Michael Barone

Judd Gregg Commerce Nomination Focused Attention on White House Census Strong-Arming

February 12, 2009 RSS Feed Print

By Michael Barone, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Senator Judd Gregg has withdrawn his nomination for secretary of Commerce. Key passage in his letter: "I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me." Evidently the White House strong-arming on the Census bothered him, and showed that he would not be in command of his department. But his nomination focused attention on the Census, and I think it is going to be more closely watched than it would have been if Gregg had never been nominated. Gregg says he will stay in the Senate but will probably not run for reelection in 2010. If he does run, the fact that Barack Obama nominated him will be a political plus in the New Hampshire.

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Tags:
Judd Gregg,
Commerce Department,
census,
Obama administration

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1. Gregg asks Obama (not the other way around) for the appointment as Commerce Secretary almost certainly because among other things, he wanted to be able to fulfill his long-standing desire to water down the census just like GWB did by under-counting minorities, the poor, and the homeless in the first place. He wanted the job in part so that he could strangle the census.

2. Obama grants Gregg his wish, and nominates Gregg for Commerce Secretary.

3. Individuals and groups who are aware of Gregg's contempt for a census that includes everyone -- because that is standard Republican dogma and is something that is anathema to most Republican leaders -- come forth to express their deep concerns about placing a fox in charge of the census chicken coop.

4. When Obama learns from those groups of Gregg's preference for an unfairly limited census -- something Gregg has fought for in the past -- the President agrees to move control of the census out from under Gregg's jurisdiction. Obama does this out his zeal for bipartisanship, because he still wanted Gregg as his Commerce Secretary. MOVING THE CENSUS TO ANOTHER DEPARTMENT WOULD ALLOW OBAMA TO GET HIS NOMINATION APPROVED BY THE SENATE DEMOCRATS WHO WOULD OTHERWISE VOTE AGAINST HIM BASED ON GREGG'S HOSTILITY TO THE CENSUS.

5. When Gregg learns that one key area which he wanted to control -- the census -- is now out of the Commerce Secretary's jurisdiction, he decides he doesn't want the job anymore and so he withdraws his nomination!

There is NOTHING suspicious or nefarious about Obama's bending-over-backwards in order to try to fulfill Gregg's request to be Commerce Secretary -- compromises that were necessary to get Gregg's nomination through the Senate -- but there's a huge amount that is suspicious in Gregg's behavior! He tried to to scam us by taking control of the census, but when he learned that his manipulative ruse failed, he scampered away, defeated.

emmb of MI 1:48AM February 17, 2009

Continuance of comment from John H of WA (above) Totally agree with John H. This is totally blindsiding an individual, notwithstanding that he is the President of the U.S. What Gregg did was just plain impolite and persons like that should not hold public office.

I have written elsewhere that there are just two sources of power in this world, money and people. When one overpowers the other, chaos reigns, and the chaos various with the imbalance.

Money is always simmering near the surface to overtake reasonableness which exists in people. One important way to obtain this people balance is to have all persons who get work and receive a paycheck from the the public purse should be able to elect their bosses, that is, their manager, and even further their supervisor. These government employees all have a stake in the government; it is their money as much as it is the manager's money. It is not like private industry where it is private money that runs the enterprise. If all employees in government services in our democratic societies did have this franchise then this would have millions of caring people that presently do not exist, mingling amongst the populace. These governmental managers would have to go before their employees each time there is a general election in the governmental jurisdiction, in order to retain their jobs and not return to just an employee status.

Persons like Gregg would be known for how they act with people and likely never attain a supervisory position in government service.

In such a democratic bureaucracy likely and slowly in time these people skills would rub off on the population at large and the society would become more caring and respectful to each other, and we all would become our brothers' keepers.

More on this theme can be found at http://way.to/Education where it is a little more extended, if you care to go there.

Leslie Jack 9:42PM February 14, 2009

I THINK THE WORLD IS BACKWARDS NOW!THE PRES.OBAMA AND HIS CREW AT THE CABINET HAS BEEN A CORRUPT PEOPLE,SO WHY THIS PEOPLE AT THE WHITE HOUSE? THEY ARE GIVING A BAD EXAMPLE TO AMERICAN PEOPLE, OUR OTHER PRESIDENTS HAS BEEN A HEROES...WHAT'S WRONG NOW??

THE COMUNISM AND SOCIALISM IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN IN THIS AMERICAN SOCIETY, NO WAY!!!!

WAKE UP AMERICA!!! THINK THE GOOD PRINCIPLES OF GOD!ETC,ETC,

THE PRES OBAMA HAS STOLE THE ELECTION, WITH THE ACORN AND RAHM EMMANUEL WITH THE CHICAGO CORRUPT MACHINE... AMERICAN PEOPLE WE WANT A VERY AN HONEST PEOPLE,PERIOD!!!

MARIE of IL 5:29PM February 14, 2009

Michael Barone

Michael Barone

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Michael Barone is a senior writer for U.S.News & World Report and principal coauthor of The Almanac of American Politics. He has written for many publications—including the Economist and the New York Times.

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