Tillerson picked as SOS, Recommended by James Baker and Robert Gates

The New York Times ^ | Dec 12, 2016 | By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and MAGGIE HABERMAN

[nwrep]

Mr. Tillerson emerged as a contender on the strong recommendations of James A. Baker III, the secretary of state under President George Bush, and Robert M. Gates, the former defense secretary, according to a person briefed on the process.

Mr. Kushner and Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, advocated strongly for Mr. Tillerson, and the president-elect became intrigued.

[Lil Flower]

Kind of shows how the State Dept. got to where it is today, doesn’t it? Well it’s a wait and see now. I’m hoping a non-politician can clean that place out. But it also gives me pause that we all know globalist company lobbyist have been buying politicians for years, and in turn turning our country over to the highest bidder, Trump saying he’s against all of that, and now is turning the State Dept. over to a globalist company CEO.

[SamAdams76]

Thanks. What irks me about the "armchair quarterbacks" here is that they are not privy to all that went into the decision. What might appear on the surface to be a poor decision by Trump might actually be genius move when the entire background is known - which none of us on the sidelines can possibly know.

Not saying that Trump won't disappoint me from time to time but in the initial period, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and I'm making allowances for the fact that I am on the outside looking in. We just elected him, we ought to sit back and support him for the time being - let's give him a chance to show us what his administration can get done.

[sargon]

I won’t bother because it’s clear you have a school girl crush on Trump.

You won't bother because you can't bother.

And if you check my posting history, you'll see plenty of criticism of Donald Trump during his campaign. But don't let facts get in the way of hand-wringing.

At this point, I've learned to trust Trump's judgement, for the most part, and I will be giving him the benefit of the doubt, at least until he goes through the formality of actually being inaugurated.

President-elect Trump's choice of Secretary of State nominee appears to have been given more thought than just about any other position he's filling, so flippantly dismissing his choice, while carping about issues which have nothing to do with the SoS job description, is disingenuous, at best...

[TTFX]

“as much as I like The Donald’s other picks, didn’t we beat Russia in the Cold War for a reason? so only America can be an influential world power? It seems like Trump might not have a problem with there being another world power; not very Reagan-like.”

The Russian economy and GDP is so small compared to the United States that you don’t need to worry for about it for a very long time.

[RedWulf]

>You don’t view it wisely.

>Wisdom is a single fact: Russia is the #1 oil producer in the world. It is civilization’s lifeblood and they have most of it with that huge surface area.

>Russia is the focus. Nothing else. This guy knows Russia.

Hopefully the focus is building an alliance with Russia. China is now richer than we are an alliance against Islamic expansion and China is in our and Russia’s best interests.

[No Socialist]

Thanks for that link! Great interview. I like him.

Smart guy, direct and great comments about fracking and global warming.

No B.S. climate change taxes, treaties or agreements.

[DandG13]

Very sorry for your loss. As conservatives, we need to choose our battles, and at this time many have family members and friends openly or closeted homosexual, and we need to back off (that does not include backing off the transgender bathrooms). I doubt seriously he will be traveling the globe promoting homosexuality, he will be doing the job for which he was chosen and that’s to help make America great again, as he has done for Exxon.

[nikos1121]

Can’t imagine the pay cut. He was probably paid millions annually at EXXON. He’ll have to divest his investments. This is the sign of a true patriot that he would take the job.

AMAZING STORY OF SUCCESS.

[Sam Gamgee]

Not THE James Baker of Baker Bots who runs cover for the Saudis?

[Beautiful_Gracious_Skies]

I wholeheartedly agree. Rex Tillerson was smart enough to lose the scouting battle but win the war. He preserved the BSA. He was up against a nearly militant lobby that was doing everything in their power to permanently destroy the Boy Scouts. The BSA board voted 4:1 to allow for LGBT scout masters. Not just Tillerson; the leaders made their choice. There were numerous lawsuits all over the map whereby the Boy Scouts were losing facilities due to litigation and strong-arm techniques by a well-heeled gay-lobby. The BSA lost tens of millions of dollars from their corporate sponsors, meeting facilities (both public & private), dockage facilities, and too many perks to list. This LGBT issue was a lost cause following the scotus decision of Lawrence v. Texas in 2003. They have progressed through all levels of education and effectively ignored both the moral and infectious disease factors that once constrained behavior. Now, a reversal of policy would need to be a well orchestrated declaration from the Surgeon General that would be applied and followed through the medical community and the educational system. Tillerson was in a no-win situation and he did not stand in front of the freight train to stop it. His current appointment appears completely unrelated to this issue BTW, thank you for all the wonderful Trump rally threads, it's so much better to share the events with your FR thread commonality. Were you able to catch a live rally or two in Georgia? Thanks for sharing your family's experience and POV from a position of loss. Prayers for you and yours, τη συμπάθειά μουyour.

[nikos1121]

I agree. Look at post #110

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Totally agree with you.

We need to step back and let President elect Trump work - and then we need to hold the Sen. and Reps. responsible if they work to defeat the Trump agenda......and burn up the phone lines and email lines when it seems they are getting wobbly on us.

[arrogantsob]

Nothing does the Left hate more than the oil bidness. This nomination is a thumb to its eye. I support it for that reason alone.

[smokingfrog]

http://www.ricehadleygates.com/work/

[Sam Gamgee]

James Baker, the lawyer for the Saudis. I hope it really was not on that SOBs say so.

[Sam Gamgee]

I friggin hate surrender monkey James Baker.

[Sam Gamgee]

Great and this POS is our SOS?