Tauscher Skedaddles

No sooner do I call for a primary challenge to Rep. Ellen Tauscher than she skedaddles for a position in the State Department. I am, of course, taking full responsibility for this development. Tauscher, who is the chair of the New Democrat Coalition, will be serving under Hillary Clinton as undersecretary for Arms Control and Nonproliferation. This will cause some turbulence as progressives fight to elect her replacement and the New Democrats figure out who will become their chairman. I am pleased to have her out of Congress, but I am not thrilled that she’ll be in charge of Arms Control and Nonproliferation. She’s qualified by the experience she has gained as a member of the House Armed Services committee, but I don’t think she’s the best person for the job. In any case, it doesn’t surprise me in the least that Hillary Clinton wants someone like Ellen Tauscher working for her. They are like peas in a pod.

6 Comments

Zandar1 on March 18, 2009 at 3:06 pm

So, is this a good thing (Ellen Tauscher can no longer do damage in the House) or a bad thing (she can do plenty of damage as Undersec’y of Arms Control and Nonproliferation)?

BooMan on March 18, 2009 at 3:09 pm

It’s a net good thing.
- The Voice In The Wilderness on March 18, 2009 at 4:40 pm
  
  Do we actually have arms control or non-proliferation? Not that I can see. So she can’t damage something that doesn’t exist. Oh, we pay lip service, but always manage to OK shipments when a big contractor wants a sale. As for non-proliferation, we only invoke that to invade countries we want to invade, without regard to facts.
  - BooMan on March 18, 2009 at 4:56 pm
    
    You decide:
    
    The Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security serves as Senior Adviser to the President and the Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament. In this capacity, the Under Secretary attends and participates, at the direction of the President, in National Security Council (NSC) and subordinate meetings pertaining to arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament and has the right to communicate, through the Secretary of State, with the President and members of the NSC on arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament concerns.
    
    The Under Secretary leads the interagency policy process on nonproliferation and manages global U.S. security policy, principally in the areas of nonproliferation, arms control, regional security and defense relations, and arms transfers and security assistance. The Under Secretary provides policy direction in the following areas: nonproliferation, including the missile and nuclear areas, as well as chemical, biological, and conventional weapons proliferation; arms control, including negotiation, ratification, verification and compliance, and implementation of agreements on strategic, non-conventional, and conventional forces; regional security and defense relations, involving policy regarding U.S. security commitments worldwide as well as on the use of U.S. military forces in unilateral or international peacekeeping roles; and arms transfers and security assistance programs and arms transfer policies. By delegation from the Secretary, the Under Secretary performs a range of functions under the Foreign Assistance Act, Arms Export Control Act, and related legislation. The Bureaus of International Security and Nonproliferation and Political-Military Affairs are under the policy oversight of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security. By statute, the Assistant Secretary for Verification, Compliance, and Implementation reports to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.