Posted on 11/04/2012 9:16:35 AM PST by nickcarraway
If Mitt Romney wins the election on Tuesday, he can expect another battle to begin almost immediately: The fight to block his moderate allies from key administration positions.
Conservatives are quietly making preparations to begin lobbying for these posts to be filled by reliable conservatives. Of course, this may also entail opposing some of Romney’s first choices — a fight whose opening salvo has already begun.
Sen. David Vitter is already sending signals he would attempt to block James Connaughton – Romney’s likely choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
(This is significant; Vitter is in line to become ranking member in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.)
According to The Hill, Vitter cited “emissions limits, potential restriction of offshore drilling and green energy funding — reflect an increasingly uniform GOP energy platform that Romney also has embraced,” as concerns about Connaughton.
Vitter also said “he could not support Connaughton’s previous backing for cap-and-trade rules for various types of emissions.”
This isn’t a case of Vitter merely having a personal vendetta. Connaughton would be bitterly opposed by movement conservatives.
As Cato’s Patrick Michaels noted, while serving as George W. Bush’s chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Connaughton “was flat-out for cap-and-trade legislation (or regulation) of carbon dioxide, advocating a ‘stringent’ target.”
I’ve previously noted that conservatives worry Romney transition chief Mike Leavitt will pack a future Romney administration with moderates and personal loyalists — and Connaughton is a prime example of the kind of appointment conservatives would attempt to derail.
Of course, blocking Romney (and Leavitt’s) more moderate picks won’t prove easy. At the upper echelons of the Republican world lies an incestuous network. Consider this: Romney consultant Ron Kaufman is married to the sister of former Bush Chief of Staff Andy Card. Card was replaced as Chief of Staff by Josh Bolton — whose sister married … James Connaughton.
Did you expect George W. Bush’s revolving door to close so soon?
Why not just shut the son-of-a-bitch down?
Vitter?
Exactly. The individual states all have their own versions of the EPA anyway.
That makes at least two from the Senate vowing to black Romney...sounds like they’re scared $hitless.
The next EPA administrator should be there to shut that fascist organization down and indict the criminals who infest that Nixon abomination.
Not likely from a Cap&Trade president.
The EPA is part of Nixon’s rancid Big Government legacy. What a disaster it’s been to the development of our nation!
Good enough issue an executive order, roll everything back, and then defund the sucker.
A Senator can’t issue an executive order.
I was talking about Romney when he wins.....I don’t give a crap what Vitter does or doesn’t do. You need another cup of java this morning your brain isn’t engaged
Hell yeah!!! I for one will be happy to get back to RINO Romney mode here at FR come November 7th. Till then, FUBO!!!!
A glimmer of hope that conservatives won’t just roll over. That’s always been a big concern of mine. Romney’s advisers/moneymen and early boosters are rife with those who supported cap-and-trade, homo-marriage, Obamacare, amnesty, and any number of pro big-government agendas. As great as it will be to be rid of Obama, conservatives and Tea Party folks are still going to have massive, wearying battles lying ahead.
I think Mike should go on a Mission to Kazakhstan.
Great.
How about Mittens bring back people from the Reagan Administration, beginning with Mark Levin?
Mark Levin should be the "transition chief".
I agree. Romney needs to include conservatives.
“Not likely from a Cap&Trade president.”
Exactly. He’s hardcore cap & trade. Sounds like your mind is engaged.
Isn't it nice and heart warming how the Dems care so much about Conservatives.
Set the EPA back 30-years by gutting it 80%, for starters.
Vitter is a prostitute using family values hypocrite
And you’re a friggin moron. The last perfect man was put on a cross. Vitter does a good job for Louisiana.
Romney will probably expand the EPA. Look who he’s nominating.
Yup, he does.
A heck of a lot better than the little blond Rat we have for our other senator.
Think she's fixing to get the *Boot* next time around.
I think you know that the EPA activists are buddy-buddy with the eco-lawyer foundations and coordinate lawsuits with them. Lawsuits where the EPA caves with a wink and a nod. I'll bet they line up favorable judges, when they are able to. The EPA is an affirmative action hiring hall. An excuse to employ the otherwise unemployable. The EPA could regulate fairly with 25% the "workers" it has. EPA "workers" are always dreaming up new absurd business-shackling regulations to justify their existence on the Federal payroll.
Matter of fact 50% of Federal workers in the DC region are unneeded. For them (mostly liberal and affirmative action hires) the Federale Gov't is a jobs program.
The real critical positions that conservatives must care about are in the next congress. It makes all the difference in the world in committee chairmen in the house and the senate are conservatives or not.
By far, the most important politician after the president is the senate majority leader. We can but hope that he is a hard nosed conservative, who will strip the Democrat senators of power like Harry Reid did the Republican senators. In past, the Republican senators have acted like abused children, trying to be ingratiating to the Democrats abusing them. This has to stop.
But the more conservatives, especially Tea Party conservatives, that become committee chairmen, the more the country has a chance to get back on track.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Senate_committees
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_United_States_House_of_Representatives_committees
The most important committees to utterly dominate are the Rules committees, that will set the rules for the senate and the house; Appropriations, which will determine what parts of the government are funded OR NOT; and Ways and Means, that sets tax policy.
But none of the other committees can be neglected.
The House leader will just go along with Romney. Rubber stamp his tax increases.
Said it before and I’ll say it again - Vitter should have resigned when his whore hopping became public. Besides the scumbag cheating on his wife part, lets not forget the fact he broke the law AND put himself at risk for blackmail. The fact he’s still in office is a disgrace.
Has any of this been proven/has he been convicted? Did you say the same things about Bush. (They said he took cocaine/forced tons of women to have abortions/went AWOL, etc.)
Better yet, any Senator who is against socialism and/or Obamacare should just be removed from office now?
http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/07/vitter_reemerges_and_again_ask.html
Once again, he should have resigned allowing the GOP Governor to appointment a non-scumbag to the position.
A novel way to spell EPA, I like it.
I say let him put whoever he wants in charge of EPA. Just limit the agency to a $20.00 a year budget to stay within.
Hows about Vitter SnTFU until we actually have won. This kinda crap can be exploited RIGHT NOW and probably will. The mods will have a difficult time shutting down conservatives in the house or Senate. We will get something along the lines of “Conservative light” if we are lucky.
That being said, lets not whine about it just yet. When you consider what the alternative is (oblahblah without a need to be in campaign mode) it will be a GIGANTIC improvement.
You have to see the curve coming before you can get ahead of it.
Sorry to hear that Romney even intends to HAVE an EPA chief...
which wasn’t even what my comment was about...A) Romney has not nominated anyone YET B) my comment was about the EPA in general...geez chill out. go back and read what I wrote and see it for what it is....a way to get rid of the EPA. Do I think it will ever happen? Not unless I am ruler of the universe for a day or two. Your sense of humor has apparently been lost at sea
exactly.... and for those who couldn’t tell there is a certain amount of humor is my response.....if one can’t see it they need to check themselves into some serious rehab to get their funny bone back
bump
< blush >
You will just have to excuse my failed levity detector right now. I am as taught as a Mack truck leaf spring right now. This often results in an intolerant, single minded, single result driven, mentality.
We are on the cusp of a very serious election, where very personal and serious matters that affect all of us will be dealt with. Just not in a laughing mood right now.
I would throw tomatoes at really top drawer comedians for even thinking they could get so much as a chuckle out of me right now.
I have been cranky a lot lately too....we will know soon enough
What do you suggest?
I can talk about it on Wednesday...
Try reading up on Romney, not the marketing hype you've been spoon fed the last year.
Romney will do NOTHING to stop illegal immigration, he will not touch kenyancare (his buddies make too much money from it), he will not appoint any conservatives to judicial openings, he's for gun control, abortion and the welfare state. He will sell out the GOP at every turn by 'reaching across the aisle' to 'get things done'.Think he'll trim welfare roles? Think he'll "bring jobs to America"? Then you're delusional.
I have. I also have seen the destruction done by the Obama administration. I know the only viable alternative to 4 more years of Obama is Romney/Ryan. Johnson is an open borders, illicit drug legalizing advocate and Goode is a former Democrat and lawyer.
I do agree with you: it it truely a case of the lesser to the two evils.
I noticed one of my cousins was wandering around FLA a while back supposedly on Church Work or visiting their son, the story changed.
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