It’s good to see that Howard Dean has some powerful allies in Congress:
Two prominent Democrats are urging President Obama to nominate former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) as secretary of Health and Human Services.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over HHS and sits on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Thursday that tapping Dean – the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and a presidential contender in 2004 – would be “a very good move.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), an emerging ally of the president, penned a letter to the White House Wednesday urging the same pick.
I think Obama would do a lot to pump up progressives with this pick, and I also think Dr. Dean is qualified and deserving of the job. Someone else could be Health Czar with primary responsibility for passing the Health Care bill. And Dean could do the traditional job of a HHS Secretary.
It works for me — but before it gets any further, would someone please check and see that Dr. Dean has paid the taxman!
indeed.
..remember your Reagan: Facts are stupid things.
Republicans don’t let Facts get in their way when they’re on a roll.
John Blutarsky for Senate!!
Dean would be an excellent choice but isn’t he too progressive? Imagine putting a fifty state campaign into action. What he might do with HHS kind of boggles the mind, least a reformer’s mind.
I’d really like to see him get it. It would certainly diverge from the usual suspects method of picking staff. And Dean is entirely deserving of it.
Marcy has a petition:
Sign the Petition: Howard Dean for HHS Secretary
Dean as HHS secretary is a bold move after appointing a republican as Commerce Secretary.
Yes, Obama said he wanted diverse viewpoints. So far all he has are Republican viewpoints.
Marc Ambinder says that Obama is actually considering the governor of Tennessee, Phil Bredesen.
Which of course would make me want to barf. Do we really need another conservative, business-first DINO in the administration? Someone who would be a roadblock to single-payer?
Yeah, yeah, it would quiet down the folks who say there isn’t a southern accent in the cabinet. Screw that. If Obama has finally awakened to the partisanship in Washington, maybe he should stock some more allies in his cabinet rather than just rivals.
of Bredesen is poached from that position?