Hillary Clinton passed on Appropriations chair to become Obama's Secretary of State

[ProSense]

Hillary Clinton passed on Appropriations chair to become Obama's Secretary of State

BY KENNETH R. BAZINET
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Updated Saturday, November 29th 2008, 6:11 PM

WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton passed on becoming boss of the mega-powerful Senate Appropriations Committee to pursue the more prestigious secretary of state job with President-elect Barack Obama, the Daily News has learned.

As chairwoman of the panel that controls the nation's purse strings, Clinton could have pumped billions in federal dollars into the Empire State.

Instead, as Obama continues to piece together his cabinet, Clinton is poised to become the third female secretary of state, following Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice.

The Senate slot was offered as a consolation prize after her bruising White House race and snub from Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), who refused to let the former First Lady join his health care task force.

"Kennedy wasn't happy about how some things were handled in the campaign, but it was really a seniority issue. Hillary didn't have the seniority" to shepherd health care through the Senate, said a source familiar with the matter.

"Kennedy knew it and (Senate Democratic leader) Harry Reid knew it," the source added.

more

So Hillary didn't have the seniority to lead on health care, but they offered her the "mega-powerful Senate Appropriations Committee" as a consolation prize?

Check out the poll at the story.

:rofl:

November 29, 2008

Clinton's approps offer

The Daily News reports that Hillary turned down the chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee to take the Secretary of State post.

That chair is open after West Virginia's aging Robert Byrd stepped aside.

But a congressional aide familiar with the details tells me the story is slightly less dramatic: She had been offered a seat on the committee, not the chair.

Even in that version, it undermines the notion that Clinton had to leave a Senate in which she would have been marginalized. She's now been there eight years, which means something in that body.

Hawaii's Daniel Inouye is in line to chair the committee.

[w4rma]

1. How does everything get so overblown when Clintons are involved?

The Daily News reports that Hillary turned down the chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee to take the Secretary of State post.
...
But a congressional aide familiar with the details tells me the story is slightly less dramatic: She had been offered a seat on the committee, not the chair.

Even in that version, it undermines the notion that Clinton had to leave a Senate in which she would have been marginalized. She's now been there eight years, which means something in that body.
...

[Erin Elizabeth]

2. I think the phrase

"shit or get off the pot" is appropriate here.

What happened to knowing something for sure by Friday? Are we going to know who the motherfucking son of a biscuit eater gotdammed Secretary of Fucking State is THIS WEEK OR WHAT?

At this point I don't care if it's Lucky the Leprechaun or Britney Fucking Spears, just so long as this Hillary drama ends. Ray Bradbury! How about him? How about the guy who screams on TV about free government information and has all those question marks on his suit? How about that person?

And no, I don't care what any of the loyal Hillary 'shippers have to say about my opinion, so save it. Or shove it, I really don't care. I'm a perfectly well-adjusted, absurdly happy person who is simply sick to my back teeth of hearing about this and hiding threads about this. Until it's announced who it is, it's ALL GUESSWORK.

[JVS]

3. Matt Lesko SoS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Lesko

[Erin Elizabeth]

4. Thanks! Yes, him. I'm good with that, too.

Just FUCKING ANNOUNCE IT.

[11cents]

7. Obama said he would announce his foreign policy team after the Thanksgiving weekend.

I don't know if you hallucinated the "by Friday" thing or simply believed an unreliable report.

But it's all about keeping you happy, so I agree: Hillary should have gotten "off the pot" and announced that she's the new Secretary of State without waiting for Obama to do so. I mean, who the FUCK does she think she is?

[Metric System]

11. So it's Hillary's fault that the same posters start thread after thread about her on DU?

[mkultra]

27. I see the Obama hate train has a full tank of gas

and is leaving the station. TOOT TOOT. away it goes, across the bridge of doubt, into the tunnel of shallow speeches. Next stop, lucky presidential win station.

[Metric System]

35. WTF are you babbling on about?

[mkultra]

36. dont get week kneeded on me

it should be clear whats going on.

[Metric System]

37. Sorry, I still don't get what you're babbling on about. Frankly, you sound kind of...

[mkultra]

38. excellent point

[Metric System]

40. And now you've really lost me. Good night.

[liberalmuse]

15. Please enlighten us.

What drama is Hillary responsible for? All I'm asking for is one SHRED of proof that the Clintons are behind all the drama (you know, aside from the MSM and the haters).

[JohnnyLib2]

26. Stop! I just laughed and choked on my biscotti.

:rofl:

[Hippo_Tron]

5. I call bullshit

To offer a Senator with only 8 years seniority the chairmanship of any committee let alone Appropriations would require an entire overhaul of the seniority system. There is no possible way that she was seriously offered the Appropriations Chairmanship.

[Kaleva]

6. Even with 8 years in the Senate

Hilliary is ranked near the bottom in senority.

[S_E_Fudd]

8. More over the top claims about Hillary that someone will have to eat crow over...

What a surprise...

Somehow I don't think we will see the inevitable retraction from the lazy media posted by he OP...

[mkultra]

46. or maybe its you who will be eating crow

[dailykoff]

9. I thought Kennedy DID offer her a position on the health care task force.

The article says he didn't, and suggests that he snubbed her, but be offered her something anyway.

[dailykoff]

10. "Kennedy taps Clinton for big health reform job"

"Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) designated Clinton to head a task force to develop a Senate Democratic proposal to expand health insurance coverage as part of his larger push to move a major overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system next year.

"Kennedy’s designation of Clinton as one of three senators to lead a healthcare task force provides her with an opportunity to make a significant contribution to an issue that has defined her political career."

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/kennedy-taps-clinton-for-big-health-reform-job-2008-11-18.html

I guess this guy's source has a short memory.

[atimetocome]

12. there was a post a few days here

on DU--this task force had no budget, no staff. It is a dud.

[JVS]

13. It's amazing how many jobs she gets offered and then not offered.

How's that work?

[dailykoff]

17. She needs to remember one thing:

diamonds are a girl's best friend.

[karynnj]

29. The initial story was that HRC wanted Kennedy to create a health subcommittee

that HRC could head and it not the full committee would create the Healthcare plan - and when he wouldn't she went to Reid to do it. This was ODDLY portrayed by some kool kidz in the media as Kennedy being "mean". (Rather than Kennedy working on the issue he has successfully worked on for decades.)

Later he offered her a health insurance "task force".

The first article, in addition to ignoring Kennedy's generous face saving gesture, has an error in saying he wouldn't let her "join". She is a member of the committee - the issue was not "joining", but heading.

These stories seem an attempt to glorify her time in the Senate - when in fact, She really led on nothing.

[dailykoff]

41. If this is any clue as to how she'd run the State Department

I think her chances of actually getting getting asked to are exceedingly slim. But then she's a Clinton, and different rules apply.

[karynnj]

49. In an odd way - if true, it likely increased the chance

That story was in the NYT, but it was not sourced to specific people, willing to stand behind it.

If true, it shows that HRC, who is a powerful political force outside the Senate - with the party, the media, and people loyal to her - and a relatively not powerful Senator. Before 2008, it didn't matter - the media spun her time there - writing that she entered humbling and rose to be a team leader. The fact was that she never led on anything major there - she couldn't - she had no seniority and no issue she really became a leader on because of her work.

The second article in the OP suggests that HRC being offered a seat meant that she wasn't "marginalized". The fact is the issue was not that she would be "marginalized", but that she would not have a powerful Senate position. Ever since she lost the nomination, her supporters have argued that somehow this is unfair - yet there is NO precedent in doing anything different. (Also, it ignores that even without the position - Kerry actually did, more than anyone else, lead on Iraq and global warming in the 2004 - 2008 years. On Iraq, he did so against the leadership - on global warming, he did so with their blessing.)

[Mass]

48. He did, but did not offer her to be in charge of the whole effort, something the

media reported she wanted. He offered her to be in charge of the insurance part of the healthcare taskforce in the Senate.

[Attackthejugular]

14. How can the author guess what Clinton was thinking?

it says that the reason why Clinton rejected the spot was in order to take the Secretary of State position. But wasn't the position offered a long time ago? The appropriations one, that is. And how could she have known she was going to be offered the SOS spot?

[NashVegas]

18. They Can Read Inside Her Mind

Like all good journalists who write campfire stories for the masses.

[polichick]

16. Is this the latest installment of "Why Obama MUST Offer Hillary the Position"??

[Metric System]

19. Only to those who believe Hillary controls the media.

[polichick]

20. You don't have to control the media - just leak exaggerations to the right people.

[mkultra]

30. it keeps coming back like inevitability

Do you hear that Mr. Anderson.

[mkultra]

45. REALITY will be the final installment.

you can pick up that issue at your local "KEEPIN IT REAL" book store.

[ProSense]

21. Bill Clinton Is Said to Agree to Release Names of Donors

Bill Clinton Is Said to Agree to Release Names of Donors

By PETER BAKER
Published: November 29, 2008

CHICAGO – Former President Bill Clinton has agreed to disclose the names of more than 200,000 donors to his foundation as part of an agreement to clear the way for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to become secretary of state, two Democrats close to the process said Saturday night.

Mr. Clinton has kept his contributor list secret until now, as permitted under federal law, but he decided to release it to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest with Mrs. Clinton’s duties as America’s top diplomat, said the Democrats, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the agreement with President-elect Barack Obama’s team. Mr. Obama plans to announce Mrs. Clinton’s nomination Monday, according to advisers.

The contributor disclosure is one of nine conditions Mr. Clinton signed off on during discussions with representatives of Mr. Obama, all of which go beyond the requirements of law. Among other things, he also agreed to incorporate his Clinton Global Initiative separately from the foundation so that he has less direct involvement. The initiative would no longer hold annual meetings outside of the United States nor accept any new foreign government contributions.

For his own personal speeches and business activities, Mr. Clinton agreed to submit them first to State Department ethics officials and, if necessary, the White House counsel’s office for review.

Mr. Clinton’s extended web of business and philanthropic activities raised questions about how he could continue to travel the world soliciting multimillion-dollar contributions for his foundation and six-figure speaking fees for himself from foreign organizations and individuals while his wife conducted American foreign policy.

Lawyers for Mr. Clinton and Mr. Obama spent days crafting the agreement in hopes of addressing any concerns about his activities. Mr. Clinton said he would do whatever the Obama team asked to make it possible for his wife to serve without questions. Mr. Obama’s team was satisfied that the concessions he made should defuse any potential controversy.

Neither Mr. Obama’s office nor Mr. Clinton’s office would comment Saturday night.

Developing...!

[polichick]

22. Wouldn't any spouse of a potential nominee be asked the same thing??

[Starry Messenger]

23. Now it's getting interesting.

Thanks for the update.

[ProSense]

24. Obama to nominate Clinton secretary of state Mon.

Obama to name Clinton secretary of state on Monday

By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer Beth Fouhy, Associated Press Writer

President-elect Barack Obama planned to nominate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as his secretary of state on Monday, transforming a once-bitter political rivalry into a high-level strategic and diplomatic partnership.

Obama will name the New York senator to his national security team at a news conference in Chicago, Democratic officials said Saturday. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly for the transition team.

To clear the way for his wife to take the job, former President Bill Clinton agreed to disclose the names of every contributor to his foundation. He'll also refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference, and will cease holding C.G.I. meetings overseas.

Bill Clinton's business deals and global charitable endeavors were expected to create problems for the former first lady's nomination. But in negotiations with the Obama transition team, the former president agreed to several measures designed to bring transparency to his post-presidential work.

The Clinton pick was an extraordinary gesture of goodwill after a year in which Clinton and Obama competed for the Democratic nomination in a long, bitter primary battle.

[ProSense]

25. Bill Clinton's New Rules

Bill Clinton's New Rules

November 29, 2008 10:20 PM

According to people familiar with negotiations between the Obama and Clinton camps, here are the general rules going forward for the former president, as his wife prepares to become the next Secretary of State.

Both at the request of President-elect Obama, and to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest between the work of former President Clinton and the service of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., should she be nominated and confirmed as Secretary of State, former President Clinton is taking the following steps above and beyond the requirements of current laws and regulations (the language below is generally not mine but has been passed on from those involved):

* The William J. Clinton Foundation will publish the names of everyone who has contributed since its founding in 1997;

* Should Sen. Clinton be nominated and confirmed as Secretary of State, during her time of service, the Foundation will also publish the names of everyone who contributes going forward on an annual basis;

* The Foundation will separately incorporate the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)* from the Clinton Foundation; former President Clinton will continue to host CGI gatherings, such as the one in New York City and its meetings for college and university students, as Founding Chairman of CGI;

* Although former President Clinton will continue to invite participants to CGI events (which involves normal registration fees), he will not solicit "sponsorship" contributions for CGI;

* CGI will also not host annual events outside the United States and CGI will not solicit or accept foreign government contributions;

* Given the extensive and life-saving work of the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative, which can and should continue, the Foundation will continue to fulfill its commitments funded by foreign governments (including, among others, Sweden Norway, France, Great Britain). In the event an existing contributing country chooses to substantially increase its commitment, or a new country, or government-owned entity, decides to contribute, the Foundation will share such proposed contributions with the State Department ethics officials. The State Department may also share the issue with the White House Counsel's office for review. To whatever extent there are conflict of interest concerns raised about such potential contributions related to Sen. Clinton's service as Secretary, they will be conveyed to Sen. Clinton and the Clinton Foundation for appropriate action;

* Same procedure to be followed for any foreign country contributors to the Clinton Climate Initiative, the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative Commitment, and the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative;

* Regarding former President Clinton's private work, during Sen. Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State (should that happen), former President Clinton will share proposed hosts of speeches with the State Department ethics officials for their review, and as appropriate for review by the White House Counsel. Again, should there be conflict of interest concerns related to the Senator's anticipated service as Secretary, they will share those concerns with Senator and President Clinton for appropriate action;

more

[Occam Bandage]

28. Appropriations chair is one of the most powerful. I don't see why you'd knock it.

I think it would have been a pretty good place for her.

[karynnj]

31. No one is knocking the committee - just the idea that

she would be added to it as it's chairman - especially when there are plenty of stories saying Inoye will be chair.

[Occam Bandage]

32. Ah, okay. I misunderstood, then. nt

[moriah]

33. Apparently Clinton gets viewers and helps raitings, otherwise....

... I don't understand why the media is continuously making fools of themselves over this.

I'm not a hater of Hillary -- I actually supported her in the primaries. I don't think she's the devil that so many do. I do think Bill Richardson is more suitable for SoS. I think she will do fine as well, however.

I would not have believed her being offered chairmanship of any committee, especially not appropriations, however, with only eight years in the Senate.

[ProSense]

34. "former president will release the full list of donors to his foundation by the end of the year."

As part of a startling roster of concessions to President-elect Obama, former President Bill Clinton has agreed to release the long-secret list of donors to his presidential library by the end of this year, according to a Democratic official.

"It speaks to President Clinton's willingness to do more than what's asked of him," said a Democratic official familiar with the protracted negotiations between Clinton emissaries and Obama transition aides.

A spokesman for Bill Clinton, Matt McKenna, emails that the former president will release the full list of donors to his foundation by the end of the year.

link

[dailykoff]

43. Great, let's drag this thing out until January.

I'm sure it takes many many weeks to fax a list to the transition team office, so we'll just have to be patient.

[ProSense]

44. "The former president has also agreed to submit his speeches and business dealings in advance..."

Clinton turned over the names of all 208,000 individuals and organizations that have given money since 1997, the Times said, while the agreement holds that his foundation will release them publicly by year's end.

Future donors will also be disclosed as long as Hillary Clinton is in the cabinet, it said.

The former president has also agreed to submit his speeches and business dealings in advance to State Department ethics officials for their review, as well as to the White House counsel's office if need be, the Times reported.

The Obama team said it expected Clinton's concessions would defuse any potential controversy, the report said.

link

[onenote]

39. Sorry, but I call BS on this story

The story that Clinton would've been offered approps is pretty unlikely, if you ask me. It has been well-settled for some time that if Byrd stepped down, the chairmanship would go to Inouye, who not only has over 40 years of seniority, but also has been serving on approps. To think that a junior senator who never served on the approps committee would leapfrog into the chairmanship is far fetched, given the way the Senate works. If you think that the same caucus that wouldn't strip Lieberman of his committee chair would force Inouye to take a backseat to Clinton, I have a bridge to nowhere I'd like to sell you.

BTW -- when exactly was the last time the NY Daily News "broke" a story like this. Oh wait. Never.

[Name removed]

42. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mass]

47. NYDailyNews is not exactly a knowledgeable source and this article

is a good proof of that.

She is nowhere close to being in a position to get a chairmanship in the Senate, let alone the most powerful chairmanship (at this point of time). She indeed is considering serving at the will of President Obama because of that.

The second story is probably true, but it still does not give her any leadership role, and she is still far away from it.

Could president Obama make this thing official so that we can move on to things that actually matters to people? Like policy issues or something.