Judd Gregg's insistence that he will only serve as Secretary of Commerce if he's replaced by a Republican prompts a nice bit of snark from Brian Beutler. "Surely Gregg’s desire to replace himself with somebody who will often oppose his new boss’s agenda is evidence of his deep commitment to the administration, the cabinet, and the agency he appears poised to head," writes Brian. Presumably, however, the Obama administration is not getting duped here either. Gregg is a conservative Republican who once voted to abolish the Department of Commerce. There are costs to having him inflict his beliefs on that agency. So what does the administration gain through his appointment? The zero House Republicans who voted for the stimulus bill will not see their minds changed by Gregg's appointment. Gregg might be of more use in the Senate, where he's long served in the Republican leadership and could effectively identify wavering and vulnerable Republican votes. But given Gregg's insistence on replacing himself with a Republican, it's hard to imagine him lobbying aggressively for liberal bills. So what are you left with? Well, possibly a less-bad Republican. New Hampshire's Democratic governor, John Lynch, is likely to appoint J. Bonnie Newman to the seat. Newman previously served chief of staff to Gregg and executive dean at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. But the more interesting fact about her is that she endorsed Lynch when he challenged Republican Governor Craig Benson in 2004. So there's some possibility that she's a quisling Republican of sorts. She'll caucus with McConnell but vote for cap-and-trade. This Republican seems to think so. What do readers know about her? Another argument is that Gregg's long history and deep roots in New Hampshire leave him a safe Republican in an increasingly blue state. But if he's ousted from the seat, it instantly becomes a Democratic pick-up opportunity in the next election. The question becomes whether you believe that these opportunities for an extra vote or an extra seat outweigh the damage Gregg could do at Commerce. And I don't know enough about the autonomy and responsibilities of the Commerce Secretary to make a confident judgment.
