Okay I don't get it, someone please explain.

[Lionessa]

I hear that Kerry is the likely new DoD, a cabinet position. What I don't get is why once again Obama is going to kill the strength of his majority in the Senate to fill cabinet positions.

Last time he seemed to decimate the Senate and some key Governorships.

With so many qualified persons nationwide, why does he mess with his majorities?

I don't get it !!!!!!

[Jackpine Radical]

1. I had exactly the same thought.

[liberal_at_heart]

2. well he does need qualified people in his cabinet

where is he going to get them?

[Lionessa]

4. Seriously, you think the only qualified people are in the Senate?

Wow, I surely doubt that.

[Angry Dragon]

8. The House, Senate, Governors are not the only qualified people in this country

Many qualified people in the colleges and universities

[Lionessa]

12. And for DoD there's an huge military personnel to choose from.

As well as many others, not directly related to education (ie univs, etc) or military.

[Angry Dragon]

28. Yes ......... this country is full of people that are qualified

without an agenda except to make this a better country

[Angry Dragon]

3. I share the same confusion

Last time he gave us brewer and others

[Lionessa]

7. Exactly my concerns. I'm so glad I'm not the only one going, "huh, didn't he learn last time?"

[amerikat]

5. I think he won't choose Kerry for the obvious reasons you have stated.

Obama is a strategic thinker. He will pick some one from the chain of command already in place that paid his dues.

[Lionessa]

9. I don't know, he f'd it up big time his first go round in 2008/09

[-..__...]

65. I don't think Obama can do that.

IIRC... a set amount of time has to pass, before a former military person can be appointed DoD.

Wes Clark was unable to be appointed to that position after the 08 elections for that very reason.

However... I believe he might be eligible this time around.

[RKP5637]

6. He took Kathleen Sebelius from Kansas, an incredible democratic governor, and it opened the

door for even more RW teabagger government in Kansas.

[Lionessa]

10. I know, I know, those governships and the senate seats... I don't get it.

[MuseRider]

48. That was a hard loss

yes indeed. I am not certain Parkinson could have won a second term but to leave us like he did really screwed us.

[RKP5637]

51. Yep, it was like everyone abandoned the ship. The loss of Dennis Moore was significant too, of

course he retired, but it sure helped rock the boat. I was really disappointed to see Kathleen Sebelius go, she was great.

[Honeycombe8]

11. I think it's stupid, too. I figure he owes a favor. It's KERRY who wants the position.

If Kerry wants the position, and Obama can legitimately agree with that, Obama may have to do it. If he owes Kerry for something.

I think Kerry did some campaigning for him & others, but so did a lot of Dems. What could Obama owe him for?

[Lionessa]

13. Well he should be doing what's right for the country, not worrying about paybacks.

But I realize that's a pipedream no politician will ever live up to.

[ProSense]

17. Frankly, I'm

beginning to think these concerns are more about Kerry getting the position than concern for the Senate seat.

Seriously, Democrats will still have the majority.

[pacalo]

63. It's more about losing Kerry's clout & influence in the Senate.

[democrattotheend]

18. Kerry stuck his neck out for Obama pretty early in 2008

He endorsed him the day after New Hampshire, when it was far from clear that Obama would be the nominee. I think he and Obama are pretty close, or at least were, so Obama might also want him in the cabinet. And you can't say he isn't well qualified.

[Honeycombe8]

21. I see. So he does owe him. nt

[Angry Dragon]

32. What makes him qualified??

[ProSense]

38. You have got to be joking. n/t

[Angry Dragon]

42. No ........... lay it out

[ProSense]

46. Go do your own research, but

I'll give you a hint: He was more qualified than Hillary.

[Angry Dragon]

47. It is not up to me to make your case

I see you take the republican way ......... say what you want and have nothing to back it up

[ProSense]

49. I made my case:

He was more qualified than Hillary.

You asked, I answered.

It's not my fault you have no idea about Kerry's background.

[Angry Dragon]

52. I must have missed the part where Hillary ran the DoD

it is up to you to make the case that it is better for Kerry to run the DoD than to stay where he is
and you have no idea what I know or not .........

[ProSense]

53. Kerry has never expressed any interest in DoD

Maybe he'd take it, but I was speaking of the President selecting him for the position he would be best suited for SoS, which has also been rumored.

You appear to think that the President is too clueless to know whether or not Kerry is qualified for any rumored position.

[Angry Dragon]

54. I really hate people that don't answer questions

I have no idea what the President knows and neither do you.
What good would it do to take Kerry out of the Senate??
Is he the only one that is qualified??
Are there others not in the House, Senate, State Houses that could do the job as well if not better??

You stated that Kerry was qualified and I asked you to lay out his qualifications to back up your claim.
I can only assume you have nothing or refuse to do so.

[ProSense]

55. That's really

I have no idea what the President knows and neither do you.
What good would it do to take Kerry out of the Senate??
Is he the only one that is qualified??

...up to the President to decide. It's his choice.

"Are there others not in the House, Senate, State Houses that could do the job as well if not better?? "

Wait, the President should take someone from "the House, Senate, State Houses" as long as it's not Kerry?

Kerry is highly qualified for a cabinet position.

[Angry Dragon]

58. I believe you misread

"Are there others not in the House, Senate, State Houses ........ I used the word not


Kerry is highly qualified for a cabinet position ........ you keep saying that and have nothing to back up your opinion

and you still do not answer questions .......... done

[ProSense]

59. What

"Kerry is highly qualified for a cabinet position ........ you keep saying that and have nothing to back up your opinion"

...were Hillary's qualifications? I mean, Kerry has an extensive record. Feel free to check it out.

http://www.kerry.senate.gov/
http://www.foreign.senate.gov/

[Tx4obama]

26. What I think is stupid is that there are a bunch of folks believing a rumor by an unnamed source :)

p.s. Even the Washington Post (who Maddow referred to tonight) stated in the article that the Obama administration is only in the 'beginning stages' of discussions regarding cabinet appointments.

[ProSense]

43. Yes, it is a rumor

Kerry may very well remain in the Senate, but the attempts to beat down a potential appointment are suspect.

I mean, I expect a few more threads.

[ProSense]

14. First of all,

Kerry is up for re-election in 2014. Secondly, there is no jeopardy that his seat will go Republican. None.

A Democrat would be appointed, and then a Democrat would win the seat permanently.

What I don't get is why everyone thinks the President would do something not in his best interest?

It's his administration, he'll pick the best person for the job at this moment.

He took Hillary from the Senate and that didn't seem to phase anyone.

[Lionessa]

20. Have you forgotten what he did four years ago. How is that, since I know you were here.

As mentioned above, AZ and KS and some senate seats ultimately were lost to Dems, as well as sanity, and many people have suffered because of it. I dare say more have suffered the loss than benefited the gain of those Dems moving into cabinet positions. I would exclude Hillary from that list, as she has done very well for us, and I think her seat also stayed Dem.

But for KS and AZ and the reduction to the majority in the Senate was crippling.

[ProSense]

29. There were

a lot of Governorships that went Republican because of the 2010 elections.

"I would exclude Hillary from that list, as she has done very well for us, and I think her seat also stayed Dem."

And so will Kerry's, and he will make an excellent member of the President's cabinet if selected.

Why would you exclude Hillary on that premise, but deny Kerry?

[Lionessa]

33. It's not about Kerry, it's about taking from the Legislature we just filled up for him.

As I've responded somewhere else in the thread, if it's just Kerry, probably okay. But if this is just the start and there are more to come, that will suck.

Either way, Kerry's seat will be empty for a while iirc how things went last time, so that's still one vote down when he's got momentum, not the time to have empty seats in your own Party.

[ProSense]

37. No, the seat would not be empty.

A Democrat would be appointed until an election could be held.

This is not a serious concern.

[Lionessa]

40. I don't know Massachusetts, but seems like

there was a lot of empty seats while Illinois and others worked out who was going to replace the seats in Legislature that Obama emptied. Again IIRC each state has it's own rules as to how to handle such.

[Angry Dragon]

36. right on ...... keep telling them .......... better to tell the President now

that we are tired of seeing dems leave the congress and state houses

[BlueMan Votes]

24. ted kennedy's seat from MA went to a repuke...

why couldn't scott brown win Kerry's seat as well?

[ProSense]

31. Because as an incumbent he just got his ass kicked?

He's toast. Get over him. He duped MA, including some Democrats, when no one was paying attention. They gave Elizabeth Warren a 7-point win.

[Lionessa]

34. So it might be the next Scott Brown-a-like.

Y'all pro-folks are getting way to cocky regarding this win and seeming to forget four years ago.

I will do no such thing.

[ProSense]

44. Yeah, among all the

prominent Democrats a Republican is going to appear out of the blue and win MA.

Good grief!

[BlueMan Votes]

41. he also won it once as well.

pretty much debunks that theory about the seat being safely Dem...they said the same thing about Teddy's seat.

[Lionessa]

35. Exactly. Though I would hope that Kerry's would be safe, though as you point out, not certain.

[Angry Dragon]

39. But it is OUR country so we have a say .......

[ProSense]

45. You do not have a say in who he

selects for his cabinet. That is not up for a vote.

[woo me with science]

15. Perhaps there is reluctance to have majorities for progressive positions.

Last edited Tue Nov 13, 2012, 01:23 AM - Edit history (1)

The Democrats' deceitful game
http://www.salon.com/2010/02/23/democrats_34/


We have to get corporate money out of our party.

[Lionessa]

23. I have similar suspicions and the related fears.

[democrattotheend]

16. I agree about last time, but I don't understand why people are so concerned about holding MA

For g-d sake, it's Massachusetts! The only reason we lost in 2010 was because a) nobody saw it coming, b) we had a weak candidate who expected to coast and barely campaigned until the end, and c) the national mood had turned against Democrats by that point in the midst of the health care debate. None of those factors are present now, and if Scott Brown could not win as an incumbent, I don't know why people think he would be so hard to beat in a special, especially with a bench of many experienced, qualified Democrats to choose from.

[ProSense]

22. Exactly, but like I said

the Senate seat seems to be an excuse to rail against Kerry.

President Obama will soon decide, and he'll makes the best choice.

[Lionessa]

30. Just to be clear, it isn't a Kerry-specific rant, it's anyone in the Legislature.

I adore Kerry. Even voted for him. So that is not what this OP is about.

[Lionessa]

25. Okay, if it's only Kerry this time, but there may be more to come and I'm remembering last time.

It turned out awful for a lot of folks.

[democrattotheend]

61. To be fair, we did hold both Senate seats Obama made vacant

AZ governor, not so much. But we held onto NY and Colorado (and Delaware). Were there any other senate seats Obama poached last time?

[Tx4obama]

19. It is only a RUMOR. Some unnamed person said something to Washington Post and ...

... now everyone is accepting it as being true and it is NOT.

Even in the Washington Post article it stated that the 'discussions' for appointments of those positions are only in the beginning stages.

[Lionessa]

27. True enough, but he did last time, and I fear he'll be doing it again.

It starts to feel like he doesn't really want things to go the way he campaigns about what his goals are, and instead wants things to remain the status quo and needs to cripple the Dems in Legislature to assure a reliable level of stagnation.

I hope I'm wrong, but that's what happened last time, regardless of his intent, and I hope he isn't going to do it again.

[Overseas]

57. I hope it isn't true. Kerry would be good but we need him in the Senate!

[hughee99]

50. Rand Paul should be the next SoS!!!

He was elected in 2010, and the Dem governor could appoint his replacement. Then we could wait until Paul opens his mouth, which would surely provide grounds for the president to ask for his resignation. Sure we'd have to deal with some international incident as a result, but he's out of the Senate and out of government, and Dems pick up another Senate seat.

Of course, Paul wouldn't take the job.

[opiate69]

56. Yup.. He could tap Christine Gregoire for AG if Holder steps aside.

She's wrapping up her final stint as Governor here in Washington State, and served aa AG for us before becoming Governor.

[JVS]

60. Probably because you need to win a state wide election (be a Governor or Senator) to be considered..

a national figure. I guess someone from the house would do as well.

But I agree that this is having a bad tendency to undermine the strength of the majorities.

[forest4qt]

62. tell the White House

Tell the President not to take Democratic senators away for cabinet posts. I live in Arizona and we have suffered a lot losing our Democratic governor Janet Napolitano to Homeland security. Now Jan Brewer wants to run for a third term in violation of state law!

[woo me with science]

64. Kick