HOMEY JUST GOT PLAYED:

Judd Gregg Withdraws as Commerce Nominee (AP, 2/12/09)

Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire abruptly withdrew his nomination as commerce secretary Thursday, citing "irresolvable conflicts" with President Barack Obama's handling of the economic stimulus and 2010 census. [...]

Sen. Gregg, 61 years old, is a former New Hampshire governor who previously served in the House. He has been in the Senate since 1993 and currently serves as the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, where he is known as a crusader against big spending

When your bipartisan cover bails on matters of principle it's called a self-inflicted wound.

MORE:
Gregg Withdraws Amid Census Flap, Stimulus Debate (Jonathan Allen, 2/12/09, CQ )

Black and Hispanic leaders had taken issue with Gregg’s nomination because he had opposed President Clinton’s request for additional funding for the 2000 census and because he had voted in favor of abolishing the Commerce Department.

A senior White House official told CQ last week that a decision had been made to have the Census director report directly to the White House, a move that appeared to assuage black and Hispanic leaders.

But it sparked outrage from House Republicans, who argued that the politically delicate process of counting Americans and collecting data on numerous aspects of their lives would be removed from the policy realm and into the political realm if the Census director were to report to the West Wing of the White House and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel .

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Posted by Orrin Judd at February 12, 2009 4:44 PM