Olympia Snowe to Head a Cabinet-Level SBA?

[Are_grits_groceries]

Back in November, Olympia Snowe's office, in response to rumors that President-Elect Barack Obama was seeking to appoint her as Commerce Secretary, stated that "Senator Snowe is happy where she is, serving the people of Maine." And, interestingly enough, depriving Obama of the chance to get the Democrats one Senator closer to the magic number 60, as Snowe's successor would be appointed by Maine's Democratic governor.

However, she must have changed her mind in the past few weeks -- or Mitch McConnell was too much the condescending old-school conservative to give any rewards to a female moderate Republican, no matter how loyal she was to the party -- because guess what? Scuttlebutt is now strong that Snowe, who has called on Obama to restore the Small Business Administration to the Cabinet-level status it held under Clinton, is going to be Obama's pick to head a newly-re-Cabinetized SBA.

If Snowe goes to SBA and frees up her Senate seat to be taken by a Democrat, the Republican hopes of a filibuster firewall will then hinge on Norm Coleman's surviving the recount in Minnesota.

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/08/olympia-snowe-to-head-a-cabinet-level-sba/

This move would shake things up!

[Pab Sungenis]

1. Snowe is a very smart, very capable woman.

She doesn't belong in today's GOP.

[endarkenment]

2. They can count on that vile lieberman

to keep the filibuster safe for his party.

[BrklynLiberal]

15. What is his party?

[endarkenment]

16. Well it sure ain't the Democratic Party

[BrklynLiberal]

18. That is what I think, too.

[Peregrine Took]

21. I'm getting way tired of this dude - WAY tired of him...

Once a DLC'r always a DLC'r.

[Doctor Cynic]

32. Likud?

[mikelgb]

3. Snowe! and just in time for Christmas!

[mirrera]

4. What is SBA?

[Hippo_Tron]

5. Small Business Administration

[DainBramaged]

6. Obama is way smarter than all of us. Outside the box light-years ahead smarter.

[malaise]

7. I think you're right

:fistbump: This would be a major victory.

[DainBramaged]

10. Did ANYONE see this coming? Anyone? Anywhere???

NO ONE on DU, any of the blogs, any of the pundits, this one is out of left field. We get to 60, I'm sure Obama held Lieberman's nuts to the fire, and a moderate-Conservative gets a position in his Administration to the horror of his enemies.

The man is too smart for me. He is way ahead of all of us as to where we are going.

[FLAprogressive]

22. Exactly. What we would do here is:

1. Get a smart, capable woman to run the SBA
2. Get us a seat in the Senate
3. Allow Olympia Snowe to finally give the far-right/neocons one last "FU"
4. Gain more "good vibes" with Republicans...especially moderate Republican women.

[MadHound]

8. No, no, those of us on the left don't have to worry about being left out of the picture

After all, Obama is just appointing centerists, corporatists, DLCer's and MORE REPUBLICANS!

Sure, sure, we just need to sit down and shut up, don't worry, yadda, yadda, fucking yadda:eyes:

This is getting beyond ridiculous.

[democrattotheend]

12. Of all the appointments to get mad about, this wouldn't be the one

Snowe is a very moderate Republican for one, but more importantly, it would free up her seat for a Democrat in the Senate, which could be way more valuable to the progressive agenda. I work in labor and we'd be thrilled to get another senator who supports EFCA...Specter is with us already, so if we get one more Democrat and can hold all the others in line (I am a little worried about the senators from Arkansas), we have the 60 we need even without Franken.

[alfredo]

13. He represents all Americans, not just Dems. bush only represented those

who voted for him.

[MadHound]

25. It would be nice then if there was some sign of that

After all, he's indicating that he's willing to represent the right and the center. When do we get a signal that he's ready to represent the left? Or was that what Hildebrand's "sit down and shut up" memo supposed to do?:eyes:

[alfredo]

26. The effective leaders govern from the middle. From there he can push

a progressive agenda. He's a scholar in us, the American people and our laws. Show a bit of patience, let him at least take office before branding him as anything. The choices I see him make are really smart. Some are too right for my tastes, but they all share the knowledge and temperament for the job. The American people want things done. Success brings latitude.

You believed in him enough to vote for him, you must trust your judgement. Right now he's up to his ass in alligators. Those demand immediate attention. If successful he will have enough political capital to push his agenda.

[MadHound]

28. Been there, done that, got a corporatist Clinton administration for my trouble

The time to speak out is now, before his administration crystalizes and is set in stone.

We all let Clinton slide, showed a bit of patience, and he wound up screwing us over. I don't intend to be quiet on this one.

And frankly, the main reason that I voted for him wasn't because I believed in him. I voted for him because the alternative was, in my eyes, much, much worse. I do trust my judgment on that. However I don't trust that a politician who ran a center, center right campaign is going to listen to the left unless we on the left speak up loud and long.

[alfredo]

31. Yes, we do need to keep our agenda front and center. Still keep a positive

attitude about this. Right now he is building a competent team. There's no doubt in my mind that every single one of them knows who is in charge. Obama will set the agenda and they will have to carry it out, or punch out.

Clinton was one hell of a politician. I didn't agree with his stances or tactics sometimes, but I appreciated his political skills. Obama is just as good, if not better than Clinton politically, but he appears to be more disciplined. I'm cutting him some slack until he stabilizes the economy.

[Le Taz Hot]

35. He doesn't seem too eager to represent the progressives.

For all that "reaching across the aisle" stuff, I would think they would find prominent rolls for people like Howard Dean who, if anyone has noticed, is being allowed to quietly fade away.

[Libertyfirst]

9. Snowe is good people. n/t

[madokie]

11. She always seems to have her heart in the right place

as the heart goes so goes the rest

[LostinVA]

17. Yup, probably the only Repub I'd vote for

[saracat]

14. Can a Governor appoint a Senator from a different party

than the one that was elected to the Senate seat?

[Cleita]

23. Governor Jesse Ventura replaced Paul Wellstone with a non-Democrat

because he didn't like the memorial for him. I don't remember if it was a Republican or an Independent.

[FLAprogressive]

24. It was Dean Barkley....who might fuck this whole "60 seats" thing up indirectly

He got a lot of Franken votes in MN.

[mascarax]

27. and Barkley is an Independent

who had his 15 minutes in getting Wellstone's seat (briefly) after Paul's death.
And then helping Norm Coleman in this last election.

[saracat]

33. I seem to remember that this might vary from state to state. But I am not sure.

[FLAprogressive]

19. I love Olympia Snowe. She is a TRUE "maverick" who puts people first. Almost a shame....

....to see a reasonable Republican voice lead the Senate.

[lumberjack_jeff]

20. Good. Co-opt the moderate Republicans. Let the crazies be the face of the GOP. n/t

[lostnfound]

29. Sounds like a good idea, especially for SBA.

As commerce secretary, I'd worry that any Republican, even Snowe, would side too much with big business.
The SBA is a different story. Hopefully Obama's plans include plenty of growth opportunities for small businesses.

[ProSense]

30. It was a letter she sent to Obama

Snowe Looks to President-Elect Obama to Raise Small Business Administration to Cabinet-level Status

December 8, 2008

Washington, D.C. -
To expand assistance and services offered to America’s 26 million small businesses, Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) today sent a letter to President-elect Barack Obama recommending that he elevate the Small Business Administration (SBA) to Cabinet-level status, as it was during the Clinton Administration. With the economy mired in a recession and the national unemployment rate at 6.7 percent, Senator Snowe stated that, with its status raised and budget restored, the SBA can help small businesses weather these difficult times and move toward economic recovery.

"During these challenging economic times, it is imperative that the SBA, the federal agency supporting the single-largest creator of jobs in this country, is part of every conversation President-elect Obama has about restoring confidence in the economy," said Senator Snowe. "As I told members of his transition team when they asked to meet with me last week, restoring the SBA’s place in the Cabinet is essential. Furthermore, we must work together to reverse the current Administration's eight-year pattern of shortchanging the SBA’s budget which has severely limited the services and capital available to growing enterprises."

Senator Snowe added, "As small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms, they are the key to economic growth in this country. But these engines of our economy are sputtering as a result of the global economic crisis and are struggling to access credit to expand operations, provide health insurance to employees, and even maintain payroll. With the proper assistance and funding, the Small Business Administration can expand its resources to help small businesses remain solvent and put America back on the road to economic growth."

Last week, Senator Snowe met with a key member of the Obama transition team to discuss the many challenges small businesses face in the current recession. Since its creation in 1953, the SBA’s programs have been providing small business financing, entrepreneurial development, and business counseling programs, while strengthening the Agency’s lender oversight authority. Yet despite these critical programs, our nation’s small businesses have endured eight consecutive years of inadequate budgets for the SBA, a 27 percent decrease since 2001, the largest decrease of any Federal Agency.

The text of the letter is below:

more

[Doctor_J]

34. Smart, capable Repuke females are almost non-existent

I hope this happens, even if we don't pick up the seat. It will further divide the sane, patriotic Repukes from the Hate Radio fringe.