Can Republicans Be Trusted?

Paul Krugman
Clarence Page
Eugene Robinson
Charles Krauthammer


So,suppose you have a company that provides security, and lived off of fat no-bid contracts from a Republican administration.Say you had some employees who were observed killing innocent civilians in Iraq and your company was eventually banned from that country, what would you do? Why, rebranding, of course. Blackwater International has changed its ominous sounding name to Xe, proving that its owner is just as insane as his mother is (she was a major contributor to Focus on the Family, financing their large headquarters and supported Calif's Prop 8). Or that they have another fat contract in Asia...

Nominee for Secretary of Commerce Judd Gregg withdrew his nomination yesterday afternoon. He was suggested by Harry Reid to the Obama administration, and he had actively pursued the nomination. He said he had a change of heart and likes it better as a Senator, but also announced his plans to retire and not run again next year, leaving dark and sinister speculations... Why did he announce his withdrawal shortly before an Obama speech instead of waiting until this morning? A good analysis comes from the Washington Post:

NORMAN J. ORNSTEIN

Resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of "The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track"

"Cabinet contenders eyeing an administration run by the opposite party are in a tricky position. There's the prospect of partisan discussions that leave the person from the other side feeling like a Cowboy in the Redskins locker room. There's the need to subordinate personal priorities and policies to the priorities and policies of someone else. But those difficulties are balanced by the honor of service and the opportunity to run a big and important department. From FDR's Republican secretary of war, Henry Stimson, to Bill Clinton's Republican defense secretary, Bill Cohen, to George W. Bush's Democratic transportation secretary, Norm Mineta, distinguished people have understood the trade-off and carried out their terms faithfully and well.

Judd Gregg apparently did not understand, though why it took him this long to figure it out and pull back is a mystery -- and a major embarrassment for Gregg. It is also a bump in the road, one of several now, for President Obama. I don't see how this reflects on the administration's vetting process, unless there is more to the story than we know. It may give Obama another Republican senator to partner with on occasion, beyond the three who voted for his stimulus bill. But it makes the effort to get the administration fully staffed at a record pace a much tougher slog."

Its thought that the Republicans are trying to beat up on the President by taking advantage of his friendly and optimistic demeanor, responding rudely to his overtures of bi-partisanship and trashing him in the press. If this stimulus bill works in any form, it may result that there will never be a Republican elected for a long, long time. In the Washington Post, David Axelrod responds to some of the snark expressed by Dick Cheney and Karl Rove: "You know, one of the things that I've been impressed by is the graciousness that President Bush has shown during this transition period and in the weeks -- first weeks of this administration.

"When he left, he wished us the best, and I believe that he meant that, and I -- apparently, the memo didn't circulate around the White House because I've seen, you know, what I consider tasteless comments by the Vice President, amazing comments by Karl Rove.

"You know, the last thing that I think we're looking for at this juncture is advice on fiscal integrity or ethics from Karl Rove, anyone who's read the newspapers for the last eight years would laugh at that."

Time Magazine's Joe Klein makes the case that Obama can no longer trust the Republicans. "Obama should now understand that the Republicans are not reliable partners--at least, not for the moment. Most are stuck in the contentious past, rutted in Reaganism, intent on taking a Hooverist course on the economy (although there remains cause for optimism on foreign policy). The President's default position, after the stimulus fight and the Gregg fiasco, should be to appoint Democrats to significant domestic policy positions--the notion of making a public show of bipartisanship, by reaching across the aisle to someone like Senator Gregg, gives the opposition too much credibility and leverage."

One group of Republicans who seem to get it and are sincerely trying to rethink and actively change their identity is Colorado's GOP. From the Denver Post:"Recognizing that voters of all political persuasions embraced the Democratic president's call for change and two-thirds of voters under the age of 30 backed him in the November election, Colorado Republicans say they learned a lot from Obama's campaign and plan to convert that knowledge into their own wins."

On February 24, Lousiana's Governor Bobby Jindahl will give the Republican response to Obama's speech before a joint session of Congress. He is being groomed as the next best hope for the new Republicans, and if he does well, he may be a candidate in the next Presidential race. Sorry Sarah...

And sorry, nobody said anything funny last night, so no jokes...