For those of you who read that liberal rag, The New York Times, you might have seen Nicholas Kristof's brilliant article today. He brings up the decision over the Deputy USDA Secretary. Now here's the thing:
- Obama is FOR farm subsidy payment limits.
- One of the candidates for Deputy Secretary is ALSO for farm subsidy payment limits (Chuck Hassebrook - the best guy for the job IMHO).
- Because of Hassebrook's position, he is called "controversial."
- Some Senators oppose Hassebrook and are seriously endangering his chances of getting the appointment because of this.
So, it's controversial to side WITH Obama on an issue?????? And THAT is a reason to choose someone else for the job? Why are we even having this discussion?
UPDATE: It seems like from the comments there are questions like "Is this really a big deal?" and "Why is this really a big deal?" I think it IS a big deal. Here's why. We're looking at 4-8 years of policy fights down the road. The best way to win many of those fights up front is by putting the right people in the government who agree with us. So - do we want any say in agriculture and food over the next 4-8 years? Absolutely. Now's the best time to get somebody whose values reflect our own in at the top of the USDA.
The effect the appointment will have is a lot bigger than the one issue detailed below. I just find it hilarious and strange that the reason why people are choosing to go after Hassebrook is an area where he agrees with Obama. That's no way to paint him as a crazy radical. Not if people are paying attention, at least.
----
The issue at hand is whether to cap commodity subsidies to farmers at $250,000. The rationale is that $250k is a lot to a small farmer who is at risk of losing his or her farm - but it's peanuts to an enormous farmer. So - everyone's equal under the law, everyone's entitled to the same $250k, but this is still a progressive policy. And it will save taxpayers a LOT of money... money that could go into conservation programs, perhaps.
Last year, this very idea was debated in the Senate. Senators Grassley and Dorgan proposed it as a bipartisan amendment to the farm bill and it narrowly failed. Had the amendment passed, it would have saved taxpayers $1.15 billion over 5 years. It got the majority of Senate votes... but not the supermajority. It fell four votes short.
So this isn't even a very controversial idea. A majority of Senators are FOR it. The President of the Unites States is FOR it. Yet, here's what has been said about Chuck Hassebrook, my favorite choice for Deputy USDA Secretary:
But according to DTN, Capitol Hill sources say a Hassebrook nomination would be highly controversial because he has been such a strong critic of farm programs. Hassebrook is an advocate of strict farm-program payment limits. (Source)
Meanwhile, a House Agriculture Committee member and a key Senate aide said they believe Chuck Hassebrook, executive director for the Center for Rural Affairs, is a top candidate for deputy secretary.
Other Capitol Hill sources said a Hassebrook nomination would be highly controversial and might not make it out of the Senate Agriculture Committee because he has been such a strong critic of farm programs. Hassebrook is an advocate of strict farm program payment limits and favors more spending on nonagricultural rural development. (Source)
Here's how the Senate Ag Committee stands on commodity subsidy payment limits:
For: 8
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Ben Nelson (D-NE)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Bob Casey (D-PA)
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Dick Lugar (R-IN)
John R. Thune (R-SD)
Against: 9
Max Baucus (D-MT)
Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Unknown: 4
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Mike Johanns (R-NE)
(vacant seat reserved for Norm Coleman lol)
The funny thing is that the subsidy payment limits is just the bare minimum of the change we need... But man would it be great to have someone in charge at the USDA who is at least willing to START fixing the problem.
Please, shoot off a quick email to your 2 Senators - especially if they are on the ag committee - and ask them to support Chuck Hassebrook for Deputy USDA Secretary!