Shh! Obama's about to nominate an actual liberal (and good guy) to be Labor secretary

[bigtree]

tweeted by, Timothy Noah ‏@TimothyNoah1
Shh! Obama's about to nominate an actual liberal (and good guy) to be Labor secretary. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-to-nominate-thomas-perez-as-next-labor-secretary/2013/03/09/8e34c546-88dd-11e2-999e-5f8e0410cb9d_story.html …


Obama to nominate Thomas Perez as labor secretary



Thomas E. Perez, 51, a first-generation Dominican American, is in line to lead the Department of Labor. President Obama plans to nominate Perez, assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights, to be labor secretary, according to two people in the administration familiar with the decision.

Perez has strong labor support and served as Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s (D) labor secretary from 2007 until 2009, when he was tapped for the Justice Department position. Perez, a longtime Takoma Park resident, also served on the Montgomery County Council and was the first Latino elected to the council. He has been the key official under Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. handling civil rights cases, the centerpiece of what Holder hopes will be his legacy.

On civil rights, Perez’s division oversaw voting rights cases against South Carolina and Texas. The Justice Department blocked a law in Texas last year that required voters to show a photo ID, following similar action in December 2011 to block a voter ID law in South Carolina. Both states filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to overturn the federal action. The court struck down the Texas voter ID law and approved the South Carolina law, but ordered it delayed until at least this year.

The Civil Rights Division also conducted 17 probes of police and sheriff’s departments, the most in its 54-year history

Perez pushed a “bill of rights” for domestic workers, tried to toughen county laws against predatory lending and supported the expansion of medical clinics to serve the uninsured. He also fought to import cheaper prescription drugs for county employees — a plan blocked by the Food and Drug Administration . . .


read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-to-nominate-thomas-perez-as-next-labor-secretary/2013/03/09/8e34c546-88dd-11e2-999e-5f8e0410cb9d_print.html

[TheKentuckian]

1. Will he be out of the loop, invisible save a little token face time on MSNBC, and apparently spend

most of his time in Deadeye Dick's undisclosed location seemingly without a phone, internet connection, or even mail service like the current liberal that holds the position?

[snooper2]

2. still bitter?

[Cha]

3. Sounds like it with the cheap pot shots that have nothing to

do with Thomas Perez as our new Labor Sec.

[TheKentuckian]

16. About what was I bitter about that I would be "still bitter" about?

[hay rick]

13. Nonsense.

He will be highly visible as the Commerce Secretary and U. S. Trade Representative take turns bouncing him on their knees.

He's going to lead the administration's charge to pass EFCA and scuttle the Trans Pacific Partnership, LOL.

And Obama gets to check the hispanic box.

This appointment is not just liberal, it's flaming liberal.

[kardonb]

32. liberal

so hats wrong with " flaming liberal " for a change . We have had our fill and more of all the flaming-out repugs !

[AnotherMcIntosh]

28. Probably.

[cheapdate]

35. The biographical background given is not that of a timid person.

[Cha]

4. Thomas Perez sounds like he'd be Perfect for our Labor Sec. thanks

bigtree.

[bigtree]

5. an outstanding choice

BIG news outside of here, Cha. Glad to share it.


Josh Marshall Josh Marshall ‏@joshtpm
Woah: AP Says Obama to choose Thomas Perez, head of Civ Rights at DOJ and vote rights point man to be next Labor Secy http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/ap-source-obama-poised-to-pick-perez-for-labor-1.php …

[Cha]

7. yeah, it's a BFD in the

Reality Based Community!

[whistler162]

6. But he once drove past a McDonalds and WalMart

so he is a sellout!

Why did Obama choose such a sellout?

whine whine whine

[bigtree]

8. he can't fail

. . . to disappoint someone.

[sheshe2]

11. Bingo!

[bluestate10]

14. The Obama bashers will likely find out that Perez owns 100 shares in a company that sells

the threading tool to the company that sells screws to the company that sells fasteners to the company that sells flanges to the company that make pipe sections for the company that sells the same pipe sections to the company that combine the pipe sections for the Keystone pipeline. Therefore, in their eyes, Perez is totally a totally unqualified corporatist.

[bigtree]

17. and the corporatists in Congress

. . . would rather chew their own feet off than vote for him.

[n2doc]

9. Will the Senate obstruct?

Seems like anyone worth their salt is obstructed by the repubs.

[bigtree]

15. yep

's what they do

[Comrade_McKenzie]

10. Shhh. We're only supposed to post 6 degrees of separation threads about Obama's picks... nt

[sheshe2]

12. K&R

bigtree, thanks!

[Scuba]

18. Congratulations to Mr. Perez, but Holder's legacy will be banksters and gardeners, not civil rights.

[cheapdate]

36. Holder also challenged voter ID laws and voting rights

issues in states all over the country. And usually won.

[Scuba]

37. True, but that won't be what he's remembered for.

[cheapdate]

38. I've got a pretty decent opinion of Holder

and the way he's run the Justice Department, which is not to say I support every position he's taken, far from it. But, there are innumerable cases where he's been on the right side. For instance, here in my hometown of Murfreesboro, TN, the Justice Department filed a friend of the court brief in a very important civil rights case that decided whether or not the local Islamic community would be allowed to construct a new Islamic community center. The intervention of the Justice Department was crucial to the ultimate success of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro. There are scores of other examples where the Justice Department has intervened on the side of civil rights, including the rights of peaceable assembly, protest, and free speech. These things don't get mentioned all that often, for some reason.

[Scuba]

39. Holder has allowed banksters to avoid prosecution while attacking medical marijuana ....

... growers and distributors. Sadly, that will be his legacy. Not many here share your positive view of AG Holder.

[cheapdate]

40. That may be true.

I'm a life-long supporter of legalizing marijuana and I loathe immoral money-traders who amass fortunes by destroying other people.

Nonetheless, the Justice Department under Eric Holder has championed countless civil rights cases that generally get very little attention, like the mosque case in Murfreesboro, TN.

George W. Bush and his team of extreme, dogmatic, libertarian and right-wing ideologues had eight years to pack the Justice Department and all federal bureaucracies with like minded ideologues. From what I gather, it's not as simple in the federal employment system to simply come in and clean house.

Holder has done a decent job for a U.S. Attorney General.

[Scuba]

41. "Holder has done a decent job for a U.S. Attorney General." Really? You say that ...

... with a straight face despite Wall Street execs walking away from crimes where they admitted laundering billions for drug dealers and our enemies (e.g., Iran)?

"Decent". Really?

[cheapdate]

42. Yes, with a straight face I say that Holder has done a decent job.

I've acknowledged all of those areas you've mentioned where I'd prefer to see different results from Holder and the DOJ. I've also mentioned areas where I fully support the decisions of the DOJ, especially as it has intervened in civil rights questions involving voting rights, religious freedom, peaceable assembly, speech, etc., which you seem to barely acknowledge.

[Scuba]

43. I'll gladly acknowledge Holder's achievements, but they pale in comparison to his failures.

[Zorra]

19. He's obviously not a republican, that's a big plus, for sure.

Don't know much about him, will burst into song and dance when I am reasonably sure he really is an Elizabeth Warren type Democrat.

Looks good so far.

[mountain grammy]

20. For sure!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

23. He's a great liberal. Worked for my governor, Martin O'Malley. He's a truly loyal liberal.

He's behind Casa de Maryland, an organization devoted to helping Hispanics find employment, housing, etc.

[lonestarnot]

21. Woah are you kidder'n me?

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

22. Move away! The ODSers' heads are about to explode!!

[leftyohiolib]

24. he will be filibustered

[Starry Messenger]

25. I'm glad. It made me sad to see Solis go.

She was a liberal too, so I'm not sure why the tweet about her replacement was so snarky. Perez sounds like an excellent fit.

[graham4anything]

26. Good luck to Mr. Perez. One of the great guys.

Don't let the bastards get you down.

[Gothmog]

27. Perez is indeed a good guy

I have been impressed with the way that he has handled the Texas redistricting and voter id issues

[AnotherMcIntosh]

29. This unusual event should also be posted here:

http://www.ripleys.com/

[forestpath]

30. Doesn't matter how good he is if the WH puts the brakes on him in favor of industry, the

way it did with Solis.

[flamingdem]

31. good news! nt

[blkmusclmachine]

33. We'll see ..

But if past is predictive of future, ...

[bigtree]

34. what, you'd devalue this man's life work, so far?

. . . the article says he's a liberal and a good guy. The evidence is right in front of you, to make a judgment. What this admionistration does with his experience and commitment is certainly an open question, but I don't think he deserves to be saddled with people's cynicism about this administration. His life work speaks for itself.

[NewJeffCT]

44. so, he'll be the token liberal in the administration