Obama and the Guvs
In a really smart move, Obama is quickly pulling together a meeting between him and the nation’s governors (and always the master of theater, he’s holding it at Independence Hall in Philly).
President-elect Barack Obama is meeting with nearly all the U.S. governors in Philadelphia next Tuesday to discuss how the economic crisis is crimping states and their budgets.
Nick Shapiro, a spokesman for the Obama transition, said the meeting will provide an opportunity for Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden to talk with state chief executives about "the unique challenges facing our states." The discussions are being hosted by National Governors Association Chairman Ed Rendell and Vice Chairman Jim Douglas.
Douglas said 40 governors and governors-elect plan to attend the group discussion, which was put together just in the last few days, at the city’s famed Independence Hall.
"It’s short notice, some grumbled, but virtually everyone has cleared his or her calendar," said Douglas, the Republican governor of Vermont.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, running mate to Obama’s Republican opponent in the presidential race, Sen. John McCain, also planned to attend the gathering, her office said.
Originally when I heard Palin was going to be meeting with Obama, I thought it just an elaborate excuse for Sasha and Piper to get together discuss their recently more sophisticated fashion tastes. But this move is much, much smarter than a sleep-over between Sasha and Piper.
Consider that most observors believe that Republican Governors (including, but not limited to, Palin, Jindal, Pawlenty, Crist, and Utah’s Huntsman) will set the new direction for the beleaguered Republican Party. These governors are increasingly the leaders of the Republican party, not John Boehner or Mitch McConnell.
And Obama has seen to it that–as one of their last orders of business before the holidays, and therefore one of their last orders of business before the new Congress–they will meet with the President-Elect to tell him about how important infrastructure investments and loans to cash-strapped states will be to the nation’s economic recovery. What Governor, after all, Republican or Democrat, doesn’t love getting federal funds to spend in their state?
Obama is soliciting support among the Republican party’s rising leaders for the massive stimulus package that will arrive on Congress’ lap at the beginning of January. He’s doing so just in time for these Governors to give their Congressmen and Senators an earful over the holiday cocktail party season.
It was already clear that Obama was doing everything he could to make sure he had people in place to twist arms in the House and Senate. It now looks like he’s making sure arms get twisted back home, as well.
Yupper. It’s a lot harder for governors to insulate themselves from the results of their actions.
Can’t wait to see the photos.
Wouldn’t it be great if Obama invited special guest Elliot Spitzer to inform the other governors about this whole mess and how his attempts to install oversight to avoid this mess were thwarted?
I love you. That would be brilliant.
They already know. Their state attorneys general objected to their state’s consumer protection laws being overriden to no avail.
I am sure there is a lot going on with the meeting, yet, had been wondering if Christine Gregoire DgovWA, newly reelected by a safe margin, might have an offer to an appointed post.
I sort of feel for Joe the Biden, though. I remember thinking, at the end of their debate, “Well, at least he’s never gonna have to talk to that woman again.” I guess that was naive.
Maybe. I doubt Palin will say a lot when there aren’t cameras running. Leaving aside politics and intellectual capacity, it’s not like her state has a lot in common economically with any of the others.
I would think Sarah would be on her best begging behavior. With oil below $50/barrel and Toobz gone and Begich in, she may be in the last in line in her home state. Alaska derives a disproportionate share of its income from the Feds and Oil. With no pipeline deal I think Sarah better come humbly to the table and talk turkey like the other day/s
joe will love it. he be the master of bs. and i believe he might be a bit smarter than sarah. just a bit.
Maybe Biden could arrange for Palin to get another call from Sarkosy
Today’s Doonesbury
http://www.gocomics.com/featur…..ture_id=56
This also may be an example of the “bringing both sides together to do the right thing” non-partisanship that Obama talked about especially in the early days of the campaign, contrasted with the typical “we’ll compromise what we’re doing until both sides will vote for it” Washington bipartisanship. The message will be “we’re going to do some necessary things that people in your state are going to like. You can get on board publicly or not, your choice.”
I think he’s sincere about listening to good ideas from all sides, but that doesn’t mean wingnuts braying about capital gains taxes are going to be taken seriously. (Not that I expect those among the governors, but I’m speaking more generally.)
Gather support, neutralize potential opposition. Organize the R Gov’s to push against the R Congresscritters. Bottom-up. Works for me.
Perhaps you have not heard the Governator and Ed Rendell screaming bloody murder about not being able to get money to fund their states from the banks? 2 Trillion in bailouts for Wall Street and not a dime for California or Pensylvania?
Governors are going to be doing a lot more than just talking about this. Or perhaps we should just let NY default?
A very good point. Why not just cut through the middle-men (the banks that made these horrifically bad decisions) and give much of this money to the States. It fits in with the calls for “Federalism” and local decision-making by the Republicans while not rewarding the bank execs for dilly-dallying and not getting the money into circulation.
This particularly will help in providing money for projects decided as meritorious DIRECTLY by voters (in initiatives), in helping education, hospitals, clinics, fire and police, and many infrastructure projects.
Welcome to the next phase of our economic collapse!
I was in a family for more than 26 years who talked about the planned collapse of our economy. The last time I was told was in 1996 and thus far everything has happened as was told to me. Guess who is involved?
Marty Didier
Northbrook, IL
Oh, do tell.
The Illuminati? Jewish Bankers? The Tri-Partite Commission? The ‘27 Yankees?
It’s McCain’s Pittsburgh Stillers Offensive line from 1968! Or was it the Packers?
Ten demerits for wrongful feeding my friend. Now that I have the Missus’s email address, you are toast.
heh – sorry i was in a mood
i loved it.
George H.W. Bush and his Reagan Crazies?
Didier you ingnorant slut. Nostradamus predicted this in 234 BC. That’s why Radames and Aida were killed – they knew too much. Amneris (Ann Coulter) got immortal life for that hit. My advice – buy gallium futures.
The front page on FDL says Obama and the GUYS.
At least it doesn’t say Teh Gays.
-G
Sarah Palin at Independence Hall? She better go over her American history flash cards in case the press asks her any questions about the historical location of the meeting.
Hope they find time in the schedule for Jindal to perform an exorcism on Palin…
suppose he would use the voodoo dolls fer that? would love ta see that.
Don’t think he needed props the other times she might need the Exorcism Deluxe™. At the very least, it’ll probably require a turkey carcass or two.
Palin does have witch protection bestowed on her already.
i heard than. isn’t that special? i’m tellin ya, she gonna be some great entertainment for a while.
We love Sarah commercials on tap for tomorrow’s football games
I think we’ll find those commercials to be financed by Mitt Romney. Just a little planned overexposure of Sarah when Americans are finally good and sick of politics, ready to enjoy some football. But no, here’s a bunch of screwballs thanking Sarah Palin, to ruin your Thanksgiving ballin’ for ya.
It’s a plot to ruin Sarah.
Judging from the recent campaign, she’s due for an upgrade.
BRILLIANT!
I must say, obama’s trasnition team really is hitting the ground running
never the less, I really want obama to make sure another bush can never happen again, I also want him to make sure the word torture is the antithesis of the word “America”
I hope he has more then organization skills, I hope he has the balls that it’s gonna take to get this county’s integrity back
The Obama Shock Doctrine. Do it before anyone catches up with what you’re doing.
it’s brilliant. bury the thugs in programs and paperwork.
Palin can offer to teach Obama and all the governors about infrastructure investments. Look how her Bridge-to-nowhere turned out for her state: $223 million pure profit.
Most of the governors are already as crooked as she is. The just haven’t had a presidential campaign to showcase their corruption.
Yeah but if Obama starts winking when he is at the podium we are in trouble.
I don’t suppose Palin will “just say no” to bailout funding for states…
actually, that should read
I don’t suppose Palin will say “Thanks but no Thanks” to bailout funding for states…
pls have a little respect fer the next thug leader. she should be encouraged. it would be the death nail fer the thugs, imo.
I still think that we should consider selling Bible Spice’s state as a means of deficit reduction…. ;-P
I suspect Palin will get less attention than she did at the Republican governors’ conference, since this will be a larger group, and it’s been a while since the election.
Then again, maybe the turkey slaughter video has made Palin stories hot again.
It will be interesting to see the other Republican governors who want to be president jockeying to deflect media attention from Palin.
“in a really smart move” and “president” (elect): amazing to see those two things paired together. Amazing.
anybody know who whacked ann coulter? i’m ready to pop fer that persons bail.
She fell down a flight of stairs.
sure, sure.
I think she was hit by a loofah, or maybe it was a falafel?
Another brilliant thing about this is it will force these politicians to be on the record for things that they would never admit to the “base”. Imagine Palin having to defend the Federal support for the Alaskan Fishing industry in which her husband (and herself) have an economic “special interest”. Let her defend how necessary it is to do those DNA studies of the different Alaskan salmon runs vis-a-vis sea-caught salmon…when she has stupidly suggested that DNA studies of Drosophila is “junk science”. Let her defend the states need for “pork” when Alaska actually doesn’t have a State income or sales tax, and actually gives money back to people.
My hope was that he would have the meeting on Monday. Sarah is coming to GA on Monday to campaign for Saxby and I personally would like to see what was most important to her.
i wonder if that is a smart move fer saxby at this point. i understand he is scared but this is really graspin fer straws. mebe he can’t get anyone else?
Sarah and Saxby – there is some brain power
It appears to me that this is just another Of President-Elect Obama’s non-violent preemptive attacks. It is clear that States will receive funds they (we) need. He is expanding his base of support prior to 01/19/09.
OT: I was not around to hear FDR’s fireside chats, but the stories about that time are how everyone gathered around the radios, so much that you could hear the Pres. from the streets.
I really love watching our Pres-Elect talking to us, the press, whoever. He is attractive, clever, witty, informative, well-spoken, intelligent, oh my, direct, on topic, speaks directly, and in sentences that make sense.
Oh my. How long has it been?
I can imagine the scene now: they file past with little bowls, dressed like homeless street urchins from a Dickens novel and in turn each asks Obama, “Please sir, may I have some infrastructure pork?”
‘Photos?” Hell he needs tape of each one of these clowns singing the praises of federal expenditures on infrastructure projects. These clips will be invaluable for the legislative fights and for the campaign in 2012. They need to be pinned down. It can’t be allowed to become a he said she said thing two years from now.
This is smart politics: if the Republicans in congress drag their feet on infrastructure spending, they’ll have Republican governors kicking their butts.
And MarkH, please don’t call infrastructure “pork”, not when it’s been neglected so long that bridges are falling apart. It’s vitally needed, and not an optional perk to be handed out to the well-connected.
Yeah but if you don’t publicly pin them down they might just ‘pull a Palin’ That is they will beg for the money. Take it with both hands. Then, attack you for giving it to them.
To the Lurking Mod:
Please remove offensive language from Argonaut @ 15 above.
Thanks!
Well, funny. No mod when needed.
Interesting move.
Some counties in Michigan are facing a 20% drop in revenues over last year, and they were already hurting. What’s more, that 20% is before the likely closure of more Big Three and Tier I-III automotive supplier facilities.
I wonder whether Obama might ask the states to 1) issue a declaration of financial emergency, 2) issue foreclosure moratoriums for a specific period of time, and 3) offer aid to each of their states if they will do both 1) and 2) and then implement a state-based refinancing program for distressed mortgagors and foreclosed-but-unliquidated mortgagors…
One wonders if the above posters have a clue of what is happening in their own communities, much less the state.
In my own, County government employees will ALL be furloughed for 10 days in 2009. All but very essential services will be available … like the jail wardens!
The Sheriff’s department is losing 60 employees and county wide there will be in the area of 400 layoffs. The Public Health Department is taking a 19 million dollar hit. We’ve more homeless and more gang activity. Connect the dots!
I also read today that NJ is, for all intents and purposes, insolvent.
Now, go ahead … throw a poke or two @ this reality.
I hope my Der Gropenfhuerer, picks up a few Gov’s on the way (assuming he takes his personal Gulfstream). And I sure as hell hope he get’s some ec. stim. for CA as we routinely contribute over 50 Bil more per year than we recieve in federal aid.
And I sure as heck hope my President-elect demands that the Rep Gov’s start calling out the Legislators who believe that their oath of no tax to Grover N. is mre important than the interests of the citizens they purport to serve.