Still stinging over Obama's pick of Salazar, who has been the most "progressive pick" so far?

[RiverStone]

While I'm thrilled Barack Obama will be our next president, I am deeply disappointed he chose Sen. Ken Salazar over Rep. Raul Grijalva as the next secretary of interior. Me and a coalition of over 100 environmental groups who were also advocating for Grijalva are very frustrated by this pick.

Alas, we can't always get what we want? But to quote the Rolling Stones song further, is Salazar what we need? I can only hope that Obama's centrist wisdom will ultimately allow our progressive agenda's to prevail.

Many talking heads in the corporate media, and maybe even Obama himself, have suggested his choices are not ideological ones, rather more pragmatic. He may be trying to govern from the center, but there were a lot of passionate progressives that worked like hell to elect him.

Shrub and Shooter shoved their damn ideological bullshit in our face every day of their disastourous administration, at least in some circles - can we not shove a little of our ideology back? It is no surprise that Obama is to the right of our value center on DU, I just hope we see enough representation of the liberal agenda.

Rather than going over every cabinet post that Obama has chosen to date, do you see a particular appointment as most representative of progressive values? Someone you were really excited about when you heard the name....?

[Alter Ego]

1. Look no further than his environmental team.

I think that group shows that he's taking the climate issue very seriously.

[jpljr77]

2. He's not them.

Shrub and Shooter shoved their damn ideological bullshit in our face every day of their disastourous administration, at least in some circles - can we not shove a little of our ideology back?

Isn't avoiding behavior like that exactly what will make Obama a "good" to "great" to even higher-ranking President rather than the complete and utter disaster that is his predecessor?

Payback is sweet, now, but that feeling runs out quickly.

[T Wolf]

8. Bullshit reason. The lesser of two evils is still evil. If he brings one soldier back from

Iraq but does nothing to end the occupation, does that make him better than Shrubie? Yeah, but not worth the difference.

We need to set our sites higher.

And the "pragmatic but not ideological" meme is worrisome. Does that mean he is appointing effective and competent people who will use that competence to implement policies that are center-right, or worse? Being effective in the pursuit of bad ends is not good. Just effective.

The goals are important.

[jpljr77]

11. Yes, that's the point. The GOALS are important.

And guess who sets the goals?

This is akin to a 3-13 football team getting a new head coach. The coach will probably have to keep the vast majority of his players, especially the most important ones, but with a new direction and operational philosophy, the same team can go 13-3 the very next season.

Of course, the U.S. is coming off of a 1-15 season, so we'll see just how well we do next year.

[RiverStone]

10. I see your point, but...

I'm just really pissed about his SOI choice.

Really, I don't want to be negative as we are about to celebrate this wonderful CHANGE, but I will also not be silent (even in support) of Obama if I disagree with a pick.

Ok, how about just a little...small payback?

[leftofthedial]

3. his environmental picks are fairly progressive.

Otherwise, he's appointing a passable facsimile of a repuke team on issues like the economy, "defense" (war), education...

[MiniMe]

4. This pick could get another progressive in the Senate

I haven't been that impressed with Salazar's voting record.

[Robb]

5. Yep

I made this point in another thread, Salazar's got his head right on issues he'll face at Interior. That's also about all he's got right these days. :D

[kentuck]

9. I'm hoping he chooses Andrew Romanoff...

We've known him for about a dozen years and he is a progressive Democrat. Diane DeGette has been a good Democrat also. Strickland, who was defeated by Allard, has a reputation as a "lobbyist". In fact, Allard used that against him. I would think the front runner for Salazar's seat may be Frederico Pena, the former Mayor of Denver. We get another Hispanic in the Senate and hold on to the Hispanic vote in Colorado and the western states.

[eleny]

14. If he picks Feddy, Peter Boyles will need a straight jacket

:rofl:

[paulk]

16. I haven't heard Pena's name mentioned here, but

I have heard John Salazar mentioned.

Which would suck, since he's even more conservative than his brother.

[Romulox]

6. His entire economics team is rightwing. nt

[Hansel]

7. Pragmatic, yes. Whether or not he will govern from the center?

That's a different story. I believe that is he can get these people's buy in to what he wants to do, he will be more likely to get the buy in from politicians who might have opposed him otherwise. I don't think we will get milquetoast centrist in Obama. I think he will get more than he would if he went with more left leaning cabinet members.

Watching Obama throughout the campaign, I think it he wiser and somewhat more manipulative than some people give him credit for. I see him as somewhat passive-aggressive (in a good way of course). The media will report him as being centrist while he moves to the left. We'll be there before they figure it out.

[Shiver]

12. You see it, and I see it...

...but it seems as though others refuse to see the possibility. I think the "centrist" cabinet is designed to move the center to the left. Make liberal and progressive ideas seem like they come from the center rather than the "scary left".

Move the center left, and the right becomes further to the right and more obviously fringe. Move the center to the left, and the more "radical" progressive ideas won't seem so.

[Democrats_win]

13. More good news from Obama: Salazar will no longer be my senator!

Yes! I call him Citibank-Salazar. There's no way I would ever vote for him. I don't really know how he'll do in Interior; he might do a good job. Dems know what a "job" bushco has done on America's natural resources.

The way our sorry country is going, there is a good chance, sadly, that Obama will be a one-term president. The only good news in that case is that Citibank-Salazar will be gone. If Obama does get two terms, he should be awarded ALL Nobel Prizes for that year!

[anonymous171]

15. Isn't that good though? Now Salazar is out of the Senate.