Free Republic

Tom Blumer from BizzyBlog has updated his map of the ObamaCare/PelosiCare behemoth and what it creates. Namely 111 agencies, regulators, committees, boards and offices: (click on picture to enlarge) Meanwhile Senator Gregg reacts to the new CBO estimate: Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee today commented on the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) more detailed cost estimate of the manager’s amendment to the House health reform bill. Senator Gregg stated, “The CBO estimate released last night finally sheds light on the smoke and mirrors game the majority has been playing with the cost of their health...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A leading fiscal mind on Capitol Hill and a one-time Obama Cabinet pick sounded the alarm Sunday over the projected long-term financial challenges the country faces. “This deficit is driven by us,” New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg candidly said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union when asked about the federal government’s projected $1.42 trillion operating deficit for the 2009 fiscal year. “You talk about systemic risk. The systemic risk today is the Congress of the United States,“ the Ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, “that we’re creating...

These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the Three [heroes], known also as Adino the Eznite; he wielded his spear and went against 800 men, who were slain at one time. (2 Sam. 23:8)

Mccain's abstain "makes sense" to me, given that he's the de facto amnesty republican. But what's Vitter's excuse? He also had an amendment to defund ACORN, did he not? I say defeat them all in the primaries for their support of this criminal enterprise.

HEALTH CARE affects each person in our country on a personal level. Here in New Hampshire, and throughout our country, families are worried about whether they will be able to pay for routine care, such as doctor checkups or prescription medication, not to mention how they would pay for unexpected large medical costs, such as a life-threatening illness or injury. They are concerned about how to afford staying healthy, or how to cope with medical bills that could bankrupt their families.

Partisan anger flared Wednesday as senators began the public drafting of legislation to remake the health care system. By day’s end, lawmakers had settled in for a long, hard slog that may not fit with President Obama’s goal of signing a bill within four months. ... Another Senate committee, dogged by questions about the cost and complexity of the legislation, postponed its session, scheduled for next Tuesday, until after July 4. Democrats said they needed the delay by the Finance Committee to work on reducing the cost of the bill, intended to provide insurance to millions of people with no...

Is it just me, or did Bernanke say to scale back entitlements? I wonder how that will go over with Dems.

Should the federal government tempt people to cease volunteering at churches and instead be paid to “volunteer” at government-subsidized projects? That’s the essence of the “Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act” which President Obama signed into law on April 21. Sponsored by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), the bill passed the House by a vote of 275 to 149. The multi-billion-dollar spending bill triples the size of federal paid “volunteer” programs including AmeriCorps while killing funds for the faith-friendly Points of Light Institute. The ayes list had 26 Republicans, including Mark Souder (Ind.), Chris Smith (N.J.) and Vern Buchanan (Fla.). The...

Sen. Judd Gregg is perhaps best known for something he didn't do. Two weeks into the Obama administration, he announced that he was leaving the Senate to become commerce secretary. Two weeks later, he withdrew his name, drawing a testy jab from the administration for denying it a bipartisan feather in its cap. It's hard to reconcile the man who nearly boarded the Obama express with the tough-minded Republican senator who sat across from The Wall Street Journal's editorial board at our offices earlier this week. As for the lessons he learned from his dalliance with the administration, he reserves...

WASHINGTON -- Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' nomination as health and human services secretary remained on course Wednesday, even as she became yet another Obama Cabinet candidate with the back tax blues. On the eve of her appearance before the Senate Finance Committee, news she had to pay $8,000 in back taxes didn't appear to trigger a sudden effort to derail her nomination. "We wouldn't be having this hearing if we didn't think the tax things were pretty well taken care of," said Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the committee's ranking Republican. Another committee member, Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona,...

When it came time to introduce his latest amendment to the President's proposed budget, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and his Senate colleagues couldn't resist cracking a few jokes. Gregg introduced an amendment on the Senate floor yesterday that would have required 60 votes, a "supermajority," to pass any budget that would rack up as much or more debt in the next 10 years than has already accumulated between 1789 -- the birth of the federal government -- and Jan. 20, 2009 -- the birth of the Barack Obama presidency. Gregg's office said the publicly held federal debt amassed from 1789...

Last month, New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg agreed to join President Barack Obama's cabinet as Commerce Secretary, but then he abruptly withdrew his name, saying he and the president were "functioning from a different set of views on many different items of policy." Saturday, Gregg drove the point home when he warned that Obama is engineering an "extraordinary move of our government to the left." Gregg, one of the Senate's leading voices on budget issues, charged in the GOP's weekly radio and Internet address that Obama's proposals would "dramatically grow the size and cost of government and move it...

Republicans say the path to prosperity is not the excessive spending proposed by President Barack Obama but limited spending that holds down the growth of government, taxes and debt. ''We believe you create prosperity by having an affordable government that pursues its responsibilities without excessive costs, taxes or debt,'' Sen. Judd Gregg said Saturday in the GOP radio and Internet address. Gregg, who was offered the job of Obama's commerce secretary but withdrew his name, has become one of the toughest critics of Obama's handling of the economy. ''In the next five years, President Obama's budget will double the national...

WASHINGTON – The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee says the Obama administration is on the right course to save the nation's financial system. But Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire also says President Barack Obama's massive budget proposal will bankrupt the country. Gregg says he has no regrets in withdrawing his nomination to become commerce secretary. He pulled out after deciding he could not fully back the administration's economic policies. The senator said Obama's spending plan in the midst of a prolonged recession would leave the next generation with a country too expensive to live in. Gregg appeared...

Gregg says Geithner, “You said you’re controlling spending but you’re not. ..You’re not addressing the Spending.”Gregg points out blow by blow the HYPOCRISY riddled through Obama’s Budget entitled ironically, “A New Era of Fiscal Responsibility.” Greg writes, “The argument that this budget doesn’t have tax increases is, I think, an Alice and Wonderland view of the budget.” -Raising the tax rate from 35% to 42%, eliminating deductions on mortgages and on charitable deductions. Small businesses will be feel the burden the most. -“Cutting the debt in half in four years is truly spurious, because you take the deficit and quadruple...

New Hampshire Senator (again) Judd Gregg has been called many things in the past few weeks. With Obama's courting, like a quarterback trying to get his hands in a cheerleader's blouse before never talking to her again, Gregg was placed in a national spotlight he would never attained by being mere Senator of one of our 57 States. But now that he slapped away the quarterback's hand and fled the backseat, what now for poor Judd? It seems there are only three ways to view him: Devious Manipulator, Moral Statesman, or complete Dumbass. Larry Kudlow, in National Review, takes the...

Unfortunately for the Obama administration, Judd Gregg’s withdrawal as commerce secretary has highlighted the effort by the White House to wrest control of the census (and with it, the groundwork for the 2010 Congressional reapportionment). Gregg took a second or third tier issue and vaulted it to the front pages. Since word had broken that the White House intended to take oversight of the census out of the Commerce Department and give it to the hyper-partisan political operator Rahm Emanuel, the Republicans had worked feverishly to raise public awareness. They had hit the Sunday talk shows and written letters to...

(2009-02-13) — With the announcement that Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) has pulled out of his bid to become President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Commerce the Republican National Committee (RNC) today offered Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) as a replacement. “Sen. Specter is a career lawyer and politician, but he’s a fast learner and could be quickly trained to run the Commerce Department,” said RNC Chairman Michael Steele. “Of course, Republicans would miss his stalwart, reliable voting in the Senate. Conservatives never have to wonder how Arlen Specter will vote.” White House insiders suggested Sen. Specter could get the same deal from...

Yesterday brought one of the few bright spots for our side in a while when we heard that Judd Gregg had turned down Obama’s empty offer to appoint him as Commerce Secretary. Conservatives felt a surge of satisfaction that the Senator from New Hampshire had experienced a “St Paul on the road to Damascus” type awakening and realized he was deserting our team at a very critical moment. There was speculation that Gregg had second thoughts about trusting the Democrat Governor of his state actually appoint another Republican as his replacement – as if that ever had a chance of...

Judd Gregg was all but dead to his Republican colleagues just a few days ago, another collaborator drinking the Obama Kool-Aid. But the New Hampshire senator's surprise decision to remove himself from consideration as President Barack Obama’s Commerce secretary Thursday has provided the GOP with a new rallying cry, and a new hero against a foe who just a few weeks ago seemed almost unassailable. Republicans applauded boisterously when Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) opened a closed-door meeting in the Capitol basement Thursday night by announcing Gregg’s withdrawal. "He made a difficult decision to turn down a job that a lot...

Syria's state news agency hustled out an announcement on Tuesday, Feb. 10, saying that the "U.S. Trade Department agrees to provide spare parts for rehabilitating Syrian Airlines..." ... The planes will be overhauled by a Saudi-based Boeing-Saudi joint venture, Alsalam Aircraft Co...

While speaking at the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial in Springfield, Illinois on Thursday, Barack Obama took a shot at Rep. Judd Gregg, who withdrew himself earlier in the day from consideration as the President's secretary of commerce: "Here in Springfield," Obama said, "it's easier.. to reflect on Lincoln the man, rather than the marble giant, before Gettysburg..., before emancipation was proclaimed.... In 1854 Lincoln was simply a Springfield lawyer who served just a single term in congress, possibly in his law office, his feet on a cluttered desk, his sons playing around him, his clothes a bit too small to fit...

Republican Sen. Judd Gregg has withdrawn his nomination for U.S. commerce secretary. The stated reason is his disagreement with the Obama Administration over the stimulus bill. The real reason is probably the humiliation he has suffered over reports Obama is taking the 2010 census away from him. I am sure he disagrees with the stimulus and the partisan way it was rammed through the Senate. However, I doubt that is reason enough to withdraw. The stimulus bill does provide a good cover for his withdrawal over the census issue.

Judd Gregg made clear Thursday he would rather serve in the Senate than in the Obama administration, but the New Hampshire Republican said he “probably” will not seek a fourth term next year. “Will I run? Probably not,” Gregg said at a press conference after withdrawing from the Commerce post. Gregg also told the New Hampshire Union-Leader earlier in the day that he does not intend to seek re-election.

"Mr. Gregg approached us with interest and seemed enthusiastic," he told State Journal-Register in Springfield, Illinois. "But ultimately, I think, we're going to just keep on making efforts to build the kind of bipartisan consensus around important issues that I think the American people are looking for." ... White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement late Thursday afternoon saying "we regret that he has had a change of heart." "Sen. Gregg reached out to the president and offered his name for secretary of commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies,...

OBAMA BURNED: GREGG WITHDRAWS AFTER POLICIES TOO MUCH TO STOMACH Thu Feb 12 2009 16:18:14 ET For Immediate Release: Thursday, February 12, 2009 Senator Gregg Statement on His Withdrawal for Consideration of U.S. Commerce Secretary Sen. Gregg stated, “I want to thank the President for nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle. “However, it has become apparent during this...

A rather pointed statement from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs: “Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President’s agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart.”

House Republicans will defend the integrity of the U.S. Census at a Capitol Hill press conference on Thursday. On Wednesday, they sent a letter to President Barack Obama, expressing “grave concerns” about the administration’s plan to transfer control of the 2010 Census to White House staffers. Doing so would result in “the unprecedented politicization of the Census and open the door to massive waste and abuse in the expenditure of taxpayer funds, billions of which are distributed on the basis of Census data,” Republicans wrote. Republicans note that an estimated $300 billion in taxpayer funding is distributed by the federal...

Sen. Gregg withdraws nomination as Sec. Commerce

The last time a Democratic President asked a New Hampshire Republican to serve in his Cabinet, a move was made at the next Republican National Convention to formally run the fellow out of the Grand Old Party. Cooler heads prevailed. We don't expect the same fate to befall Sen. Judd Gregg, but he may want to keep history in mind. Frank Knox was the New Hampshire Republican in question. His party bona fides were unquestioned up until the call from Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940 on the eve of World War II. Four years earlier, Knox had been the Republican...

Conservatives clearly have more than enough reason to worry because all of the praise being heaped on her by New Hampshire Democrats suggests she won't be as reliable as the least dependable of the GOP's current sitting Senators. Newman, after all, endorsed Lynch when he first sought the governorship in 2002 against the sitting governor, Republican Craig Benson. And she has described herself as a "reasonable Republican" - not exactly the kind of self-identification that suggests she has an altogether favorable impression of her own party. Lynch's selection of Newman, who has already indicated she will not seek a full...

Gregg is nominated to be Secretary of Commerce. Just in time to remove him from the Senate negotiations and vote on Porkulus Maximus. Latino thugs -- backed by ACORN (which is getting $4B from Porkulus to throw all future elections to the Dems) -- whine that they don't trust Gregg to be fair in doing the 2010 census. The One announces that, due to concerns of minorities, the census will be moved to Rahm Emanuel's office, since Emanuel is the perfect, impartial official who can be trusted. Late 2009: Gregg is removed as SECCOM for "not being a team player"...

Sen. Judd Gregg yesterday declined all comment on reports that the White House will strip him of his authority over the federal Census Bureau even before he becomes Secretary of Commerce. Gregg spokesman Laena Fallon said all comment would come from the White House. The Census Bureau is a key part of the Department of Commerce. The Capitol Hill publication Congressional Quarterly yesterday reported that the White House, responding to minority groups' concerns about Gregg's commitment to funding the census, has decided to have the director of the Census Bureau report directly to the White House. Minorities are traditionally concerned...

The director of the Census Bureau will report directly to the White House and not the secretary of Commerce, according to a senior White House official. The decision came after black and Hispanic leaders raised questions about Commerce Secretary nominee Judd Gregg ’s commitment to funding the census. Gregg, New Hampshire’s senior senator, voted in committee and on the floor for a 1995 Republican budget that envisioned the elimination of the Commerce Department. Of even more concern to black and Hispanic leaders, Gregg battled President Clinton over a request for “emergency” funding for the 2000 census. “Secretary of Commerce-designate Judd...

J. Bonnie Newman, the woman poised to become New Hampshire's newest senator, has spent 40 years moving among high-profile jobs in politics, academia and the business world. But even for her colleagues and admirers, the precise contours of Newman's personal politics are unclear. Newman, a 63-year-old Republican, has never run for public office, never cast a legislative vote, never outlined a campaign platform. Colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, describe her as a nonideological problem-solver - with a wicked sense of humor and a serious golf habit. They praise her work ethic and her ability to bring together people of differing...

Bonnie Newman announced as the replacement for Senator Gregg.

President ObamaÂ’s new candidate to run the Commerce Department voted in favor of abolishing the agency as a member of the Budget Committee and on the Senate floor in 1995. Sen. Judd Gregg , R-N.H., whose nomination was expected to be announced Tuesday, also worked in the Senate to trim the departmentÂ’s budget as head of the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee. GreggÂ’s 1995 votes were cast for the fiscal 1996 budget resolution, a nonbinding blueprint that outlined the GOPÂ’s fiscal priorities after Republicans won full control of Congress for the first time in 40 years. The Senate version of the controversial...

Judas Gregg and Team Obama: A perfect fit By Michelle Malkin • February 2, 2009 08:00 PM Well, it looks increasingly likely that GOP Sen. Judd Gregg will be named the new Commerce Secretary nominee following the Bill Richardson fiasco. (Update: Gregg accepts.) Gregg championed the Crap Sandwich and regurgitated every Chicken Little talking point and fiscal myth to sell it: Gregg then crusaded to release the second half of the Crap Sandwich despite the Treasury Department’s obstinate lack of disclosure and miserable bungling of its ever-evolving objective. And he calls himself a “fiscal conservative?” What we have here is...

Senator John Kyl (R- AZ) proves he is smoking dope by lauding the potential choice of Republican Senator Judd Gregg for Commerce Secretary. On Fox news Sunday, Kyl drooled, "It shows a great deal of perspicacity on the part of President Obama to select a guy like Judd Gregg, who is just a phenomenal senator, very bright." Regardless of Greggs checkbook street-cred, his departure from the Senate would take the rolls one step closer to a filibuster-proof majority for the Dems. Senior Republicans, however, believe there is no danger of Obama taking advantage of that opportunity. If Gregg leaves, the...

All eyes in the Senate were on Republican Judd Gregg of New Hampshire Thursday amid speculation that President Obama is seriously considering him as his Commerce secretary. For his part, Gregg refused to comment on reports that he is a finalist. Obama had earlier tapped Democratic New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for the position, but he withdrew in December amid a federal corruption probe. "I really don't have any comment on that at all," Gregg said. Later he added, "I can't comment at all on this." If Obama were to nominate Gregg, it could have significant implications for the Senate....

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is considering nominating Republican Sen. Judd Gregg as his commerce secretary, officials in Washington and New Hampshire said Thursday night. Senior Democrats say the New Hampshire senator is among the top of a list of those considered for Obama's Cabinet, although they emphasized that no move was imminent. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no decision has been made and they were not authorized to discuss the administration's thinking. Gregg was the GOP's chief negotiator for the $700 billion bailout of the financial industry. That alone would deliver him a tough re-election bid...

I think this says it all Thank you, Mark Gregg, wherever and whoever you are. Dear Mr. Obama, It is October 2, 2008. My name is Mark Gregg. I am a 50 something conservative white male. I have followed your campaign closely, including the speeches you and others made at the democratic national convention. I am respectfully providing you with seven simple (probably shallow) reasons why I could never vote for you. I believe my opinion is shared by many people. While there may not be quite enough to prevent you from becoming president of this nation, I do think...

Senate Republicans are resisting calls to shut down the government if Democrats try to keep a longstanding offshore drilling ban intact. Despite the party’s election-year rallying cry that expanding offshore drilling would lower high gas prices and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, several GOP senators said holding up a must-pass continuing resolution (CR), which may include an extension of the drilling ban, is not yet in the calculus. “Obviously, there will be an interest for getting a vote on drilling in the CR, but it’s not going to lead to any dramatic event,” said Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), an...

OVER THE LAST few months, I have joined you in taking the opportunity to meet the candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination, to learn about their positions on the issues, to meet their families, and to examine their records. This is a critical election that will determine the future course of our country. When evaluating a candidate, we must take into account the full breadth of their experience, vision and values. What I have found is that Mitt Romney is the leader we need in Washington. Our country needs Romney's experience in Washington. Throughout his career, he has taken...

Monday, Oct 29, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Kevin Madden (857) 288-6390Boston, MA – Today, Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) announced his endorsement of Governor Mitt Romney for President of the United States. Senator Gregg is New Hampshire's Senior Senator, and in 2004, he received the highest number of votes in any election in the state's history. He will be joining Governor Romney as he campaigns throughout New Hampshire today and in the coming weeks and months. "I am proud to stand alongside Governor Romney as he campaigns to build a stronger America. For months, the people of New Hampshire have...

The Republican rebellion against the war in Iraq widened over the weekend as more of the party’s senators voiced dissent against President George W. Bush’s strategy. Republican unity on Iraq has shattered in recent weeks, amid mounting pessimism about the ability of US forces to bring stability to the country. Weakening Republican support for the war has left Mr Bush looking increasingly isolated as Congressional Democrats prepare for a fresh barrage of votes aimed at forcing a US withdrawal from Iraq. Three Republican senators have joined the calls for a change of course in Iraq in recent days, adding to...

JOHN Sununu has reason to be irritated and concerned. Last week, television stations in his home state of New Hampshire began showing advertisements attacking the senator, nearly two full years before he is up for re-election next November.Sununu's crime was to play a part in preventing the US Senate from debating a resolution that would have expressed disapproval of President George Bush's plan to deploy five more brigades of troops to Iraq. The senator, who like the rest of his Republican colleagues has long been a reliable supporter of the president, faces a key test: repudiate his past backing for...

"...Whether you agree with the President or whether you disagree with the President. Whether you support a commitment of more troops or you don't support a commitment of more troops. Once those troops are on the ground in the fight, we're going to give them the financial support, the logistical support the equipment that they need in order to protect themselves and pursue their mission effectively. You don't have to support the President to support this language. It's not language which is designed to say the President is right or the President is wrong. It's simply language which is designed...

WASHINGTON -- Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire yesterday used his last major floor speech as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to blast his own party's leadership in Congress, accusing Republican leaders of engaging in the type of fiscal recklessness that he said led voters to oust the GOP from power. Gregg, who will give up the Budget Committee gavel when his party relinquishes control of Congress in January, issued his unusually harsh critique in reference to a sweeping tax-cut bill that Republicans were rushing through in the final hours of the congressional session. "The American people took the...