Archive for November, 2008
Elections have consequences
Here’s the Times story on Jeff Liske’s appointment to the county board of supervisors.
For years, Republicans controlled the panel that fills vacancies. Now, the tables are turned.
Meet the new election, same as…..
For all the talk about how the historic nature of the 2008 election and all the excitement around it, the Iowa Secretary of State’s office says the turnout……was about the same as four years ago.
At least in terms of the percentage of registered voters. The number, a little more than 1.5 million was a record. But the 72 percent of registered voters who turned out was about the same as it was four years ago.
Between 2000 and 2004 there was a jump in the percentage of registered voters who turned out. That didn’t happen this time. Why?
It could be we’ve gone to the outer reaches of the electoratal universe, that it can’t get any bigger. I mean, I can’t imagine another campaign driving turnout any more than this one.
For more, here’s Fred Love’s story on our web site.
Jim Leach weighs in on Obama’s economic team
President-elect Barack Obama is announcing his economic team today.
On the Politico web site, Jim Leach weighs in on the people who have been advising the new president-elect:
The Obama economics team is impressive and deep. Despite not being long in the tooth, they are experienced and, most importantly, are pragmatists rather than ideologues.
Tim Geithner will apparently have the premier job at Treasury and he is well received where it matters on Wall Street without being conflictedly identified with any of the institutions which may need further government intervention. His background at the New York Fed is important because the Treasury and the Fed have never needed more to work cohesively together.
OMB is the hardest numbers job in government and, as Dave Stockman showed a generation ago, can be the most consequential position at the start of a new Administration when priorities are established. The President-elect is thoughtfully turning to an individual with as relevant a background as any in D.C., Peter Orszag, for this exceptionally sensitive post.
Jack Lew and Jason Furman appear to be well suited to the NEC assignment and Austan Goolsbee is a fine intellect who apparently will be leaving the Univ. of Chicago for the CEA. My guess is that he will embellish the Washington scene. The two individuals who may be the most noteworthy in the first few months of the Administration may, however, be without big titles: Larry Summers and Paul Volcker.
As a senior adviser to the President, Summers can be expected to lead in pressing the case for a massive stimulus package. I would be surprised if his logic does not prevail and would expect a far bigger stimulus approach than is currently being conjectured. There will be analogies to the ‘30’s with the possibility of new initials being brought to the landscape of governance: perhaps the creation of an Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDC), for instance.
As for revamping regulation, I would hope the President-elect would turn to Paul Volcker to head a formal or informal review commission to make recommendations on how to reorganize a financial regulatory system, perhaps getting underway before the Administration takes office.
The key is that good people have apparently been tabbed and they will not only be ready to go on January 20, but will have plans in place before then. I would be surprised if broad intentions are not laid out immediately in Obama’s inaugural address followed by greater specificity within a few weeks. I expect timely and decisive action. It may be modified as time shows the need but action will be the guiding premise.
Harkin moves to beef up regulation on swaps, etc.
From a story I posted earlier on qctimes.com.
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, introduced a bill today that would force financial derivatives onto regulated exchanges, a move the industry has resisted for several years.
Harkin’s bill is the latest development in the move to increase oversight over the market for credit default swaps and other derivatives, which have been blamed for exacerbating the current financial crisis. Harkin is chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees commodity markets.
“We’re just not going to treat swaps and derivatives differently than any other futures contract. Period,” Harkin told reporters on a conference call today.
Braley dives in
It looks like 1st District Rep. Bruce Braley had his hand in the overthrow of Rep. John Dingell, D-Michigan, as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., will be the new chair. The switch is big news Inside the Beltway, where seniority is prized.
Braley’s office says the Waterloo congressman pitched in with Waxman and gave a speech on his behalf at the Democrats’ caucus meeting.
“Basically, Rep. Braley stressed that the 2006 and 2008 elections were all about change — and Americans want a new direction for renewable energy, healthcare and climate change. So it was time for a change in leadership on this important committee,” emails Jeff Giertz, his spokesman.
Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., also backed Waxman, who is seen as more liberal than the auto-state congressman. The Hill newspaper says Waxman won 137-122.
It’s no secret Braley’s been trying to get on the committee, which has a powerful role on renewable energy issues. This will surely help him with the new chair, who also has headed the Oversight and Government Reform panel that Braley now sits on.
Here’s how Reid Wilson summed up Braley’s role on the RealClearPolitics web site.
Politics Nation is told Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley, just elected to his second term, made an impassioned speech on Waxman’s behalf, blaming Dingell for blocking progress on a number of bills. Braley has been involved in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, co-chairing the Frontline program, but it’s still unusual to see such a junior member of congress question a more senior member, especially one who was serving his second term in Congress when Braley was born.
UPDATE: I asked Giertz what Braley blamed Dingell for blocking and he responded:
“Blame is probably a bit of a strong word, but he pointed out Dingell’s opposition to stricter CAFE standards and his opposition to a renewable fuels standard.”
Braley dives in
It looks like 1st District Rep. Bruce Braley had his hand in the overthrow of Rep. John Dingell, D-Michigan, as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., will be the new chair. The switch is big news Inside the Beltway, where seniority is prized.
Braley’s office says the Waterloo congressman pitched in with Waxman and gave a speech on his behalf at the Democrats’ caucus meeting.
“Basically, Rep. Braley stressed that the 2006 and 2008 elections were all about change — and Americans want a new direction for renewable energy, healthcare and climate change. So it was time for a change in leadership on this important committee,” emails Jeff Giertz, his spokesman.
Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., also backed Waxman, who is seen as more liberal than the auto-state congressman. The Hill newspaper says Waxman won 137-122.
It’s no secret Braley’s been trying to get on the committee, which has a powerful role on renewable energy issues. This will surely help him with the new chair, who also has headed the Oversight and Government Reform panel that Braley now sits on.
Here’s how Reid Wilson summed up Braley’s role on the RealClearPolitics web site.
Politics Nation is told Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley, just elected to his second term, made an impassioned speech on Waxman’s behalf, blaming Dingell for blocking progress on a number of bills. Braley has been involved in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, co-chairing the Frontline program, but it’s still unusual to see such a junior member of congress question a more senior member, especially one who was serving his second term in Congress when Braley was born.
UPDATE: I asked Giertz what Braley blamed Dingell for blocking and he responded:
“Blame is probably a bit of a strong word, but he pointed out Dingell’s opposition to stricter CAFE standards and his opposition to a renewable fuels standard.”