If she considers. Then we get 60 senators and then take out Judd in the next election.

Knowing that his replacement may make for a filibuster proof Senate, wouldn't Judd Gregg refuse such an appointment? Wouldn't any Republican refuse?

I'm not familiar with how it works. Is it a forced appointment? If so, then I didn't know the president had such dictatorial power.

Of course he could refuse! Did you read the article? Richardson withdrew! Of course Gregg could say no and then he could ask Snowe or Collins from Maine!

It will never happen, of course, but if Senator Gregg **does** accept the nomination for Secretary of Commerce, there are a lot of conservatives will have one more reason to wish that they had not created such a poisonously partisan atmosphere in DC. Otherwise, Governor Richardson might not have withdrawn his name in the first place.

I'm not so sure that picking Snow and/or Collins is such a great idea. They have historically been a key Republican ally of the Dems for quite awhile. If the Republican leadership continues down its poisonous path, they may force either or both to follow the footsteps of VTs Jefford...which wouldn't be such a bad thing (IMHO).

Jeez, the last place I want an (R) is Commerce. I don't know much about Gregg, but I just read his Wiki and I am totally not impressed. On the other hand a Democratic super majority in the Senate would be supersweet.

Unfortunately, Lieberman is always a huge question mark, so even with Gregg, a 60 filibuster proof majority is doubtful. Additionally, I'd keep the Commerce department as far away from Republicans as possible.

> Knowing that his replacement may make for a filibuster proof Senate, wouldn't Judd Gregg

> refuse such an appointment? Wouldn't any Republican refuse?

Well, Kent Williams might not refuse...

http://crooksandliars.com/silentpatriot/tennessee-republicans-practically-ri

Is anyone else a little bothered by the idea of a governor appointing a Senator from a party *other than the one* the voters chose? I'd like to see a supermajority as much as anyone, but I have this nagging feeling that the only way to keep faith with the voters is for the governor to choose a Republican.

(Although a moderate who would support the Obama administration would be welcome!)

If it works, it will go down as one of the most brilliant political moves any President has ever made. Getting to 60 votes in the Senate would be huge--it is the difference between having to negotiate with the Republicans and steamrolling them. And there's nothing to fear from having a Republican in a Cabinet post. If he gets out of line, Obama can fire him at any time.

I don't think its so certain that Gregg would turn it down. He's up for re-election in 2010, and his chances of keeping his seat in NH are not great. I think Hodes is just chomping at the bit to take him down, for example. So what could the republicans possibly threaten him with if he'd be unlikely to be in politics in less than two years anyway? Same goes for promising him anything.

Gregg is 62. If he only served through one term of Obama, he'd be 66. After two terms he'd be 70. He's close to the end of his working life already- again, what could the GOP possibly offer him if he was inclined to accept this potential offer?

I think that if Obama offered it to Gregg, he'd be inclined to take it, and the GOP couldn't really offer him anything not to.

The Republicans never had close to a filibuster proof majority and pretty much did as they pleased for six years under Bush. It only takes a simple majority of Senators voting to pass a law. Filibuster is a tactic to prevent a bill from making it to the floor to a vote, but it is very, very difficult to actually do. It is also historically very unpopular. How many times could the Republicans actually do filibusters before the American people would recoil in disgust at their antics, and they would give up? Remember when Newt Gingrich stopped government? How well did that work politically? If the Republicans were to filibuster a recovery bill, they would be committing political suicide and they know it. They would be thwarting the will of the people and the fundamental democratic principal of majority rule.

The truth is that the Democrats use the filibuster excuse to avoid doing what they were elected to do. They do not want to actually take responsibility for their true mandate, so they insist they cannot do what they want because they do not have a filibuster proof majority. This is nonsense. The truth is they still want to be able to count on generous corporate campaign contributions and their money constituency is much more economically conservative than their voting constituency. They figure (correctly) that they can still get the votes needed to keep their job if they give in to their corporate friends needs, and it helps them deflect criticism by whining about needing more votes to do what they pretend they would like to do if only they could. Getting 60 Senators won't make any difference at all anyway. It is more important to have a good Secretary of Commerce than to have a mythical filibuster proof majority in the Senate.

The senate dems should hold the repubs feet to the fire and make them ACTUALLY filibuster. It won't last for very long if the dems make them do it.

Why would anyone give up a Senate seat to be "secretary of whatever?" (Including Hillary?)?

with a governor appointing a replacement senator from a different party. Even if it is to my political advantage.

I believe that a Governor should appoint someone who most closely matches what the voters asked for when they chose the original seat-holder. Switching parties seems unfair to voters.

Though to be honest, Gregg first became Senator in 1992, and won his last reelection in 2004 against a 94-year-old Democratic challenger named "Granny D" (Am I right in thinking she's the lady who walked across the country to raise awareness for campaign finance reform?) And in 2008, Republican John Sununu lost to Democrat Jean Shaheen. So the state is bluer than it was.

At least in NH, the voters are famous for making their political opinions known. I'm sure they will let the Governor know their pleasure.