Update Part II: Gregg Says He Won’t Run in 2010 – Updated with WH response -Breaking: Gregg’s Gone
Sen. Judd Gregg withdraws his name to be secretary of commerce. His reasons? “Irresolvable conflicts” with President Obama on the issues of the census and the stimulus. I’m so relieved.
Josh Marshall’s take.
This is extremely weird. Gregg is out at Commerce, withdrawing for what he appears to be calling irreconcilable differences on Stimulus and the Census.
Now, the Census is one thing because Census administration is a pretty touchy issue between the parties — largely tied to the Democrats’ wanting to count everyone and the Republicans not. And I could sort of see where maybe this issue got dicey.
But the Stimulus? Didn’t we have a pretty clear idea what was up with the Stimulus before Gregg got the nod?
Late Update: Hearing maybe that this might not be about Census or Stimulus but maybe Gregg not being able to hack the deluge of crap he was getting from what’s left of the New Hampshire GOP.
UPDATE: The White House weighs in.
“Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President’s agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart”
Gregg has succeeded in making himself look petty and foolish. New Hampshire would be better off without a man who obviously doesn’t know his own mind.
UPDATE II: Gregg says no to 2010.
Gregg, 61, has been in the Senate since 1993 and serves as the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee.
Gregg also confirmed that he has no plans to run for Senate again when his term is up in 2010.
Tags: Cabinet, President Obama, Sen. Judd Gregg
I say it is the latter. He is getting crap from all parties in NH for recusing himself from the Stimulus vote. I am sure the GOP in NH and nationally is pissed at him and letting him know it.
The excuses about differences over the stimulus and the census are crap. He accepted the job knowing about the stimulus bill, and he accepted the job knowing that Obama was going to take administration of the census away from him.
So in the end, the reason for this withdrawal is that the Republican Gregg could not stand bipartisanship, and would rather answer to his conservative masters.
A rather stupid decision on his part, for now he will be defeated in 2010.
Good riddance.
Hey X, that was almost my post’s title, but I feared being called mean.
Memo to Obama: Don’t replace him with another Republican.
Well, maybe Mike Castle, although I’d rather see Castle run the US Mint. Please note that I only suggest Castle to rid us of him.
Make it some liberal academic (but make sure their taxes are paid up.)
Now here is hoping that Obama picks a Democrat now. The overtures to the Republicans have been frequent, substantive and significant, and generally, Republicans have slapped Obama’s outstretched hand away.
Fuck them.
Good riddance is right.
I’m in New England right now and the current story is that Gregg succumbed to pressure from the GOP to withdraw. And if that is true, then we see more of the usual party first crap from these guys.
And when I say fuck them, this is why:
From Jed L at Daily Kos:
According to MSNBC’s John Yang, all indications are that Judd Gregg didn’t even tell the White House that he had decided to withdraw his name from consideration for the cabinet before announcing it publicly.
Gregg also released his statement just as President Obama was about to speak at the Caterpillar plant in Peoria, Illinois. (Caterpillar has said that as soon as the stimulus is signed into law, it can begin rehiring laid-off workers.)
All this strongly suggests that Gregg’s move was calculated partisan politics, and it underscores this fundamental truth of modern politics: the Republican Party can not, and will not, put partisan politics aside for the good of the country.
With near unanimity, they are utterly incapable of compromise.
I with DD, Gregg’s left with nothing come 2010.
Pandora – people like you because you’re so wonderfully nice. And they like me because I’m so hilariously mean. A good team has a balance of skills! 😉
True, X!
Now, if what MSNBC is reporting is true… So much for common decency. What a low class move from obviously a no class little boy. Gregg should be ashamed.
This guy is toast next election in NH
Good riddance is right. Gregg is screwed, now everyone hates him. The Republicans hate him for being too bipartisan and Democrats hate him for being too Republican.
TPM is reporting that Gregg’s announcement was timed to cause maximum embarrassment to Obama. He held a press conference right at the time when Obama was going on stage in Peoria. I guess the GOP is all in for hoping for Obama to fail.
‘I couldn’t be Judd Gregg’
In an interview with the AP, Gregg said, “For 30 years, I’ve been my own person in charge of my own views, and I guess I hadn’t really focused on the job of working for somebody else and carrying their views, and so this is basically where it came out.”
who the fuck is he kidding? He was a R in the Senate right….
he worked for himself? are you fucking kidding me
I wouldn’t be surprised if Gregg retired early. I think he must be tired of being in the Senate.
It is amazing how some of you so often pounce on and run with false information in order to gratuitously chorus (for the umpteen millionth time) your seething contempt for all things Republican, down to the atomic level.
Gregg informed the WH earlier in the week. No one, especially not the WH, disputes this.
There was no underhanded slight of the administration by Gregg nor some news cycle embarrassment conspiracy by the GOP.
Christ, it’s like a frigging lynch mob over here sometimes.
Try getting your f***ing facts straight, for a change, BEFORE engaging your acidic bile.
Actually, scratch that… just do whatever the f**k you want. Who cares anyway.
Census, you are incorrect.
The Dems do not want to count everyone, they want to estimate and extrapolate.
Repulicans support an accurate and timely accounting.
Sen Gregg’s popularity will be much higher than Obama’s numbers in less than sixty days.
Tyler…
STATEMENT FROM PRESS SECRETARY
ROBERT GIBBS
“Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President’s agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart”.
Does this sound like a planned statement from a White House that knew about this withdrawal for days? No, this is a rushed statement, showing a bit of anger. Indeed, CNN and Politico are reporting that the WH was blindsided and shocking at the announcement. Your only source for the notion that Gregg told the WH earlier this week is Gregg himself, and I’ll bet he is lying to cover his ass, since I can find no confirmation from the WH that it did indeed know earlier than today. Indeed, President Obama was surprised.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/02/obama_gregg_withdrawal_something_of_a_surprise.php
You are the one jumping to the conclusion against us here, Tyler. Gregg acted like an ass today, and we are calling him out on it. If you don’t like your fellow Republican being attacked, tough.
Protack…
I will finance your next quixotic run for public office if your idiotic prediction proves true.
Gregg may not be truthful here. WH aides reported being shocked, learning the news from reporters.
A Republican not being truthful? Shocking!
In other news, the sun will rise tomorrow.
The one thing you can say about the Obama team is that they are organized and always orchestrate. The idea that Obama wouldn’t have been present – or at least waiting in the wings waiting to comment – at Gregg’s announcement is hard to believe.
This simply was not the way Obama handles these things.
“Gregg also released his statement just as President Obama was about to speak at the Caterpillar plant in Peoria, Illinois. (Caterpillar has said that as soon as the stimulus is signed into law, it can begin rehiring laid-off workers.)”
Caterpillar CEO contradicts Obama’s statement about the company rehiring:
“Asked if the stimulus package would be able to stop the 22,000 layoffs or not, Owens said, “I think realistically no. The truth is we’re going to have more layoffs before we start hiring again”
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/doh-caterpillar.html
What??? Why lie? What is it with CEOs and common sense?
Maria…
Was that Obama’s statement or a news report you are first quoting. Indeed, it wouldn’t be Obama’s statement, it would be Caterpillar’s, wouldn’t it? “Caterpillar has said….”
So Caterpillar is contradicting itself.
Caterpillar did contradict itself.
Their business has been cliff diving for more than a year, and there isn’t much chance that anyone starting shovel ready projects is buying new equipment to do that. The market is already awash in idle construction equipment that can be bought for a song.
But Caterpillar was also trying to advocate for the Recovery package, too. Which is no reason to go overboard on the happy talk.
DD, I pulled that from a quote you cited from the DK.
This is from the Sun Times:
http://www.suntimes.com/business/1428346,obama-speaks-caterpillar-east-peoria-021209.article
“Obama seemed to be a bit more optimistic than Owens about what the stimulus could mean for Caterpillar workers as he spoke in front of two new yellow Caterpillar electric-power road-building machines.
“Yesterday, Jim, the head of Caterpillar, said that if Congress passes our plan, this company will be able to rehire some of the folks who were just laid off. And that’s a story I’m confident will be repeated at companies across the country,” Obama said.
After Obama’s speech, Owens said, “That’s one of the things I wanted to clarify because I don’t want false expectations: If we sign this stimulus bill, that doesn’t mean we can start hiring right away.” The 22,000 layoffs would still happen — and probably more. Only 20 percent of the stimulus bill covers “hard construction” projects of the type that would benefit Caterpillar, and those would not really help the country until the end of the year, at which point Caterpillar might be able to begin re-hiring, he said.”
Owens, is part of Obama’s economic recovery team, and he seems to be doing more “clarifying” than “backtracking”.