Tom, You’re Out!

Posted on February 3, 2009 by billmanzi

Tom Daschle today withdrew from consideration as HHS Secretary, bowing to the mounting pressure from his tax problems. President Obama accepted Daschle’s withdrawal with the requisite “regret”. Obama also had Nancy Killefer withdraw from consideration for the job of Chief Performance Officer for the White House. Killefer apparently had tax issues as well. President Obama will now need to quickly retool his HHS selection, as this Daschle matter has set him back in a key portfolio. Daschle also resigned as the White House health Care czar, a post that did not require Senate confirmation. Hope the vetting operation sharpens up a bit for the next HHS nominee.

Posted in National News | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Judd Gregg to be Named at Commerce

Posted on February 3, 2009 by billmanzi

New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg will be named today to be Commerce Secretary by President Obama. Gregg has been mentioned for over a week as a possible candidate, but has said that he would not take the post if in so doing the current numerical balance in the Senate were altered. On that basis it appears that Governor Lynch of New Hampshire, the appointing authority, may very well appoint a caretaker Republican to that seat. Lynch issued a statement that danced around the issue. From the Washington Post:

“We are in the midst of a national economic crisis, and it calls for cooperation on all of our parts. We all need to work together to do what is in the best interest of our country and our state. I have had conversations with Senator Gregg, the White House and the U.S. Senate leadership. Senator Gregg has said he would not resign his seat in the U.S. Senate if it changed the balance in the Senate. Based on my discussions, it is clear the White House and Senate leadership understand this as well.”

Lynch continued: “It is important that President Obama be able to select the advisers he feels are necessary to help him address the challenges facing our nation.”

I believe Governor Lynch will appoint a Republican, but that Republican will likely be someone to the left of the current Republican mainstream. That will likely mean a more consistent vote for many Obama policies, even if the Democrats do not pick up an additional caucus member.

Posted in National News | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Methuen Eliminates Primary

Posted on February 3, 2009 by billmanzi

The Methuen City Council last night agreed to eliminate the potential for a primary in this election season in order to save $32,400. The cost saving measure must be approved by the State Legislature and would be effective only for the 2009 election cycle. The Council vote was opposed by Councilors Cronin and Lahey, with Councilor Giordano absent.

Posted in Methuen, Methuen City Council | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Eric Holder Confirmed as Attorney General

Posted on February 2, 2009 by billmanzi

Eric Holder was confirmed today as the first African American Attorney General by a vote of 75-21. He did receive some heat over the Mark Rich issue, but picked up a good block of Republican support in winning confirmation. Holder has a long list of legal credentials. From the Washington Post:

By all accounts, Holder is among the most credentialed lawyers ever to become attorney general. He began his career as a public corruption prosecutor before serving as U.S. attorney in the District and as a Superior Court judge. Holder later operated as second in command at the Justice Department during the later years of the Clinton administration.

Holder brings change and stability to a Justice Department that has had a real big set of problems over the past four years. He will have a full plate immediately:

From Day One, Holder will have a full plate of work. President Obama already has put the attorney general in charge of a task force deliberating where to send nearly 250 terrorism suspects detained at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obama last month instructed officials to close the prison within one year.

Holder also will play a critical role in developing legal guidelines for interrogation practices and in deciding whether the Obama administration will adopt broad claims of executive power in court cases over warrantless eavesdropping and the firings of nine prosecutors during the Bush years.

Holder vowed to revitalize the department’s civil rights division, which is supposed to enforce voting and employment laws for minorities. The Justice Department inspector general in January issued a report detailing hiring abuses and racial epithets that proliferated among some former officials there.

Fixing the mess that was the Bush Justice Department will be no easy task. Good luck Attorney General Eric Holder.

Posted in National News | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Sunday Morning Battle on Stimulus

Posted on February 2, 2009 by billmanzi

The “This Week” program had an interesting group of panelists debating the merits of the stimulus package being pushed through Congress. Senator Jim DeMint and Rep. Barney Frank had a pretty good go round on it, with Frank pretty much dominating all the conversation. (Hard to get in a word edgewise with Barney). Senators Kerry and Hutchinson sparred pretty well on Meet the Press on the same subject. Will the President be able to get a bill through the Senate? I think so, with time to spare. Best line of the morning? I have yet to see a tax cut that built a road or bridge (or something to that effect by Barney Frank)

http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1155201977

Posted in National News | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Who wins the big game today?

Posted on February 1, 2009 by billmanzi

Who do you like today? Pittsburgh is my choice. Defense will harry Kurt Warner and shut down the high flying Arizona offense. Pittsburgh offense will move the ball with a balanced ball control attack, keeping Warner off the field for large time chunks. Pittsburgh by 10.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

The Very Sudden Departure of Michael Festa

Posted on January 31, 2009 by billmanzi

The Patrick Administration announced yesterday the resignations of Secretary of Economic Affairs Daniel O’Connell and Secretary of Elder Affairs Michael Festa, O’Connell will be replaced by Greg Bialecki.

Festa’s portfolio was reduced in the new budget submitted by Governor Patrick, who moved some responsibility to JudyAnn Bigby, the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Bigby is, as I understand it, Festa’s immediate boss under the organizational structure, although they both carry the title of Secretary. The proposed re-organization contained in the budget was the culmination of a turf war between Festa and Bigby. Bigby is the obvious winner, but the Governor has had to retreat in the face of resistance from elder support groups outraged by the changes and by Festa’s departure. From the Globe:

Festa’s departure comes as seniors groups blast the administration for, they say, diminishing its commitment to seniors. Facing stiff opposition from advocates, the governor this week postponed a plan to shift a wide range of services and programs for the elderly out of Festa’s office. Critics said the shift would risk letting elderly residents fall between bureaucratic cracks.

Saying they are “deeply disturbed” by Festa’s departure, a dozen groups led by AARP Massachusetts sent a strongly worded letter to Patrick yesterday stating that they are “perplexed as to why the Executive Office of Elder Affairs is being dramatically weakened at a time when 25 percent of the state’s households include at least someone age 65 or older.”

Key programs in the office have been cut substantially, including one that helps defray prescription costs for tens of thousands of seniors, but “if it wasn’t for [Festa’s] leadership, it would have been so much worse,” AARP Massachusetts director Deborah Banda said in an interview.

“He brought an energy to that office,” Banda said. “He was out in the community . . . and he made sure that the people who relied on these services had a voice at the table.”

Ouch! The Governor stepped in it a little bit here, with Festa’s departure handled in a very clumsy fashion. Festa is a popular figure with the senior community as well as with his former colleagues in the Legislature. Maybe vetting the prospective changes through the senior community would have been helpful to the Governor here. I know that Festa is the only Secretary in my time in Methuen to have visited our senior center, and he has been a fine Secretary to work with. I wish him the very best.

Posted in State News | Tagged , | 3 Comments

President Signs Pro Labor Executive Orders

Posted on January 31, 2009 by billmanzi

President Barack Obama has signed a series of executive orders designed to “level the political playing field” for unions. From MSNBC:

In another move favorable to organized labor, the president signed three executive orders that union officials say will undo Bush administration policies that favored employers over workers. The orders Obama signed will:
Require federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change.
Reverse a Bush order requiring federal contractors to post notice that workers can limit financial support of unions serving as their exclusive bargaining representatives.
Prevent federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses meant to influence workers deciding whether to form a union and engage in collective bargaining.

President Obama has welcomed organized labor back to the White House, but will he support card check legislation that labor wants so badly? The battle lines are forming, and that is certainly worth a look in another post, as both sides are begining to wage war over the airwaves.

Posted in National News | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

President Obama’s Weekly Radio Address

Posted on January 31, 2009 by billmanzi

President Obama gave his weekly radio address amidst new signs of economic trouble. New figures from the Commerce Department show a decline in Gross Domestic Product of close to 4 percent last year. While that number is below the expected drop of five to six percent unsold goods piling up in inventory are counted as part of GDP, and hence the real drop is likely in the higher range. From the New York Times:

The actual decline in the gross domestic product — at a 3.8 percent annual rate — fell short of the 5 to 6 percent that most economists had expected for the fourth quarter. But that was because consumption collapsed so quickly that goods piled up in inventory, unsold but counted as part of the nation’s output.

“The drop in spending was so fast, so rapid, that production could not be cut fast enough,” said Nigel Gault, chief domestic economist at IHS Global Insight. “That is happening now, and the contraction in the current quarter, as a result, will probably exceed 5 percent.”

President Obama reflects on that number in his weekly talk, and speaks of a new plan to deal with our banking crisis that will soon come from Treasury. The need for a new plan to rescue our banking sector is reflective of the consensus that TARP I failed to address the root problem of toxic assets on the balance sheets of so many banks, and the danger that many are already insolvent. Credit cannot and will not flow until this problem is resolved. The administration seems to recognize this, and appears to be heading in the direction of an aggregator bank to buy, hold, and eventually sell these assets. From a business perspective nothing is more important than unclogging the credit line and rebuilding confidence. Tim Geithner has his hands full.

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Gregg to Commerce?

Posted on January 31, 2009 by billmanzi

New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg is under consideration for appointment as Secretary of Commerce. Gregg is a former member of the United States House, as well as a former Governor. If he were to be appointed New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, a Democrat would appoint his replacement. President Obama, if he makes the selection, could bring the Democratic majority in the Senate to sixty if Governor Lynch selects a Democrat and Al Franken win the Minnesota Senate seat. Not a bad move, as he gets a candidate that would be easily confirmed and manages to swell his Senate majority at the same time. Not bad Rahm, not bad!

Posted in National News | Tagged , , | 4 Comments