With all the speculation about why Judd Gregg withdrew, I'm shocked that this is not among the top theories. Why, when an influential fiscal conservative was appointed to controll commerce in this country, would he give it up?
The answer is simple, he did not want to give energy to the gathering storm of the democratic surge. Analogies aside, there are perhaps three possibilities, one, he didn't get control of the census (bwah), two, he was nominated so that he could abstain (which he wanted to do, but needed cover for, and thus may be a reliable vote for Obama in the future), or three, his supposed deal with Governor Lynch was a farce, possibly in concert with option two, and he was told, that if he gave a fillibuster proof majority (like that's possible with the DINOs) to the Democrats, he would be a pariah, and he could never again expect help from the rusuckagains. Perhaps .
He also said that he would not run for re-election, and I think this is telling. I think he may have received quite a few 'strongly worded letters' about this appointment, and some of them may have been from fellow senators.
Quite simply, he took the path of least resistance, which was to withdraw and retreat. Funny how most republicans don't seem to understand when it's time to give up. Thankfully Gregg just did. this might not have been true.
Gov. John Lynch (D-NH) indicated today he'll appoint a Republican to replace Sen. Judd Gregg if Obama nominates the New Hampshire senator to be Secretary of Commerce. In a statement, Lynch said that Gregg made it clear that he would not resign the seat if it would tip the balance in the Senate
>>> Updated with a bit more stuff ya know there and also.
>>> Updated again to tell people that an appointment cannot be made unless there is a vacant seat. Gregg's seat wasn't vacant, so stop saying Lynch appointed someone. He only announced his intention to do so. Come on people, I thought you guys knew how the system worked.
>>> Updated a third time to inform people that politicians are capable of backstabbing a friend, and they do it quite often. A politician's word is rarely worth the spittle it left on your cheek.