Karl Rove, the man who destroyed the conservative movement and drove Bush’s poll numbers into arctic territory, nods approvingly toward most of Obama’s appointments but whines about Melody Barnes as Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council:
Putting a former aide to Ted Kennedy in charge of health policy after tapping universal health-care advocate Tom Daschle to be Health and Human Services secretary sends a clear signal that Mr. Obama didn’t mean it when his campaign ads said he wouldn’t run to the "extremes" with government-run health care.
His enthusiasm for holding Obama to his campaign promises is laudable, I can only hope it continues.
But why Melody Barnes? Why not other progressives who have thus far been appointed?
David Sirota wrote about the "ghettoization" of Team Obama recently:
While there’s not enough evidence to declare a full-on "trend" in the incoming Obama White House, it is notable that Obama’s policy appointments (ie. Cabinet secretaries and White House policy advisers who actually craft policy) are almost all right-of-center, Establishment choices – and almost none are, as The Nation’s Chris Hayes has said, movement progressives. At the same time, many Obama appointments to exclusively political positions – that is, positions that are focused on selling policy, whatever that policy may be – are terrific movement progressives, people like Mike Lux (transition outreach to progressive orgs), Ellen Moran (communications director), Phil Schiliro (congressional liason) and Patrick Gaspard (political director). In other words, the initial structure seems to resemble the principle in American politics of politicians publicly selling their policies in progressive terms, while having those policies be crafted with much more conservative ideology.
Sirota’s observation that conservatives are in charge of policy while progressives are in charge of sales was quite salient, and Barnes is a welcome exception. She isn’t simply in charge of packaging Obama policy for progressive consumption. The Council "coordinates the domestic policy-making process in the White House and offers policy advice to the President.” Hence the disproportionate pissed-offedness of the Turdly one.
It’s stupid to judge Obama’s choices based on the response they get for those who spend their time plotting his downfall. But it’s often meaningful (not to mention entertaining) when Rove gets an "owie."
Update: Think Progress has more.
Related posts:
- Karl Rove: Obama Will Be Judged by His Ability to Clean Up George W. Bush’s Mess
- Jim Cooper and Karl Rove Talking Health Care in Nashville This Saturday
- Karl Rove May Not Care About Muslims’ Opinion of the US, But We Should
- Karl Rove: That’s Why They Call It a Limited Hang-Out
- Will Obama Even Meet with the Progressives?
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Morning, Jane. It is strange that he picked Barnes to not like. Oh, well, that’s Karl. Anything that gives him an “owie” works for me.
Must’ve been part of the plan – because he’s a genius, right?
Out of consideration for the FDL Moderators, I will not state what I would like to see happen to Karl Rove.
Just wait, it won’t be long before he’s talking about “socialized medicine”.
“Ted Kennedy” and “extremism” are not arguments, they’re short hand for contempt. He’ll try to do the same with the name “Melody Barnes” too.
Why is Karl Rove not in jail?
If you pour a jar of salt on Karl Rove, he’ll shrivel up.
heh heh, true.
The blossom’s off the turd, yet the media just can’t quit giving him, Mittens, Newt, Mrs. P. and the like all the air time they seem to want. The day I see Noam Chomsky, Katha Pollitt or much, much more Katerina Vand Den Heuvel is the day I will reconsider paying attention.
Unlikely to happen unless and until corporate ownership of the networks is rested from the Disney’s, GE’s and the like. Or, if said, corporate owners realize that news is not entertainment, or a source of profit.
I hope the GOP keeps on believing everything this undigested corn kernel keeps telling them.
They’ll be relegated to a rump of Dixieland and Apalachia for a generation if they keep it up.
Go Rove Go!
-G
Obama is selling the fiction that just because he is hiring conservatives all over the place this doesn’t mean there won’t be change because he will be the one calling the shots and pushing them to change. Why he doesn’t just pick progressives that he wouldn’t have to push he never says.
Now, about Ms. Barnes . . . it’s always a good thing when smart, hardworking Californians get tapped for high profile policy positions. Regarding healthcare, I sure hope that our termed out Senator Sheila Keuhl, and her FANTASTIC SB 840 get some attention – a reminder – SB 840 was vetoed 2X by Der Gropenfheurer due to concerns about costs. It is/was a comprehensive single payer plan for all, not employment based, had transparency in quality of care as a fundmental, and the best part – it will use the 30% plus that currently goes to administrative costs/profit (by getting the insurance industry out of the equation) to cover those currently without access to care.
I continue to call bullshit on the sad old rant about the government making healthcare decisions, when we currently have the for-profit industry making the call. So long as care is considered a loss, the insurance industry remains the enemy.
SB840 does make assumptions however. Those assumptions are that employers will contribute 8% of salary to the fund, with employees contributing 3% or, where an employer may pick up the entire 11% with no contribution by employees. In many cases – particularly, where the premium costs outpace 8%, employers will realize significant savings.
Let’s hope Ms. Barnes and Ms. Keuhl have a chat.
But in truth, don’t we already know this? It’s because he’s already been “accused” quite often of being the “most liberal Senator,” I seriously doubt he wants to be called the most liberal President. If he gets people more conservative to do the liberal things, I think that might increase their viability as programs, as well as their credibility. I think he will cause conservatives and middle of the roaders to sell progressive programs.
Of course, in Karl Rove’s world, the “extremes with government-run health care” constitute actually wanting government-run health care. The centrist, middle-of-the-road, moderate position is to fight to the death against any national health care whatsoever* in direct opposition to the wishes of 70% of the public be damned.
You might think a position endorsed by 70% of the public would, on its face, constitute a centrist position, but you are not a political genius like Karl Rove, whose advice and philosophy was invaluable to President-Elect McCain.
What? Oh, right …
*(And not mention the government-run health care programs we already have, which work great.)
O is not a progressive. He’s just not. My hope is that the situation will dictate the need for sane solutions to robber baron policies. Progressivism can happen in spite of the conservatives in charge.
I don’t see any evidence that Obama secretly wants to do progressive things. His backing of the FISA Amendments Act and the Paulson bailout taken together with his numerous conservative picks indicate the opposite.
So far what I’ve seen of Obama in his campaign and after is that he can take care of himself. The most critical person in his administration will be Michelle, who is his line of communication out of the bubble. If she can distance herself from the domesticated duties of the White House and leave herself time to think things through without having administrative responsibility, she will protect the progressive programme, no matter who has responsibility. As to policies, Obama is picking battles he can win. It’s the only way he will be able to hamstring the corporate press, who will jump all over him on the first slight slip-up, just like they did to Clinton.
As to the economic portfolios, the gravity of the current crisis demands experienced persons to be in charge. Being right about things is important, but it is not sufficient to run a big-time operation. Volcker and Summers and Greithner have the experience, plus creds with Obama.
Experience in being wrong is not usually what anyone would consider an asset. We have seen lots of guys with lots of experience drive most of the financial sector into the ground. Do we really want more of this? What is the prejudice against, oh I don’t know, hiring people who got it right?
Well… ’bout all I can say about Karl’s lasting impact in securing his shrub a lasting political legacy may be summed up in a hilarious CNN piece I saw yesterday discussing the reaction of world leaders to the Mumbai terrorism. Every signifcant leader was quoted: the PMs of India, China, Japan, Germany, France, England, India’s neighbors (Pakistan, Bangladesgh, Sri Lanka, Nepal) and (for some inexplicable reason) tiny Singapore, the UN Secretary General, the heads of the EU and NATO, the Pope, and US President-Elect Obama. I figure shrub must have issued a statement or something but evidently didn’t merit 2 seconds of TV coverage.
Obama has been pretty consistent in his political orientation from the start. During the primaries, he threw progressives a couple bones to ensure their support and a lot of us read too much into that.
I still think/hope he can accomplish good things but I don’t expect him to ever deviate far from center. He has taken the Clinton triangulation tactic to a whole new level.
Obama is not a progressive.
Feingold is a progressive.
He didn’t run for President.
Change is neither progressive nor regressive.
Tha past 8 years have seen significant change.
The Bush Doctorine is change.
The ascendency of the Office of the Vice President is change.
Spying on citizens is not change, but admitting it is.
Me, I HOPE for a CHANGE for the better.
Not much else to do.
I agree, but right now I think he’s in a position where he can do nothing but govern from the left. Conservatives gloating over his cabinet appointments may wind up like people in the stands cheering about the fine popcorn while their team gets its ass whipped on the field.
People want out of Iraq (Obama acknowledges it was a “mandate”), they want healthcare, they want the economy restored and it is universally acknowledged that that’s going to have to be through an interventionist economic stimulus package. Even Larry Summers, who preached the necessity of austerity and free market hardship on the rest of the world, doesn’t want to endure that himself.
Still, one thing I learned from the campaign is that Obama does not respect those who do not leverage their political power. Big supporters had their asses handed to him in the end because they got in line behind him and asked nothing in return for their support, while others who knew how to deal are being listened to. And that’s all I’m going to say on that front.
But if anyone were to assume that I didn’t learn the lesson of that, they would be mistaken.
Could be we are seeing a new strategy for the Bush legacy. Bush may hope now that the best bet for his legacy is that he is forgotten, and quickly.
Then who will David Gregory dance with?
I don’t think its just a tactic though… it’s what he believes, what he’s about. He wants to transform the way politics in this country is done, but from the perspective and political ideology of a committed centrist. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and he’ll have to make more than a few concessions to the progressivs who helped put him into power, but transformation of the middle of the box is what the guy’s all about.
Wanting to stay relevant and struggling to prove she isn’t a foreign affairs cretin, Sarah Palin issued the following statement:
The recent ter’rist attacks in India, there, were despicable and deserving of condemnation and I do that. I call on President elect Obama to immediately convene a meeting of his ter’rist friends and get to the bottom of this. And as despicable as these heinous acts were outrageous, we should still, especially at this Thanksgiving time when we give thanks, be thankful to the Lord that these despicable attacks took place in Mumbai, there, and not Bombay or many more people woulda been killed or even hurt.
is there any way for a D to hamstring the corporate press, including pursuing pro-corporate policies? it seems to me the M$M faux outrage about stupid or made up stuff served a very useful purpose during the clinton era: it distracte me (and i presume others?) from the pro-corporate policies that were being implemented.
Why does the NYT let KKK waste their ink and space? KKK sells papers? IDTS (just made that up: I Don’t Think So.)
possibly, that way he figures it’ll be easier to sneak out of the country when the pillaging is complete and its all done…
I think the largest question is how Obama will actually lead.
It is fairly clear how he campaigns, and how he communicates.
But, I expect his actual leadership to confound many assumptions.
As for K K K KArl – who really gives a fuck anymore anyways?
at least Rove is an asswipe of recent vintage. Newt? i just can’t see why anyone gives a shit about anything that gasbag has to say about anything.
As for K K K KArl – who really gives a fuck anymore anyways ?
Well, except that from where I come from we say “anyway” without the s, I agree 100%. and since i moved i seem to be one of the very few who says it without the S.
He might have had a chance to govern from the center if the financial meltdown and housing crisis had not happened. Of course, if they had not happened John McCain might now be President-Elect. But they did happen and “centrist” half measures to deal with them will not only be ineffective but even dangerous since they will be mostly a continuation of Paulson and Bernanke’s disastrously failed policies.
The culprit has to be either William Ayers or witches.
Fortunately, she did her research, before the interview she asked Todd what part of the country of Africa Mumbai is in.
A tad late but feel free to Digg It.
I love to read a post on this.
I think David Gregory is perfectly willing to dance on the shriveled up salty stuff.
she’s not taking any chances after how mean the media was to her. asking her what she reads an’ all. da noive.
I am guessing that Karl will keep talking. It is beyond my credibility,however, to think anyone still wants to listen…esp. those in charge. I cannot imagine that the Obama team gives a, uh-pardon me, rat’s ass what the man thinks. Has his time passed or what? Please.
The people BHO has appointed are experienced. No experienced administrator should be left to his/her own devices. All should have a policy set out for them and supervision by policy makers.
I believe BHO will govern from the center and center-left as he indicated (to me, at least) from the beginning.
by and large, their experience consists of getting it wrong and causing all kinds of unnecessary hardship and suffering. there are plenty of experienced people who did not get it so very wrong. why are they not being included?
Good point, and you are exactly right. FDR had to earn the union vote in the 1930s. He gave them what they asked for, and they delivered. It’s ditto for progressives. I’ve no bones with that. Good for democracy, too.
Let’s face it, Obama is in a “your damned if you do,you damned if you don’t” situation.I think they should let him take office before they start shooting him down.
I think we should put his feet to the fire on torture. (oh dear, that sounded morally contradictory, the metaphor I used, but ya get what I am saying?) Jonathan Turley (law prof recently on RM show) says there “has never been a brighter line” of illegality and immorality. And yet, Dems probably don’t have what Turley calls the “intestinal fortitude” to do anything about it, but shove it onto a commission and postpone the messiness that goes with honoring principles. I’m gonna start hounding Congress, personally, on this issue, though not much hope that it will be honored, sadly.
“His” in first sentence @42 above refers to Obama…. but also throw in the Dem team.