Bonnie Newman (R) to take Gregg's Senate seat

[ericgtr]

Just updated on CNN.. To pissed to even get into it right now, so there you have it. Fuck.

[Hawkeye-X]

1. Then it's time to impeach Lynch.

Failure to honor the oath of the Democratic Party of the United States.

The Senators better refuse their nomination - saying she's unqualified because she's a Republican ideology that was not correctly selected by John Lynch.

[MadBadger]

10. Wha?

You're not actually serious are you?

[tritsofme]

12. I hope you're not serious.

Its not something that can be taken for granted around here always.

[HughMoran]

31. funny

Some of the reactions are excessively reactionary and make me laugh.

[msongs]

2. so who really won the 2008 election? nt

[mmonk]

52. Chickens

[yourout]

3. Then what was the point of taking Gregg? Really stupid move.

[AllentownJake]

9. Obama and him are Friends

[Muttocracy]

4. ?!

:wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf:

[Abq_Sarah]

5. Why do they want Gregg

In so badly that they'd agree to his demand?

[Seldona]

21. My first thought as well.

I don't get it.

[Thrill]

6. Very disappointing move by Obama. He'll learn

you can't keep this shit up, trying to appease Republicans. They want him to fail. And he can't seem to see it. What a slap in the face to the many qualified Democrats for Commerce.

[ericgtr]

8. He gets an A for effort but this is a lesson learned

You cannot alienate your base like that, the GOP is still going to fight him tooth and nail and he's going to lose support from the dems.

[Occam Bandage]

13. Er, what lesson would that be?

He's pulling 60%+ approval ratings in Alabama, Kentucky, and Kansas, and his numbers are astronomical in blue states. Plus, he hasn't been blocked yet on any of his requests, despite a lot of GOP hot air. Somehow, I'm not seeing a collapsing presidency here.

http://www.pollster.com/blogs/14state_obama_job_approval_sur.php

[ericgtr]

14. And I am not implying he's collapsing in the least

He essentially just gave up a seat in the Senate that could have very well landed us with 60. He may not have been blocked yet but you can bet he will be and when it happens this is a decision he will probably look back on with regret. His efforts are noble enough but bending over backwards to work with them is fruitless. Make the nice gestures and move on or they will bulldoze you over, that's how they have always operated and Obama isn't going to change that.

[Occam Bandage]

19. Bonnie Newman is more likely to vote with us on close issues than Gregg was,

Commerce is probably the most useless cabinet spot, and Obama has further increased his credibility with the American public, while making further Republican obstructionism look even pettier. He's made the Senate slightly more liberal while making it look like he didn't, and now he has another Republican under his thumb in the administration. Obama's game isn't to play nice with the Republicans and hope they decide to play nice back; it's to play nice with the entire electorate and let the Republicans either play nice back or get destroyed in 2010. That poll demonstrates that Obama is doing quite well with his plan so far.

[Sugarcoated]

24. Also

I was thinking . . . although he's a Republican, Gregg (so they say) is somewhat popular in New Hampshire and would probably win over a Democratic challenger. Wouldn't this move assure us a good chance of taking that seat in the next election? Having said that, I'm not even sure when that would be. If it's in six years, maybe my theory is bogus, but if not, it's pretty smart move for payoff down the road.

[bunnies]

35. Gregg was out in 2010.

He was not going to get reelected. And Lynch may have just ended his career here.

Smart moves. :sarcasm:

[nsd]

23. Gregg probably wouldn't have taken the Commerce job if a Democrat would have replaced him.

In which case, Obama gave up nothing. Either way, a Republican would have filled that seat.

[demokatgurrl]

44. I can't add to that

:thumbsup:

[grantcart]

18. support at DU is around 42% lol

[Danger Mouse]

25. I think you're being somewhat generous.

[whistler162]

33. Higher than normal for a Obama appointment....

[karynnj]

36. Much higher - it is very posible to support, even enthusiastically and question

specific actions. It is actually HEALTHY.

Is there anyone here willing to say they would respond to Gallup, if called, that at this point they disapproved of Obama?

[Renew Deal]

37. Yes, nominating Richardson is a slap in the face do Democrats?

:shrug:

[firedupdem]

7. I don't understand this move at all. I'm not getting it. n/t

[Muttocracy]

11. link:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/02/judd.gregg.commerce/index.html

From Ed Henry and John King
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire has accepted President Barack Obama's offer to be commerce secretary, two administration officials said Monday.

The announcement is scheduled for Tuesday, the officials said. And in a move that will leave the balance of the Senate unchanged, New Hampshire's Democratic governor will name a Republican to replace Gregg, state political sources said.

Gregg, a third-term Republican known for being fiscally conservative, said in a written statement Friday that he was among those being considered for the post, but White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said no final decision has been made.

Gregg's term is up in 2010. If he left the Senate, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch could have named a Democrat to replace him, giving the Democrats the 60-seat majority needed to overcome Republican attempts to use filibusters to block legislation.

But state political sources from both parties said Monday that Lynch will name Gregg's former chief of staff, Bonnie Newman, to replace him.

Newman, most recently the interim president of the University of New Hampshire, also worked in the White House during the first Bush administration and was an assistant commerce secretary during the Reagan administration.

Democrats hold 58 seats in the Senate, with one seat -- in Minnesota -- still subject to legal challenge. In a statement issued earlier Monday, Lynch said Gregg had told him he would not give up his seat "if it changed the balance in the Senate."

"It is important that President Obama be able to select the advisors he feels are necessary to help him address the challenges facing our nation," Lynch said. "If President Obama does nominate Sen. Gregg to serve as commerce secretary, I will name a replacement who will put the people of New Hampshire first and represent New Hampshire effectively in the U.S. Senate."

Sunday, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Gregg had given him a similar guarantee.

Obama first nominated New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to be commerce secretary. But Richardson withdrew in early January, citing the distraction of a federal investigation into ties to a company that has done business with his state.

[rvablue]

15. Some cable news talking head tonight said that Bonnie is big pals with

the Bushes. Not good.

But also that she is highly unlikely to run in 2012.

Better news, maybe. As everyone is saying a Dem. is bound to take this seat in the next election.

[snowsman]

16. I understood Gregg in Commerce as a smart move

As long as a Democrat took his place. But this?

[Orangepeel]

17. Obama is not a capricious person.

I don't get it, but I have to think he has a reason for choosing Gregg when he knew Newman would be the replacement. Maybe she agreed to support the stimulus and he thought that was the best way to avoid a filibuster. That's all I can think of :shrug:

[Cash_thatswhatiwant]

20. wtf

I thought the whole genius in this was to get filibuster proof senate. Boooooooooooo.

[CK_John]

22. She will need to start her campaign for reelection soon, 2010 is just around the corner. n/t

[Sebastian Doyle]

41. Fuck 2010

If we don't get some REAL progress made before 2010, we'll lose every Senate seat in a state where the votes are "counted" by Diebold machines. Which includes New Hampshire, for that matter. We can't count on 60 senate seats then, we need it NOW. Fuck this "bipartisan/post partisan" horseshit, because its more than obvious that the 'Pukes aren't interested.

[Dinger]

47. diebold needs to go. How about It President Obama?

I have a simple request for you Mr. President:


GET RID OF DIEBOLD!

[Clio the Leo]

26. So a Gov. appoints a replacement BEFORE the seat is even publicly...

.... vacant! How flippin bizarre! :)

I thought we were supposed to discuss these things for two more months. lol

[Hippo_Tron]

28. If only Caroline Kennedy had a vacation home in New Hampshire

:rofl: :rofl:

[Clio the Leo]

30. aint it the truth. NT

[Danger Mouse]

27. Hmm...well, I hope she's not terrible at least...heh.

[mythyc]

29. this stuff makes my head spin I tell you

though I gotta say Occam's Bandage's reasoning above makes sense to me....

[FrenchieCat]

32. The word is that she may pledge not to run again. ...

-- The Boston Globe: ... She was chief of staff to Gregg when he was a congressman in the 1980s, and she was one of the first Republicans to publicly endorse Lynch in his 2004 challenge of then-Republican Governor Craig Benson, and co-chaired Republicans for Lynch.
http://www.senateguru.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=535

[w4rma]

45. That had better be the case. Gregg was retiring in two years. (nt)

[Dawgs]

34. Obama needs to know that most of his supporters voted for him because he's a DEMOCRAT.

Not necessarily because he's going to reach across the isle.

He better learn that soon.

[Jennicut]

38. She is a moderate so she might be like Collins/Snowe. Its different in New England.

Rethugs here would be considered Dems in any other part of the country. My governor in CT is very, very moderate.

[book_worm]

39. This is the woman who endorsed Lynch in '04, a more moderate Republican than Gregg

probably the best we could hope for.

[Jennicut]

40. Its wacked out in NH, politics there is very independent of party

Or so my father in law tells me, he lives there.

[SoxFan]

49. Baloney

Lynch could have appointed Congressman Paul Hodes.

or Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter.

Want a caretaker? Then appoint Franklin Pierce law School Dean John Hutson, a retired naval officer who has spoken out eloquently against Gitmo.

Or George Bruno, a former ambassador who has worked with NATO's Partnership For Peace program.

Or John Rauh, who nearly defeated Gregg in 1992 and chairs Americans for Campaign Reform.

[Vinca]

42. No more votes for Lynch from this household. nt

[demokatgurrl]

43. Is she "hot" like Palin

:sarcasm:
When she runs for President, we can all thank Obama for giving her a bit of early pub.

[Dinger]

46. Doesn't lynch Have The Right To Appoint A Dem?

This sucks, big time. Why not just appoint as many pukes as possible? T:sarcasm: :thumbsdown: :grr:

[SoxFan]

50. Lynch is only marginally a Democrat

He tends to surround himself with wealthy chamber of commerce types from the greater Concord upscale social set.

[ClarkUSA]

48. Relax. Reid got rid of an incumbent. Now Democrats are even more favored to win the seat in 2010.

95% of incumbents get re-elected. Now, the placeholder will get a stiff challenge from Paul Hodes or someone else from
the deep NH Democratic bench. Also, President Obama gets a fiscal conservative Republican singing the praises of his
stimulus package (which Gregg did during his acceptance speech at the White House this morning) which should make
his fellow Republicans choke on their BS.

The New Hampshire Union Leader reports Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) will announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate "within
the week." Paul Hodes is a popular and well-known incumbent Congressman who will soon become the next Democratic Senator
from NH. You better believe that President Obama will be campaigning for whoever the Democratic candidate is. In NH, which
Barack beat McCain in the GE, that points to a coattail win, especially if his approval numbers stay relatively high.

Team O, Sen. Harry Reid, and the DSCC are way ahead of the curve. They're playing political chess while many at DU are
still mastering checkers.

[4lbs]

51. Sorry, many here at DU just see the (R) and have a cow without examining the "why"

in full detail.

President Obama gets a "two-fer" or a "three-fer" with this, but all most people see are that he appointed some sleazy Republican.

[chascarrillo]

53. well, we're Democratic Underground, not Sleazy Republican Underground

[4lbs]

54. Do you know the 3 ways this actually benefits the Dems?

n/t

[chascarrillo]

56. Do you know that Gregg is a Republican?

n/t

[backscatter712]

55. Bonnie who?

I have no idea who she is. Could someone enlighten me?