What's with all this "Anybody But Howard Dean" for HHS talk?

[DFW]

Suddenly one headline after another with "possibles" mentioned for HHS Secretary.

The latest is Kathleen Sibelius, who is very much needed in her job as governor of Kansas.
I have seen all sorts of other names mentioned as well. About the ONLY name I haven't seen,
beyond the lone(ly) voice of Sen. Harkin of Iowa, is that of Howard Dean, who just happens
to be free to take the job (although not for long, if he goes ahead with his current plans).

Howard knows the territory, knows the subject, and is a proven tireless worker who does not
go at his tasks halfheartedly. Does that scare the Obama Admistration to the point that Howard
is, in their collective mind, too hot to handle? Placating the hard core of the right wing has
not proven too productive a tactic in the first few weeks of the Obama administration. Obama
has reached out and been slapped in the face for his efforts. I don't know who he thinks he is
placating by NOT choosing Howard Dean for this post, and whether it's his own chief of staff or
Mitch McConnell, it's doing him no good and it's doing the country no good. How many times does
he intend to reach out his hand before it gets chewed off entirely?

Rahm Emmanuel didn't get Obama elected, and he was not responsible for the large increases in
our majorities in the House and Senate. That was Howard Dean's doing.

Don't get me wrong. This is NOT a call for rewarding Howard for his efforts.

This is a call for rewarding the country and the party for listening to Howard Dean
so we could get where we are in the first place. I don't know if Howard would be as
good as HHS Secretary as he was as DNC chairman, but I sure would love for the country
to have the privilege of finding out.

[pnwmom]

1. How do you know that Dean wants the job? How do you know

that he'd pass the vetting? How do you know his wife, the doctor, wants to move the family to Washington?

[w4rma]

2. Give me a break. Dean would take the job if asked and he would sail through the vetting.

Dean is clean as a whistle and fully uncorrupted. He's also very well respected and his very presence would make universal health care a national priority.

[pnwmom]

4. How do you know? Being willing to move to Washington for the job of President

is one thing. His wife might not want to make that kind of sacrifice for the HHS job.

[DFW]

6. Howard has been making the commute for years now

As HHS Secretary, he would see Judith on a far more regular basis than he did as DNC chair,
especially in the last years, during the 2006 and 2008 election cycles. She handled that
just fine, and he would make it up to Burlington a lot more if he had the HHS post than he
has been able to make it as DNC chair during election cycles.

[DFW]

3. I had dinner with Howard last Sunday. If you were there, I missed you.

Judith does not want to move to Washington. She didn't do it while Howard was DNC chair, either.
Howard knows the commute from DC to Burlington well, and could do it in his sleep. He'd take the
job if offered with no strings attached, and if his other plans have not yet been finalized.

His children are already out of the house, that's not a problem.

As for the vetting, I'm not a member of the Senate. I don't know that ANY nominee will pass
the vetting before it happens. So far all nominees have either withdrawn or passed vetting.
My bet is that Howard would pass with flying colors, but no one knows that about any nominee
before they are named.

[pnwmom]

5. I didn't say I knew anything. I asked how you knew that he'd be available

for the job. Because what I've seen up till now are a lot of comments from people who don't know him but are assuming that he'd take the job if offered, and that he'd have no vetting issues.

[DFW]

7. Well, now you know.

I've known Howard for almost ten years, since before anyone outside of Vermont had
ever heard of him. I can even tell you what kind of guitar music he likes, and how
well he plays it (I'm better). Because of our different postings, we don't see each
other very often, but as I saw him last week in Geneva, obviously the subject did come up.

[pnwmom]

48. Well, in that case I hope he gets offered the job.

I'd been thinking it might be "below his pay grade" but if he's interested in the position, he'd be great.

[KoKo]

33. Why not Dean as head of HHS and Obama puts another person in for Czar to manage Health Care Plan?

Wouldn't that be a good compromise? I didn't understand how Daschle could devote time to being head of Commerce while traveling the country and halls of Congress to get support for the Health Care Plan.

If Raham and Obama don't think Dean is diplomatic enough for Health Care Czar wouldn't that compromise work? Giving both people full time to do their jobs. Only thing is if Judith doesn't want to move to DC how would Howard run the the Department. :shrug:

[DFW]

34. Howard chaired the DNC rather admirably, and Judith managed just fine

Howard was running around the country and the world for four years as DNC chair.
Having a set job in Washington would make getting home to Burlington on a regular
basis a LOT easier than it has been for the last four years.

[KoKo]

35. So...why not Dean as HHS and Obama finds another person to spearhead the

Health Insurance Plan? :shrug: That's what I asked. If you know someone who could put a bug in Obama's ear about that. Did you read my question?

[DFW]

40. I read your question, but know no one who has Obama's ear.

Therefore, my putting the idea forth would get nowhere. Howard had quite given up
on being asked to be a part of the Obama administration, but that was last Sunday,
before Daschle pulled out. Last Monday morning, he left back for the States and I left
to go up to Brussels, and haven't been in touch with him since.

I tend to agree that putting the two jobs in the hands of two different people is
a suggestion that would free up two people to focus on their specific jobs, although
after seeing him juggle the warring factions at the DNC, I have no doubt Howard could
handle both if asked. I am also rather confident that Rahm is whispering in both of
Obama's ears trying to convince Obama to keep Howard in political Siberia. I am amazed
that Obama has so far done exactly that, but maybe there is a part of that puzzle about
which I know, and have heard, zip. Central Europe is not exactly K Street.

[rvablue]

51. Your posts on this subject are obviously insightful

being that you know Dean personally.

I wish you could tell us more about the rift between himself and Rahm.

I understand that even though two individuals might be on the same side, they may not like each other personally. But this seems to be more than that.

Just wondering...is it jealousy of some kind on Rahm's part that Dean's efforts worked so well for the party?

I know I might be asking for too much, but it's something I would love to understand.

[DFW]

60. Howard never disses Rahm, just praises his "abilities"

Remember, I don't know Rahm at all, only met him once, and kept my distance,
as he seemed so tightly wound that he might explode if prodded with a needle.
Supposedly he has mellowed out somewhat--supposedly. It wouldn't surprise me
to hear that Rahm still holds a grudge against Howard, but there's no way I
would find that out with any kind of reliable confirmation--not from Central
Europe, anyway.

Howard is very careful and diplomatic when talking about Rahm, and is always
the team player when it comes to Obama. "President Obama" is, after all, his
crowning achievement as DNC chair, and he is justly proud of that. Howard never
took sides during the primaries, as was proper, and he took some heat for that
from all sides. The same goes with his differences with Rahm. Everyone knows
what happened back in 2006. Rahm was wrong, Howard was right. Howard has never
once mentioned that fact himself, not that he needs to. Again, as DNC chairman,
and now as former DNC chairman, he never has a bad word about ANY prominent Democrat,
and that includes the chief of staff of the new president he worked so hard to
elect. I understand his position, and never press him on it. In these days of
the blogs, one wrong word--about ANYTHING--and his name is mud, no matter HOW
much of a hero he has been to the Party. Howard is too much of a pro for that,
even with friends.

There are a LOT of people here who would like to have a better understanding of
just exactly what it is that has kept Howard at arm's length from the Obama
administration, and while all fingers do indeed point at Rahm, no one is coming
out and saying it. Those of us who admire Howard, let alone those of us who know him,
can gnash our teeth until they are gone, but it won't do us any good. The only thing
we can do is bombard the White House and our people in Congress with mail and phoneys
calls demanding, pleading, asking--whatever--for Howard to be given the HHS post.
Even then, if Rahm is true to his reputation, Howard will be on the outside as long
as Rahm is Obama's chief of staff. How long Rahm's tenure in that position is another
question entirely, but even if it is a short run, chances are, it will be too late for
us to have the privilege of Howard Dean as HHS Secretary.

Remember the film, "The Seven Samurai" of Kurosawa? The samurai save the village from
the bandits, and the villagers then thanklessly go back to their old ways, and the few
surviving samurai, having defeated the bad guys, remark at the end of the story, "We
lost again. We always lose." I almost see Howard in that light at the moment, although
I haven't told him so. He's too much of a team player for that kind of talk, and if
ignored by Obama, will go on to, in his own words, "raise some hell about issues he cares
about." He'll do a great job of it, too, but we still lose.

[Cha]

41. I remember now..you

know Dean! Here's something I saw on buzzflash..

http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/2009/02/harkin-grijalva-push-dean-for-hhs.html

<snip>

"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. <...>

"While most of the public have only known Howard as a ground-breaking candidate for president and one of the most successful leaders of our party, I have also known him as champion for universal healthcare," Grijalva wrote Obama. "It has been the cause of his life."

I really have been hoping the whole time that fate would get us Dean back doing what he does best.

[DFW]

43. Yes, I know Howard, and yes, that IS one of his favorite causes

I had not heard about Grijalva, though. Thanks for that info!

[ColbertWatcher]

8. How do you know that he wouldn't serve his country as HHS Secretary?

Or that his wife would stand in the way?

Obama will have to announce a second-choice some time.

Regardless, this is all speculation.

[DFW]

9. He would, and Judith would not stand in the way.

She is used to him commuting by now. It is indeed all speculation for now,
and I have a feeling that the same people that saw to it that Howard's name
was not brought up in the first place will work tirelessly to make sure his
name stays out of consideration now.

I'm just hoping against hope (audacity thereof?) that the country might get
lucky this time, in spite of them.

[ColbertWatcher]

11. I'm hoping that the people who wasted time working against Dean in HHS ...

... will get the fuck over themselves if he is nominated to serve.

[DFW]

12. I hear you on that one!

Howard would be so good, that it would be like Germany, 1946.
All those who now oppose him for the post would suddenly forget
that they ever had the slightest objection in the first place.

[ColbertWatcher]

56. ...

It will be like those people who were mad at Gore for what happened in 2000, but now love him and accept that he is now considered an "elder" statesman.

[pnwmom]

49. I never said that I knew anything. I just asked a question, and got an answer. n/t

[ColbertWatcher]

57. I've been out of it lately ...

... has either Obama or Dean made any statements?

[pnwmom]

58. Not that I've seen. n/t

[DFW]

62. I've heard nothing, and Howard won't make a statement anyway

It's the prerogative of the President to nominate whom he wishes, and possible
candidates for cabinet positions are picked by the president. They do not come
hat in hand asking for an appointment. The most they do is let it be known, either
publicly or privately, that they would not turn down a given post if offered, and
Howard is too much of a pro to do even that. This is strictly Obama's call, and
his top adviser in this case, unfortunately, has a personal problem with Howard.
It's up to Obama and Emanuel to overcome that or not.

Seeing as how the press and blogosphere has been full of (presumably deliberately
leaked) names as possibilities for HHS, and none of them (exception: Tom Harkin
and that congressman from Arizona pleading for Howard) have been named Dean.

If Howard's name is even under consideration, the Obama WHite House is doing one
hell of a masterful job of keeping it a secret. Seeing as how the White House is
a place that usually has more leaks than a spaghetti strainer, it doesn't seem
likely--at this point, anyway--that Howard will get asked. Of course, one week
ago, it looked liked Dachle was the unquestionable Secretary of HHS, period, so
"it ain't over til it's over."

[garybeck]

61. he said he would have liked to work for the obama admin. n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

10. I don't get it, either.

:shrug:

[Karenina]

13. Ich auch nicht. Unfassbar.

:shrug: Obviously SOMEBODY isn't fond of him.

[woodwrite]

14. Obviously.....

It's already been pointed that he's uncorrupted and clean as a whistle. We already know that he is highly intelligent and well-educated. Wonder why the political industry (in general) and the new democratic administration (in particular) wouldn't want him around?

I wonder, indeed.

[DFW]

15. I think you already answered your own question:

"uncorrupted and clean as a whistle"

That kind of resumé obviously makes more than a few people uncomfortable.

Maybe if they have nothing they can hold against you for leverage, you are
not subject to pressure from parties that would rather retain that leverage.

Very disconcerting, indeed. Sounds like my kind of guy.

[mmonk]

16. My experience with those we have elected is that if there is

a grassroots effort for something from party activists, the request must be ignored. I think there is a grassroots action that has suggested Dean.

[DFW]

17. In other words, a repeat of the scenario of his presidential run in 2004

There is a lot of sense in that.

[dansolo]

23. If only we could get the people who backed him for DNC chair

Dean didn't became DNC chair because of the netroots. He became DNC chair because the rank-and-file members of the DNC overwhelmingly backed him for that position. After what he has done over the past four years, I wish that they would continue to support him. Unfortunately, now that we are in power, the people who are against Howard Dean have more power to keep the rest of the DNC members in line.

[janet118]

25. I have to disagree slightly . . .

Initially, the rank and file, and most of the national party regulars, regurgitated much of the media hype against Dean when he announced he was running for DNC chair, e.g., "He's too left-wing," "He's angry," the "scream," blah, blah, blah. It was the efforts of members of Democracy for America (mostly connected via the Internet and meet-ups) who lobbied the DNC members in their states to back Dean. Many DFA-ers had been strong activists in the Kerry campaign after Dean left the race in March of 2004 and they had made contacts within their state party structure. Many had even joined their town committees at Dean's urging and began turning the netroots into rank and file.

I can tell you that without the letter writing and lobbying by netroots at their local level, Dean would probably not have become chair. There was much opposition to his election as chair by the Democratic Leadership Council and others.

[KoKo]

36. That's my recollection, too. I was active in NC politics at the time..

and we had a activist State Chair who fought for Dean because of the NC grassroots who had been involved in his campaign who then went to support Kerry. The entrenched in the State Dem Party did not want Dean. It was pressure from the activists who had increased the Party's numbers that was the turning point.

[tavalon]

18. Pretty bold, dontchya think? I mean we're the ones that got them there

Ignoring us seems an awfully stupid thing to do.

[DFW]

19. The next election isn't for two years.

They'll remember us again in about 18 months.

[tavalon]

27. Generally, you are right, but this time it's different.

I'm not exactly sure how it's going to manifest, but the populous is angry, bordering on enraged. Yeah, we know that it was the last 30 years of bullshit from the repugs, especially the last eight, and yet, we are furious right now. I think if Obama comes out of his little Washington bubble, and comes to talk to us as he says he's going to, I believe he's going to get an earful.

But, while giving the grassroots a well deserved bone in the form of Howard Dean could ease the grassroots anger some, the rage that is brewing extends beyond the grassroots and that's the thing that's scary - those people have no idea who to be angry at, they just know that they are hurting bad and it doesn't look to be getting any better. Howard Dean won't solve that problem but it needs to be solved quickly or frankly, I have no idea what this wounded beast called America will do, I honestly don't. I held my breath until Obama took office but as I started to breath again, I realized we were in a different, but still dangerous situaion.

It was the grassroots that uprooted Daschle, but we had help because people are enraged at the gilded age we have come into. The us and them class has become very apparent and the "Us" people are incensed.

[DFW]

44. Howard Beale is moving from fiction to being closer to reality

But Howard Dean as HHS secretary would be more than a bone. It would be a nod
to the ideals that Obama has espoused during his campaign. I realize he has a
of differing factions to placate, but I don't think that radical right Republicans
and insurance companies should be getting an especially high priority.

[tavalon]

59. Amen to that one!

This bipartisan thing was fine for a week or two, but now they've shown they have no interest, so let's just get on with the governing and leave them in the dust. As for insurance companies, I am a nurse, and I hope I see the end to those bloodsuckers in my lifetime. Between them and big pharma, the medical system we have in place is no system at all.

[KoKo]

38. I think that Obama and his organization feel they they did it on their own

and owe little to the grassroots who were angry over the 2000 Selection and that got involved with Dean and Kucinich then went on to try to get Kerry elected.

I think the shift was to the Black Community and the organization with the churches where Obama's organization went beyond what we Activists of the Move On/Kos...netroots had done. Yes, all of us still supported Obama but it was the addition of the Black Churches and activists and the tight organization that pulled Obama through. I feel that Obama and his organization want to build on that because they know the old Dean/Kucinich Activists were already in their pocket and will be...because where are we going to go? Third Parties just aren't working...

[mmonk]

20. I'm used to it. When I think of all the hours I have put into

discourse with congressional staffers over the last few years, I'm just amazed. I think of all those lost days I could have just been earning more money. It's sad because it used to work.

[mmonk]

22. Except in the end, we're pretty much powerless to do much about it.

[democrank]

21. I doubt that Dr, Dean would get so much as a fleeting glance.

Why? He`s from the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party,

[GeorgeGist]

24. Dr. Dean is perceived as a threat ...

to the bottom line ie., the profits of sick and injured care.

[TWiley]

26. How about Dr. Phil for HHS?

[PassingFair]

28. This seems like a political AND practical NO-BRAINER.

Obama would have the best possible person for the
job AND throw a sop to the progressive, activist
base, that, may I remind him, GOT HIM NOMINATED.

How people can argue that Dean is "too brash"
or "too partisan" when a guy like Rahm Emanuel
is Obama's COS make NO SENSE.

Dean is not "brash", and the task of providing
health care to Americans is going to take someone
who can REALLY get things done.

This is the LEAST of the positions that should
have been offered to Dr. Dean.

Really.

[Cha]

45. People need to stop being brainwashed

by the corporatemedia because that was their marginalization of Dean.."brash"..whatever.

Rahm needs to get over himself if he's what blocking Dean..who knows?

But, here's a petition going around the net that's speaking up for Dean as our HHS..

http://www.petitiononline.com/sec4hhs/

[PassingFair]

46. Thank you...

Signed and sent on to others who
do my bidding without question....

:hi:

[Cha]

47. Yeah, PassingFair!

:hi:

[NashVegas]

29. Something the Average Washington Dem Has In Common With Dubya

They "don't care what *you* think."

[vssmith]

30. That is what he gets for paying his taxes

[TWiley]

31. How about Ann Coulter for HHS?

[DFW]

32. Yes! Yes! Ann Coulter for HHS

As long as you are talking about HHS as in "Human Horror Story."

[Peace Patriot]

37. How to turn a successful, insurgent campaign (Obama's) into another opportunity

to smash the grass roots of the Democratic Party--and the will of the majority of the people in the country? That's what Rahm Emmanuel and the DLC somehow figured out how to do. Anyway, that's what it looks like to me. I don't know yet if that's what it is.

I find it interesting that Obama and his team are falling all over themselves to placate far rightwing assholes, but treat the grass roots left like pariahs, like untouchables, like a disease. Change we cannot believe in, seems to be the order of the day.

BUT, I don't think the full outline of things is visible yet. Could be some brilliant political strategy by Obama--since he now has to deal more directly with the "military-industrial complex" and the corpo-fascist media--very dangerous entities. Witness what they did to Howard Dean! Obama doesn't want to suffer that fate (or worse). If we've learned nothing else from the Bushwacks, we should never underestimate the power or viciousness of the Dark Lords who are really running things.

So I'm waitin' and seein'.

I do find it amazing that Republicans are permitted any say at all about the Jobs package. They should be in sack cloth and ashes, bowed before the American people in penance. They should be in stockades, having rotten fruit and worthless pension contracts thrown at them. They should be afraid to open their big fat gobs for decades, centuries. But there they are, all over the TV, endlessly mouthing off, and getting royal treatment at the White House.

I HOPE Obama's just being a fox, but I don't know. I think we have some work to do...

THROWING DIEBOLD & ALL 'TRADE SECRET' VOTING MACHINES INTO 'BOSTON HARBOR', cuz I think half the people in Congress weren't even elected (including some "Blue Dogs"). NONE of them can prove that they were actually elected, nor can Obama (although I think he was). Some were; some weren't. We don't know. We can only guess. How's that for a democracy? (...and then there's Rahm and his money).

[KoKo]

39. ....and think about those DRE Election machines in 2010...Since election reform

seems to have dropped as an issue once we got a Dem Elected.

[DFW]

42. Election reform was one of Howard's top priorities as DNC chair

Obama still has a year or so to do something about it, but I REALLY hope he is
aware that maintaining any kind of a semblance of his majority in Congress in 2010
will depend in part--I don't know how big a part, but I suspect plenty big--on
eliminating Republican electoral fraud for good.

[Peace Patriot]

55. I was dismayed to read Obama dissing election fraud re Max Cleland, and Bush-Cheney '04,

in an excerpt from "Audacity of Hope," at the end of my copy of "Dreams From My Father." "Dreams" is a superbly written book. And it's all him; not a ghost-writer. Nobody can write for somebody else like this. The details, characters and stories, and command of English prose, are just too personal. (Reminds me of those people who think a committee wrote Shakespeare's plays. It's just not possible. The style, thought patterns, sense of drama, etc., are too distinct. ONE PERSON wrote them.) Anyway, I loved "Dreams." And having a President of the United States who can write so incredibly well is a stunning experience, to say the least. BUT, then I read this bland, dismissive, 'establishment' meme about election fraud in the "Audacity" excerpt. I haven't read "Audacity" yet, and am a little hesitant to face a disappointment, after the lively, rich, deep writing of "Dreams."

How can anybody who is so intelligence in so many other ways be so blind? Ask Hamlet, I guess, or Oedipus. Tragic blind spot?

In my tinfoil mode, I suspect that one of the reasons they permitted him to be elected was to END the movement for election reform, cuz 'TRADE SECRET' vote counting is so endlessly useful to the looters and plunderers who rule over us.

[madfloridian]

50. Recommended DFW. And look at this one being vetted...TN medicaid mess

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x268990

But Bredesen is insiderish enough to be acceptable.

[EFerrari]

52. I thought they needed someone with "experence on the Hill"?

That's what has been said for WEEKS. So, when did these two governors acquire that experience?

What a big bunch of youknowwhat.

:grr:

[EFerrari]

53. Btw, I have NO PROBLEM with rewarding Howard Dean for his efforts

on behalf of the Democratic Party. They owe more to him than they'll ever admit and that's probably why the establishment, with their record of FAILURE, doesn't want the visible reminder around.

Wherever Howard lands, I want to support him. If Rahm has his way, it won't be in DC. But regardless of that profound stupidity, I hope you keep us posted. DFW.

[chill_wind]

54. Yes-- if the new pragmatism can make room for Hard-Right Conservatives like Judd Gregg

in the Cabinet, it should also be able reach out in that same bipartisanship to qualified and actual Democrats who rebuilt this Party.

K & R.