Can Gary Locke End the Commerce Cabinet Crisis
The rumors of Gary Locke are flying.
I once decided arbitrarily that Locke would make a good candidate for national office—great story, seems to have been a good governor, etc., but he’s not very charismatic. Then he gave a really crappy SOTU response in 2003 and seemed to drop off the map. But I’ve still got a soft spot in my heart for him. Bonus trivial, the next guy who I arbitrarily decided should be president was Howard Dean and, indeed, I watched the Locke SOTU response from a motel in Burlington, VT where I’d gone to check the Dean campaign out. That didn’t work out either, but after that I decided that Barack Obama should be president. And guess what? He is. The moral of the story is that whatever the inscrutable Dean-Obama beef is, Dean would still be a good HHS nominee and Kathleen Sebelius would still be a good US Senate candidate.
26 Responses to “Can Gary Locke End the Commerce Cabinet Crisis”
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February 23rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
As a longtime Washington resident, I can report that Locke’s career highpoint came when he was part of the lawsuit to keep the Seahawks in Seattle.
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:30 pm
And that was when Locke was King County executive in 1996. Downhill since then
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Fox News has been inviting Howard Dean on to comment re Obama’s initiatives and re Rahm Emmanuel. Does Obama really want that friendship (Fox-Dean) to blossom?
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
That didn’t work out either, but after that I decided that Barack Obama should be president. And guess what? He is.
How quickly we forget our inconvenient Edwards endorsements.
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:52 pm
How quickly we forget our inconvenient Edwards endorsements.
In retrospect, that Edwards photo was…unfortunate.
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:55 pm
whatever the inscrutable Dean-Obama beef is
Say what?
Everyone knows Dean’s crime: he was insufficiently ProBama during the primaries.
To be more fair than they ever were, the Obabots thought he was proClinton which amounted to the same thing.
Take a trip down memory lane and check out the DeanHate on the blogs; all of that was partly manufactured and promoted by the ObaCamp as just more campaign strategary.
And of course we always have the fact that Rahm and Dean knocked heads all on their very own.
The ObaCamp has taken their snit way too far, unable to credit Dean with any contribution to the current DemoResurgence.
Which is both tiny tiny and stupid stupid of ObaMessiah.
But only to be expected.
God knows Obama gave us all more than a taste of the Nasty behind his Kumbaya mask.
Face it, Barry is a Bitch!
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:58 pm
See e.g, http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=12173670&ch=4226716&src=news
For Dean’s chitchat with Fox’s Chris Wallace
Notice how Wallace was almost begging Dean to critique Rahm
Emmanuel. Dean’s being a good soldier at the moment, but I
can imagine a future interview going something like this:
“Oh, there’s nothing wrong with Rahm. He can’t help it that his father was an Irgun terrorist.
And while I personally think Rahm should have served in the US military instead of
the Israeli military during the Gulf War, I can understand the
conflicts that a dual citizenship puts you in.
Hell, S Daniel Abraham is an American billionaire and yet his strong loyalty to Israel was strong enough for him to spend $200,000 to sink my Presidential campaign in 2004 in Iowa with all those false TV ads. I opposed the Iraq War, you see, and Mr Abraham thought that spending the lives of 4200+ US soldiers was the least we could do to support our Israeli ally.
After all, Mr Abraham donated $2 Million to the Democratic Party and expects some deference to his views on Middle Eastern policy. Plus , Israeli billionaire Haim Saban chipped in $15 Million and as Haim has noted, he’s a “one issue man and that issue is Israel”. As Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager Terry McAuliffe noted, Haim’s money saved the Democratic Party.
This is all legal of course.
As Mearshimer and Walt have discussed, the Israel Lobby is just a lobby. A powerful one, of course. Which is why those two professors from Harvard and Chicago had to go to England to get their observations published.”
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:59 pm
I once predicted Locke would be the first non-White President.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:02 pm
JT- No one in the Democratic Party thought Dean was pro-Clinton, and quite a few thought he WAS pro-Obama. He enforced the Michigan/Florida rules after all.
And you really can’t find any significant “DeanHate” on lefty blogs. Kos, Open Left, HuffPo, TPM, et al worship the guy.
In other words, you’re making stuff up.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:02 pm
As Howard noted to Chris, Howard’s a private citizen now and can say whatever he damm well pleases.
I hope that gentle hint did not go unnoticed.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:07 pm
As a Washington resident, I fondly remember 2003, when Gary Locke cut half the enrolled recipients off the state’s Basic Health Plan and threw them into the dumpster because the state was in a deficit and, gosh-darnit, we just didn’t have the money!
Later that year, Locke called a special session of the legislature to pass a subsidy for Boeing to build a new 7E7 airplane that, coincidentally, cost the state the same amount for the biennium that the health care cuts did.
Locke will fit in great with the “in crowd” in D.C.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Gary Locke is awful. I voted for him twice because the alternative was a Christian fundamentalist so utterly insane that she made Alan Keyes look like a moderate and a right wing radio host in the Glen Beck vein. It was almost a relief when the GOP put up someone sane and charismatic because it meant that Gregoire had to actually work for our votes.
In office, he was completely ineffective and basically worthless. The man has so little spine he makes Harry Reid look tough.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Wow! Glad Gary Locke is on your radar screen. Those of us living in the Western Washington feel mostly ignored on the national stage…until Obama came along.
First he named Ron Sims to HUD. Ron Sims is Washington State’s second highest ranking executive. Only our governor has a larger budget. And Sims has to work with city officials and other county and regional executives.
But Gary Locke is a great choice. Apparently he chose to not seek a third term due to threats against his family. During his two terms in office, the state ran very smoothly and without controversy. His story and that of his immediate family is like a down-sized version of the Obama story. That is, his story is compelling, but it lacks the story teller.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:40 pm
At least he’s got taste in film: Gary Locke interviewed Ang Lee at a showing of “Lust, Caution” last year.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Re Don Williams
And while I personally think Rahm should have served in the US military instead of
the Israeli military during the Gulf War, I can understand the
conflicts that a dual citizenship puts you in.
As usual, Mr. Williams neglects to inform his readers of the whole story. Mr Emmanuel, who is missing part of a finger, would not have been accepted in the US Military in 1991 for that reason. The Israeli military is less picky about their recruits.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:42 pm
The only hatred of Dean during the primaries came from crazy PUMAs who thought he conspired with Donna Brazile to “steal” the nomination from Hillary.
Yeah, uh, we’re not really interested in hearing you fantasize about “tasting Obama’s nasty.”
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:47 pm
This is creepy–like Matt, I arbitrarily decided that both Dean and Obama would be elected as well. Dean, unfortunately, didn’t get that not scaring the hell out of everyone might be a good idea. I liked the guy and might have voted for him in the California Primary, had he not flamed out by then. Instead I voted for a mediocrity named John Edwards instead of a born loser like John Kerry.
Wow, that was a weak field in 2004. 2008 was much better, as even the second-stringers were plausible presidents.
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I think the Dean issue stems from the 2006 fights between the Rahm and DCCC and the way that Dean was implementing the 50 state strategy. Dean controlled the DNC, spent the money his way, and we won a butt-load of seats. Rahm thought he could do better. Rahm is either upset he lost the power battle, upset he was wrong, upset that the Dems could have done better, or a combo. In any case, I think he hates Dean…that is my theory. And why Obama has screwed Dean.
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Does Obama really hate Dean? He kept him at the DNC during the ‘08 campaign, whereas Hillary wasn’t going to wait one minute longer to eviscerate him than she had to.
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:43 pm
The “50 State Strategy” is pretty much just a slogan. This notion that Emanuel was pursuing less seats than Dean is flatly false. The conflict was a matter of them recruiting different candidates, it was not a battle between grand strategic visions. Both Emanuel and Dean contributed to the 2006 victories. It’s a shame they couldn’t do more to work together, but to portray it as anything more than old school political turf war is silly.
Also, I’m not sure how Obama has “screwed” Dean. I love Howard, but he’s not entitled to anything.
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:58 pm
To be more fair than they ever were, the Obabots thought he was proClinton which amounted to the same thing.
This is nuts. I saw nothing but praise for Dean, his fairness and his deftness, during the convention and campaign, on Democratic blogs. You’re making this up.
God knows Obama gave us all more than a taste of the Nasty behind his Kumbaya mask.
Face it, Barry is a Bitch!
This, on the other hand, I believe. He can take care of business.
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:02 pm
When I knew he’d be president: I saw him speack at the Democratic convention, and I immediately thought, “This guy is going to be the first black president.” He just blew the roof off that place.
Yep. Harold Ford could really give a speech in 2000.
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:25 pm
“but to portray it as anything more than old school political turf war is silly.”
For that matter, it shouldn’t be construed as personal (tho some think Rahm’s decided it IS personal)- both were doing their jobs as head of their respective committees, both SHOULD have been arguing with each other for more money.
February 24th, 2009 at 12:01 am
Locke was the first Chinese-American Governor. I heard he dropped off the map because of the racially-charged death threats he received while in office and as a result of his SOTU response. He was recruited to run for a 3rd term as Gov but his wife was afraid of the threats and convinced him not to run.
February 24th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Sounds like no one on this blog actually knows what Commerce does… perhaps knowing that information would help illuminate the answer to the question? And, I’m a little unclear what the lengthy discussion about Rahm Emmanuel and Howard Dean has to do with the central question “Can Gary Locke End the Commerce Cabinet Crisis?” This blog reminds me why the state of American politics is in shambles… most Americans are more interested in opining about nothing in particular (and about things they have no knowledge of) than focusing on substantive questions that move the whole damn thing forward. Being trade focused might be sufficient if the International Trade Administration were the only Commerce agency, but the Secretary of Commerce has to be able to manage a large number of disparate agencies… not just be trade focused. You wouldn’t go under the knife for brain surgery just because the guy had an MD… the job requires more than just that.
So, to the question… Locke can break the Commerce cabinet crisis if he chooses to accept the position (and I have serious reservations about the choice of “crisis” here.) What will make him a successful Commerce Secretary (a wholly different question) is his ability to elevate the status of Commerce as an executive branch Department. Locke will need to integrate the various agencies within Commerce to run a tight ship and develop initiatives to increase the perceived value of Commerce in the minds of Congress and the American public. Commerce holds the promise of becoming a heavy lifter in the race to greener technologies (NOAA, NIST, ITA) and may very well prove the great mediator of the current financial crisis by leveling the playing field (ITA/Import Administration, EDA, SBA, etc).
February 25th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Another Washington state resident. As noted, Locke was pretty much a non-entity as governor; I think he might actually do better as Commerce Secretary since he’s not the one making (or avoiding making) the ultimate decisions.