November 20, 2008

11/20: How Are Obama's Cabinet Picks Playing?

Although liberal bloggers grumbled when it was reported that ex-Treasury Sec. Larry Summers was a top candidate to become Barack Obama's Treasury Sec., Obama's other rumored Cabinet appointees have met far less resistance from the netroots. As we reported yesterday, liberal bloggers are quite comfortable with the prospect of ex-Deputy AG Eric Holder as AG. They've also welcomed reports that Obama plans to tap ex-SD Sen. Tom Daschle as HHS Sec. They believe that Obama's desire to appoint someone with as much legislative experience as Daschle indicates that he is serious about "get[ting his] health care plan through Congress". Finally, liberal bloggers reacted positively to reports that Obama plans to tap AZ Gov. Janet Napolitano as DHS Sec, as they have a high opinion of Napolitano.

Unsurprisingly, reports that Obama wants NY Sen. Hillary Clinton to serve as his Sec/State have produced a more divided reaction from the netroots: some of them like the idea, but others don't.

DASCHLE: Universal Health Care Is On The Agenda!

Liberal bloggers are pleased with Obama's apparent decision to tap ex-Sen. Daschle as HHS Sec. and White House health "czar." They believe that Daschle's appointment indicates that Obama is serious about getting his health care plan through Congress:

• Ezra Klein: "This is huge news, and the clearest evidence yet that Obama means to pursue comprehensive health reform. You don't tap the former Senate Majority Leader to run your health care bureaucracy. That's not his skill set. You tap him to get your health care plan through Congress. [...] Compare the choice of Daschle to Clinton's decision to task Hillary Clinton and Ira Magaziner with health care reform. Neither Clinton nor Magaziner had any relevant experience in Washington, either with the health care bureaucracy or with the legislative branch. They did not have deep relationships on the Hill or a nuanced understanding of the players. [...] The choice of Daschle suggests that the Obama team has learned those ['94] lessons well."
• BooMan: "This appointment sends a strong signal that Obama is serious about a health care bill. As former Majority (and Minority) Leader of the Senate, Daschle knows the needs and idiosyncrasies of all but the most recently elected members. With Daschle working the Senate and Rahm [Emanuel] working the House, Obama should be able to get the maximum number of votes for whatever bill he wants. This is a very good appointment."
• The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen: "The Daschle announcement reinforces the notion that an Obama administration is going to take the push for healthcare reform very seriously."
• TPM's David Kurtz: "Former Sen. Tom Daschle's possible nomination as secretary of HHS is another sign to advocates of heath care reform that Obama means business and will put health care front and center early next year."
• MyDD's Jonathan Singer: "This news doesn't come as too much of a surprise. It was rather clear that Tom Daschle would be a part of an Obama administration, with the former Senate Majority Leader aiding Barack Obama's presidential efforts and his one time staff making up much of the upper eschelon of Obama's Senate office. If Daschle wasn't going to become White House Chief of Staff, odds were that he would become Secretary of Health and Human Services, which will be a key position in an Obama administration angling to enact universal healthcare legislation."

Think Progress' Matthew Yglesias: "It doesn't come as a shock to see that Tom Daschle will be tapped as HHS Secretary. The more interesting news is the notion that Daschle 'will also reportedly be given a policy portfolio that stretches beyond the department in order to help shepherd health-care reform legislation in 2009.' Needless to say, it makes a ton of sense to ask a former Senate Majority Leader to lend a hand on doing legislative work rather than thinking of him primarily as someone to run the HHS bureaucracy. I don't, however, think you normally see roles formally designated in that matter, but it seems smart to do it. Of course the HHS bureaucracy is actually really big and important so this makes it important that the people around Daschle be well-suited to running the shop."

Conservative blogger Philip Klein is worried: "[This is] the surest sign yet that Barack Obama is serious about plans to forge a government takeover of America's health-care system. [...] Daschle, among other things, has called for a Federal Health Board to manage our nation's health care system just like the Federal Reserve Board manages the banking system. I suppose, like the Federal Reserve, the Federal Health Board will mess up the health-care system so that liberals can blame the private market and call for yet more government intervention."

NAPOLITANO: Another Solid Choice

Liberal bloggers are pleased with Obama's apparent decision to tap Gov. Napolitano as DHS Sec.:

• Benen: "Since its creation in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration's management of the newest cabinet agency has been a terrible mess. [...] Obama needed a strong, competent manager to clean up the department, bring some competence to the agency, and reverse some of the dysfunction that has burdened DHS for years. Given her record, Napolitano is a terrific choice."
• Firedoglake's bmaz: "As governor of a critical border state, and head of the National Governor's Association, Napolitano will have the credibility and experience with state governors that is necessary for many of the operations and coalitions that form the backbone of the DHS operation. The best news of all is that there will finally be an honest and competent person in the critical post that Michael Chertoff has been defiling the last few years."
• BooMan: "I think this is another excellent appointment. [Napolitano] certainly has experience with the illegal immigration issue."

MyDD's Todd Beeton is sad that Napolitano probably won't be challenging AZ Sen. John McCain in 2010: "Happy birthday, John McCain, two years early. You dodged a bullet."

Meanwhile, conservative bloggers are criticizing Napolitano:

• Michelle Malkin: "On the surface, it may seem a promising pick. Napolitano made a few pro-immigration enforcement moves in her state -- including declaring a border security emergency and backing some employer sanctions. [...] But Napolitano's heart lies with the shamnesty crowd. She vetoed a bill cracking down on phony matricula consular cards for illegal aliens and rejected efforts allowing more cooperation between local law enforcement and the feds. She opposes assimilationist measures on English language and ID requirements to prevent voter fraud; she supports in-state tuition discounts for illegal aliens. In short, she's a double-talker and double-doer who will ensure the immigration chaos status quo."
• NRO's Kathryn Jean Lopez: "If the Department of Homeland Security was a mess under Republicans, welcome the Democratic years (a governor who doesn't like enfocing immigration laws is not promising)..."

HOUSE ENERGY & COMMERCE COMMITTEE: The Netroots Root For Waxman

Before House Dems voted this morning to replace Energy & Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell with Rep. Henry Waxman, liberal bloggers were rooting hard for Waxman, whom they thought would be more likely to pursue aggressive climate change policies:

• Klein: "Henry Waxman's decision to challenge John Dingell for chairman of the Energy and Commerce committee is a HUGE deal. Energy and Commerce is, along with Ways and Means, the key House Committee, with jurisdiction over both energy and health care legislation. This particular fight is not particularly important from a health reform perspective -- both Dingell and Waxman are solid allies and skilled legislators. But from an energy reform perspective, it's crucial. Dingell is a Detroit Democrat, and an opponent of substantive action on global warming because he fears its impact on the auto industry and his state. [...This is] an early test of how serious the House Democratic Caucus is about global warming legislation."
• MyDD's Jerome Armstrong: "Waxman is the one that should win this battle. No ifs ands or buts. If he doesn't, and seniority takes priority over progressive principles, we are not on the right path."
• AMERICAblog's Joe Sudbay: "This truly is a vote between the failed past of Dingell and the future with Waxman. We'll find out today if the House Democrats are serious about energy and global warming issues. Dingell has been -- and would be -- the biggest obstacle."
• Yglesias: "To an outsider observer, it's pretty clear that Waxman is a serious environmentalist who's really committed to tackling the climate change issue. John Dingell isn't a villain, and one gets the sense he's really doing his best at this point to try to square the needs of the environment with the needs of the Michigan-based auto industry, but he hasn't actually found a satisfactory way to do it."
• dday: "Earlier this year, a majority of the House caucus has signed a letter to [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi asking for greater efforts to combat climate change. Waxman at Energy is a key to that happening. [...] I was skeptical that House Democrats would be pushed in the direction of progress, but with Waxman's former chief of staff, Phil Schiliro, in the Obama White House, some pressure may be coming down from the top. It's in all of our interests to have Henry Waxman atop this committee."

PARKER: Kathleen Burns More Bridges

Righty bloggers are blasting conservative Washington Post columnist (and noted Sarah Palin critic) Kathleen Parker after she criticized "the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP":

• Townhall's Matt Lewis: "Just as Arianna Huffington was once a conservative writer who was even found on these very (web) pages, Kathleen Parker has gone over to the Dark Side. This is not one column we're talking about here."
• RedState's bs: "I can endure a lot. And with Kathleen Parker, I have. The Left's pet quasi-Republican is at it again. Her criticisms of Sarah Palin during the campaign were bad enough. But now she joins the chorus of those aching to throw social conservatives under the bus. Oh, but it's not just socons -- it's Christian socons in particular. Her latest screed is particularly offensive. It is mocking, rude, and insulting. [...] It's time for Ms. Parker to disappear from any publications (e.g. Townhall) that make claims to represent conservatives and Republicans. She is not the kind who should be representing us to the world. Perhaps HuffPo is looking for writers."
• AmSpec Blog's James Antle: "Kathleen Parker wrote a memorable column blaming Abu Ghraib on soldiers watching too many Farrelly brothers movies. If this moronic caricature of social conservatism is what she believes to be the real thing, I'm not surprised that she would think it is a political liability. If this is what she thinks passes for thoughtful political commentary, however, I am surprised anyone takes her seriously."
• NRO's Jonah Goldberg: "As a matter of political analysis it's beyond absurd to think the GOP can become a majority party by adopting a rhetorical tone toward religious conservatives usually found at the Huffington Post or the Daily Kos. I'm sure Bill Maher agrees with Kathleen. But normally, at least for people who call themselves conservatives, when Bill Maher agrees with you it's a sign that you took a wrong turn somewhere."
• Hot Air's Allahpundit: "If you think her martyr complex is irritating now, wait until she starts citing those [critical blog] posts as evidence that she's been excommunicated, oogedy-boogedy-like, from the church of conservative opinion. I suspect the reply column -- doubtless to be entitled, 'Here I Stand, I Can Do No Other' -- is being written as we speak."

Malkin urges her fellow conservative bloggers to ignore Parker: "Four words about Kathleen Parker: Don't feed the troll. It is an abject waste of time, energy, and capital to do otherwise."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Dear Democrats: If You Must Blame, Blame Obama

FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver:

"...when a vote that looked as though it was going to be fairly close originally instead passed the caucus 42-13, something happened to whip that result into shape, and that something was Barack Obama. True the caucus might have voted to retain Lieberman on its own -- or it might not have. But Obama's signal last week to extend Lieberman a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card was the immediate cause of that decision. Conversely, Obama could probably have engineered the opposite result if he'd wanted. [...]

In our interview with him yesterday, [DNC Chair] Howard Dean dropped some very strong hints about what Obama is up to. We should expect him to be as methodical and meticulous about spending his political capital as he was about spending his advertising dollars and his ground game resources during the campaign. One can debate whether the Democratic caucus was more likely to achieve certain progressive policy outcomes with or without Lieberman in its ranks, but to Obama's mind, kicking him out would have been a giving both the Washington press corps and the Republicans a sort of shiny red apple, creating a huge distraction and requiring a significant expenditure of political capital.

So how you feel about Lieberman should ultimately hinge on how you feel about Obama, and how you feel about Obama should ultimately hinge on your opinion about whether he is liable to put that political capital to good use. If you believe Dean's implication that Obama is going to use that political capital to pass both significant climate change reform and significant health care reform within the first two years of his presidency, you probably ought to give him the benefit of the doubt. If, on the other hand, you see Obama as someone more concerned with the accumulation of power toward ambiguous, uncertain, or incorrect ends, this is liable to be the first of a long line of displeasing decisions, and you had better get used to pushing back against the White House."

LEST WE FORGET: Fraternity In Danger Of Losing House Launches Harebrained Scheme To Fix Economy

From The Onion:

"DURHAM, NC -- When the residents of Sigma Alpha Theta house learned last week that the 80-year-old building they call home was under threat of foreclosure, they decided to take matters into their own hands by devising a wacky, R-rated plan to completely repair the battered American economy.

'The moment we got the bad news, we knew there was only one thing we could do,' said Theta president Peter 'Cool Pete' Barrow. 'Sneak into the Federal Reserve Bank with two cans of Barbasol and a giant fishing net in order to adjust the overnight lending rate while no one is looking.' [...]

While Theta House is closely guarding the details of its laugh-a-minute economy-rebuilding scheme, Barrow admitted that it involves a 50-gallon drum of Crisco, the U.S. Senate, five Russian exchange students in bikinis, incentives designed to provoke a massive injection of capital from the private sector over the next three fiscal quarters, and a dead horse."

Posted by Ian Faerstein at November 20, 2008 12:28 PM