Posted on 05/12/2010 1:02:21 PM PDT by Publius
WA Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) leads a short list to replace Solicitor General Elena Kagan, the WH has told members of Gregoire's home-state delegation.
Gregoire, a 2-term incumbent and a former WA AG, has been a rumored contender for other admin positions. But the WH has informed top aides to WA members that she is under serious consideration, according to several sources inside the delegation.
An admin official confirmed Gregoire's name is one of those being considered. Gregoire endorsed candidate Obama just before the WA caucuses in '08, offering a helping hand as Obama picked up two-thirds of the state's delegates.
Gregoire's appointment would elevate LG Brad Owen (D), a conservative Dem who has held his largely ceremonial post since '96. Several more prominent Dems have been angling to run for the state's top job in '12, when Gregoire was expected to pass on a third term.
WA insiders put Rep. Jay Inslee (D) at the top of the Dem list. Snohomish Co. Exec. Aaron Reardon (D) and Rep. Adam Smith (D) are also mentioned as potential contenders. On the other side, ex-state Sen. Dino Rossi (R), who lost twice to Gregoire by narrow margins, is the most popular GOPer in the state, but Dem strategists are most worried about AG Rob McKenna (R), who covets the job.
If Gregoire makes the cut, she would immediately be in position to land on another short list -- the solicitor general, who represents the government before the Supreme Court, is sometimes called the 10th Justice, and those who hold the job are often considered potential SCOTUS nominees. Obama has reportedly told top aides he wants to be the first president to appoint 3 women to the high court. Several other women -- most notably District Court Judge Diane Wood, MI Gov. Jennifer Granholm and DHS Sec. Janet Napolitano -- have been on Obama's radar as possible SCOTUS picks too.
Gregoire would also be the latest in a series of WA officials to move to DC. Ex-Gov. Gary Locke serves as Commerce Sec. Ex-King Co. Exec. Ron Sims, who finished second behind Gregoire in the '04 Dem primary, is the number 2 official at HUD. And ex-Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske heads the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
I said it was a rhetorical question. Actually, I think the 3 women thing is a compromise--he'd rather appoint on the basis of race than sex.
Who in hell is advising the idiot in the White House to put this garbage in charge???
Thank you.....I damn near had a heart attack!
Replace as nominee...?
No. Kagan goes to Supreme Court, and Gregoire goes to Solicitor General.
Why is all the garbage floating to the top?
Was her nose photoshopped?
Or best brain surgeon...
In the Supreme Court, with liberal "living Constitution" activist judges, it isn't about being able to read the document and discern the meaning, it's about gaming the system to justify a conclusion you've already reached...
It’s a matter of physics. Scum always rises to the top.
I’ve said it before - WA is the most liberal state in the US right now. This makes perfect sense to me. I’d say we’re more liberal than Chicago, and we definitely have more of an affinity to pure socialism than any other state does at this point.
We still have Boeing, you see. They haven’t pulled stumps for SC just yet, but believe me the shift is on.
The geniuses here in Snohomish County actually HOSTED the Charleston Economic Development Council in Everett. SC PROMISED not to poach suppliers while they were here.
It wasn’t two weeks later that the Everett Herald announced that one of Boeing’s key suppliers was opening up a facility in SC (100 jobs).
Maybe there’s a lot more lead in the pipes here than in other places, but Western WA south of Skagit County is big on arrogance, and small on acumen - business or political.
It has a long and honored history in that area. In 1936, Jim Farley, FDR's Postmaster General and political fixer, described the US as "47 states and the Soviet of Washington."
Gregoire? I wonder who the NEXT democrat will be to steal the Wash. State governors mansion?
No, that’s the original honker.
Voting the graveyards only works in close elections. This next one won’t be close.
On second thought .... don’t.
Where is Kagan going? Is there a sale at Luskins on Monsanto carpet?
Kagan is going to the Supreme Court, at least as far as anyone can see right now. This for her replacement as Solicitor General.
You are most learned.
I will use this bit of trivia to its fullest extent.
Not at that price. Better to suffer her until she’s voted out in 2012
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