Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

Ken Salazar Gets Interior

by BooMan
Mon Dec 15th, 2008 at 08:23:39 PM EST

Well, if you were looking for a progressive to fill the position of Secretary of Interior, you will be disappointed to learn that Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) has been selected. On the other hand, if you are interested in seeing a more progressive Senate, this could lead to that outcome. It's possible that Ken's ~~younger~~ older brother John will get promoted from the House, but there are other potential replacements.

Gov. Bill Ritter would pick a replacement to finish out the senator's term if he accepts.
There has been some speculation about who would fill his seat in the Senate if Salazar does join the Obama Administration. Several names have been mentioned, including Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, outgoing Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, and the senator's brother, Rep. John Salazar.

Rep. John Salazar reportedly turned down an offer to serve as Secretary of Agriculture in order to accept a seat on the House Appropriations Committee. He may prefer to remain in the House to moving to a no-seniority position in the Senate. I hope so.

The selection of Ken Salazar makes sense, as the Interior position normally goes to someone from the West. I will have to research Ken Salazar's environmental record to know whether this pick is disastrous, or merely a disappointment. Regardless, the diversity beat marches on.

Update [2008-12-16 0:4:22 by BooMan]: Obama has selected Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education. I think you can safely consider Duncan to be a true progressive selection, although he won't necessarily hew to the teacher union's party-line. Duncan has a fascinating biography. He grew up in Hyde Park and was boyhood friends with R. Kelly. We was a star basketball player at Harvard and went on to play professionally in Australia. He met his wife in Tasmania. And check this:

Duncan was raised in Hyde Park area of South Side Chicago, where his father Starkey Duncan was a psychology professor at the University of Chicago, and mother Susan Morton runs Sue Duncan's Children's Center on the city's south side for African American youth. Duncan spent a great deal of his free time at his mother's center tutoring children and sharpening his basketball skills with the neighborhood children.

Ken Salazar Gets Interior | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Ken Salazar Gets Interior (none / 0)

he might be a surprise in that position. he's got a long history in the area of interior related issues, and it's been pretty straight ahead democratic based.

he was executive director of colorado's department of natural resources from 1990 - 1994, and practiced water and environmental law in the private sector from 1981 - 1986, and 1994 - 1998, and colorado AG from 1998 - 2004.

he's been a pretty staunch supporter of renewable energy issues here, as well as adamantly opposed to oil shale development. it actually seems a pretty good fit, and getting him out of the senate is a positive in my mind, assuming ritter doesn't appoint his brother, john, who'd be a clone. l think that's unlikely.

ritter will probably establish another "blue ribbon panel" to cut the list of contenders down to 3 or so candidates to avoid any negative repercussions in 2010.

for a more definitive look at some of the names being thrown out early see colorado pols articles, here, and here, and here.

perlmutter looks like the early favorite...but it's really to soon to tell...hickenlooper's a long shot in my estimation, but l've been known to be wrong.

the revolution will not be televised...

by dada on Mon Dec 15th, 2008 at 08:54:54 PM EST

Re: Ken Salazar Gets Interior (none / 0)

I just like to say 'Senator Hickenlooper'. I don't know the players in Colorado very well. So, that is not an endorsement.

by BooMan on Mon Dec 15th, 2008 at 09:01:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Ken Salazar Gets Interior (none / 0)

We're hoping Romanoff.

And many of us leave the room when Salazar enters. A politician's politician. Never has stood for anything because it was right.

And let's not forget that he was Alberto Gonzales's Senate sponsor. He supported him for the following reasons: grew up poor, was a minority and was his friend.

by Heart of the Rockies on Mon Dec 15th, 2008 at 10:22:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Ken Salazar Gets Interior (none / 0)

I'm hoping it's Hickenlooper but that doesn't mean I'm opposed to Romanoff. I'd love to hear your arguments for or against both.

"..the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. .. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked.." - Goering

by colinski on Mon Dec 15th, 2008 at 10:56:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hickenlooper's chances (none / 1)

Hickenlooper has been adverse to leaving his job as Mayor in the past, despite a lot of support for his candidacy for higher office. Having a Senate seat handed to him could get him to change his mind, but the real question is who Ritter likes, although there's going to be a lot of input from party insiders lobbying for their choice.

This is going to be a very interesting decision, and I can think of a lot of pols that I would like to see elevated to the office, especially some of those who've run for statewide office in the past.

"..the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. .. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked.." - Goering

by colinski on Mon Dec 15th, 2008 at 11:43:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Ken Salazar Gets Interior (none / 0)

The happiest guy in the world at the moment must be Michael Moore. Obama is getting rid of all the dumbass Stupid White Men and putting lots of minorities in positions of power. Good.

by eagleye on Mon Dec 15th, 2008 at 09:28:23 PM EST

Re: Ken Salazar Gets Interior (none / 0)

As I said above, he was Alberto Gonzales's biggest promoter and gave his ethnicity as a primary reason. Reflect on that. We wrote Salazar and said that his choice on this basis, rather than his qualifications to be AG, was prejudiced and bigoted.

by Heart of the Rockies on Tue Dec 16th, 2008 at 10:15:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Music connection (none / 0)

So Arne Duncan was boyhood friends with R. Kelly, while one of Obama's top national security advisors (and perhaps future Sec. of Defense) Richard Danzig is first cousin to Glenn Danzig of The Misfits/Danzig fame.

This doesn't really mean anything, but it's cool.

by existenz on Tue Dec 16th, 2008 at 12:13:58 AM EST

Re: Music connection (none / 0)

Does he share Kelly's taste for underage girls? Could be a scandal gestating here.

by The Voice In The Wilderness on Tue Dec 16th, 2008 at 10:32:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Ken Salazar Gets Interior (none / 0)

Here's some inside stuff about the two front runners for Salazar's Senate seat -- Rep. Ed Perlmutter and Speaker (State House) Andrew Romanoff.

http://coloradopols.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8403

"..the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. .. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked.." - Goering

by colinski on Tue Dec 16th, 2008 at 12:47:47 AM EST

Re: Ken Salazar Gets Interior (none / 0)

From the modest amount I know about them, either would be very good.

by Heart of the Rockies on Tue Dec 16th, 2008 at 10:16:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Duncan is a hideous choice (none / 0)

As someone who has seen his incompetence up close and personal, hands down, the worst appointment of Obama - period.

by rikyrah on Tue Dec 16th, 2008 at 08:53:03 AM EST

Re: Duncan is a hideous choice (none / 0)

Elaborate? Although this does look like Chicago cronyism.

by The Voice In The Wilderness on Tue Dec 16th, 2008 at 10:33:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Ken Salazar Gets Interior | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Go to: [ Booman Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]

. Home
. About
. Contact
. Advertise
. FAQ
. Search

Username:
Password:

. Make a new account
. Reset password

Gift Cards * New Arrivals

NOTE: Overstock bests Amazon's prices and is "blue."

THE BOOKS WITH "BUZZ":
______________

Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story:

True Compass: A Memoir
by Edward M. Kennedy.

Read Barack Obama's vision for America:

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
by Barack Obama

Boran2 and maryb2004 recommend:

The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime
by Jasper Fforde

Must-have information for all presidents-and citizens-of the twenty-first century?

Physics for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines
Richard A. Muller

rae recommends:

Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire
by Morris Berman.

On BooMan’s shelf:

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This looks interesting:

Adventure Divas
by Holly Morris

Here’s a good one from
Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat Pray Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert

"Crash" * Best Motion Picture, Academy Awards * Only $11.79 at Overstock * 2006 SAG Winner, Best Ensemble

Check out
Powell's new section:
NEW FAVORITES
Selected new arrivals at 30% off

Recommended by Indianadem and ejmw:
The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Wellstone

From northcountry’s bookshelf:

The New Golden Age:
The Coming Revolution Against
Political Corruption and Economic Chaos by Ravi Batra

A novel about contractors in Iraq from the woman that runs The Spy That Billed Me:

Outsourced: A Novel
from RJ Hillhouse.

Great Deals
----- * ^ * -----

Find mystery novels by Nancy Pickard ("Kansas")

Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power by Phyllis Bennis (interviewed on DN!)

Featured by Keith Olbermann, New (Powell's Sale): Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum (whose other books merit serious consideration)

"Explosive" State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
by James Risen

The book the CIA doesn't want you to read: Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
Larry Johnson's review

BT's all-time best seller:

PERMACULTURE:
A Designers' Manual
$79.95 * Sale: $59.95

Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History (Third Edition)

The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor And Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan

Green Press Initiative
----- * ^ * -----

Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists by Eleanor Mills * NYT review

Bury Me Standing: the Gypsies & Their Journey

1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus

Brokeback Mountain
by Annie Proulx
----- * ^ * -----
Check out Powell's
"At The Movies"

Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World by Noam Chomsky (Power & Terror: Post 9-11 Talks)

The Price of Privilege:

How Parental Pressure and
Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of
Disconnected and Unhappy Kids
by Madeline Levine

Save 35-70% on
name brand clothing,
footwear, and outdoor gear
at SierraTradingPost.com
:

We listened to PEN American Center's "State of Emergency" and found 1940s books by Curzio Malaparte only at Alibris. (Selection (MP3) excerpted from "The Skin.")

Banned Books * Are you a fan of Film Noir, Art House, Documentaries or Hong Kong Action? * Searching for a long-lost children's book or a first printing of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue on vinyl? Find it at Alibris!

:
:

Booman Tribune Homepage
admin@boomantribune.com
powered by Scoop

More blogs about Blogs at Technorati.

Technorati Profile