, look, I'm going to tell you, my take on it is just the opposite. I think he's an ideologue. And I'll tell you why.


Why is Obama is an ideologue you ask?

Because, look, he's talking about anywhere from 850 billion to over a trillion dollars in a stimulus package -- trillion-dollar deficits as far as we can see. They're going to move on health care"

Never mind the trillion dollar war or the 11 trillion dollar deficit under Bush's watch. The two go on with their snarkfest highlighting the myth of the 61 and other right wing paranioia:

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Bipartisanship? Not a chance

Dear prez Obama

Congrats and yes we did. I fear that you are taking this bipartisanship stuff a bit too far. Yes, yes I know that you are an astute politician who's proven us wrong many times past but you would do well to remember that the GOP has no interest in seeing your policies succeed. They want you to fail and will do anything possible to make sure that happens.

Remember that gracious dinner with the neocons? Well here's what they are saying now about your stimulus package:



If that's not direct enough, here is a post from ThinkProgress where blowhard Rush Limbaugh puts it more bluntly:


On Friday, when President Obama met with congressional leaders from both parties to discuss his economic recovery and reinvestment program, he told GOP leaders, “You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done.” Asked for a response by National Review yesterday, Limbaugh said that Obama’s “plan is to isolate elected Republicans from their voters.” He added that passage of the stimulus bill would hurt Republicans electorally:

Obama’s plan would buy votes for the Democrat Party, in the same way FDR’s New Deal established majority power for 50 years of Democrat rule, and it would also simultaneously seriously damage any hope of future tax cuts. It would allow a majority of American voters to guarantee no taxes for themselves going forward. It would burden the private sector and put the public sector in permanent and firm control of the economy. Put simply, I believe his stimulus is aimed at re-establishing “eternal” power for the Democrat Party rather than stimulating the economy because anyone with a brain knows this is NOT how you stimulate the economy.

Limbaugh’s argument echoes former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell’s recent claim that Obama’s stimulus plan “could create a major electoral advantage for Democrats at taxpayer expense.” “Creating 600,000 new jobs might help cement Virginia in the Democrat column, making it harder for Republicans to retake the White House,” said Blackwell.

Now suddenly your new BFF McCain is thrashing the stimulus. Back in the early nineties, the GOP sounded the alarm against the Clinton health care plan. They figured perhaps correctly, that if the Democrats succeeded in providing universal health care, they would create a permanent majority for decades from grateful working class voters. Similarly, the GOP is equally alarmed at the potential success of your policies and they will do everything in their power to block or water down your proposals rendering them ineffective. The success of the stimulus would fly in the face of the Reagan maxim: Government is not the answer, government is the problem . It would also shatter the Milton Friedman economic principle with what I call a smack of neo-keynesianism and that would destroy the entire conservative platform and they cannot allow that to happen. Unfortunately for them, you come to office with a huge mandate providing you with much political capital-so spend it wisely.

The GOP is trying to take advantage of your willingness to reach across the aisle by appearing to work with your administration (trust me, they will not compromise). Focus passing the best possible bill with or without their support, concentrate on the few Republicans up for reelection next year, who will earnestly work with your administration. America will thank you for it.

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Bill Burton named WH Deputy Press Secretary

I was wondering what they were going to do with Bill Burton who did an excellent job during the election but HuffPo is now reporting:


Bill Burton, Barack Obama's national press secretary during the presidential campaign, will serve as a deputy press secretary in the Obama White House, multiple Democratic sources tell the Huffington Post.

An amiable presence on the trail and an effective conduit for Obama's message on television, Burton will hold a post under incoming White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, sources say. His hiring reflects the president-elect's continued trust in the communications team that helped propel him to the presidency. In addition to Burton, both Gibbs and incoming deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer played key roles in the campaign. David Axelrod, Obama's chief communications and messaging guru, will be a senior strategist for the incoming president.

Most of Burton's experience prior to joining the Obama team came from Congress. He served as communications director at the DCCC in the 2006 election cycle and was press secretary to Sen. Tom Harkin from 2001 through 2003. Prior to then he worked for former Rep. Bill Luther.

His appearances on Fox have become Youtube classics, here is one:

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Brown goes After Bush on Katrina

You get the sense that Dubya is concerned about his legacy, much has been said about his many interviews held the last weeks and he has requested network time this Thursday for a farewell national address. There is one crisis however that even his most ardent conservative supporters cannot defend: Katrina. Most Bush watchers and pundits point to the bungled handling of Katrina as the final nail in his legacy.


From HuffPo:

Campbell Brown cut through George Bush's bull Monday night, taking the President to task for his remarks about Hurricane Katrina during his farewell press conference.

Brown "was taken aback" with Bush's statements defending his administration's Katrina response, statements she described as "almost entirely disconnected still from what really happened."

"Don't tell me the federal response was slow," Bush said, "when there was 30,000 people pulled off roods right after the storm passed."

"Many people will disagree over many aspects of the Bush legacy," Brown said. "But on the government's handling of Katrina? It is impossible to challenge what so many of us witnessed firsthand, what the entire country witnessed through the images on our television screens day and night.

"Mr. President, you cannot pat yourself on the back for that one," she then said. "We will debate the war in Iraq, debate national security, the economy, and the rest of your legacy. Those debates will continue for years to come. But on how you handled Katrina, there is no debate."

Here is the video:




So on with the Bush legacy project..

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Reid and the Senate FINALLY say NO to Dr No

You can place this one in the It’s about damn time department. Tom Coburn has been the Senate’s chief obstructionist, he initiated 73 filibusters in the 110 Congress alone. Kudos to Harry Reid for finally saying ENOUGH! Lets hope there is more of this to come..




The Senate voted during a rare Sunday session to move forward on a package that has become known as the “Coburn omnibus” because it is designed to thwart a filibuster by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). The most recent version of the Coburn omnibus is a 1,000-plus page package that consists of more than 160 different provisions governing various land-use issues.


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tried to move many of the provisions through the Senate last year but action was held up by Coburn’s use of dilatory procedural tactics. Reid’s decision to vote on a Sunday to quash Coburn’s filibuster was interpreted by some Senate observers as a non-too-subtle rebuke of the junior senator from Oklahoma. The cloture motion passed 66-12.

The Democratic leader, however, denied that he was taking a personal shot at Coburn, with whom he has clashed with increasing frequency over the past year. Reid told The Hill that he needed to pass a cloture motion to end debate and proceed to the bill because he wanted to pass the lands bill and The Lilly Ledbetter Act, which would reverse a Supreme Court decision on wage discrimination lawsuits, before President-elect Obama’s inauguration. “I’m trying to work to get as much done before the inauguration [as possible],” said Reid. “I’m trying to get Lilly Ledbetter done before the holiday.” Martin Luther King Day is Jan. 19. Obama will be sworn in as president the following day.

Meantime, Coburn criticized Reid for quashing debate on the lands bill. “I’m disappointed the Senate majority leader has refused to allow senators the opportunity to improve, amend or eliminate any of the questionable provisions in his omnibus lands bill,” said Coburn in a statement before the vote. The Oklahoma senator said the $10 billion bill is full of “wasteful projects.” “You cannot defend the directed earmarks in this bill in any way shape or form,” said Coburn during the floor debate. He filed 13 amendments last week targeting various Republican and Democratic projects in the bill.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, however, defended the merits of the legislation.
Bingaman has noted that the omnibus contains an equal mix of Democratic and Republican bills and has bipartisan sponsors. “Collectively, the bill is one of the most sweeping conservation laws considered by the Senate in recent years. It will designate over 2 million acres of wilderness in nine different states,” said Bingaman in a statement. “It would establish three new units of the National Park System, a new National Monument and three new National Conservation Areas, and codify the Save America’s Treasures and Preserve America historic preservation programs,” Bingaman added.

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Obama attends Historic Meeting at White House

Its been said that Carter and Clinton hate each other, check out the pic and notice how far apart the two are as opposed to the others.

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