Dodd as Special Envoy for The Americas?
By Al Giordano
Last night I dialed in on the White House conference call about the President’s travels this week to Mexico City and then to the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad. White House hemispheric advisor Dan Restrepo, summit coordinator Jeffrey Davidow and National Security Council staffer Denis McDonough offered little hard news, but I found in the white noise at least one possible tea leaf to read.
Sergio Davila of the daily Folha in Sao Paulo, Brazil, asked this question, and McDonough of the NSC answered it (bold type for emphasis):
Q. Hi. In his speech in Miami in May last year, then candidate Obama said, I will reinstate a special envoy for the Americas in my White House, who will work with my full support. Is he still planning to do that? If so, when?..
MR. MCDONOUGH: …As it relates to the special envoy, the President and Secretary Clinton remain very much committed to the idea of having someone in the administration working on these issues day in and day out, that sees the hemisphere as a region of fundamental importance and priority to the administration, but also sees it as a broader regional set of opportunities rather than just as our current ambassador infrastructure has, rather than which -- you know, the current infrastructure has heavy focus on bilateral relations in each country. And so the bottom line is that we remain committed to the idea, that Secretary Clinton and the President are actively working the issue.
And I'm not going to put a timeline on the naming of that post. Obviously getting a person of stature and capability and proven relationship with both the Secretary and the President is much more important to us than is the timeline on which we do it.
Hmmm. A “person of stature” with a “proven relationship” with both Secretary Clinton and President Obama… who focuses on the “broader” regional matters rather than the narrow ones of the “ambassador infrastructure….” That's a tall order (sorry, Mr. Davidow), and rightfully so.
As Nate Silver has noted, the most vulnerable Democratic senator in 2010 is Senator Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut), who as chairman of the Senate banking committee faces potential electoral backlash over the crash of the financial services industries (a major employer in the Nutmeg State). A recent Quinnipiac poll has the three-decade-plus-incumbent with only 34 percent support among voters compared to 50 percent for likely GOP candidate, US Rep. Rob Simmons. Those have to be very troubling numbers for Dodd and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, especially while Democrats hover just under the 60 votes needed to get cloture votes on Senate legislation.
Two birds, one stone: Dodd, a fluent speaker of Spanish and historically a dogged advocate for human rights in the hemisphere, longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is the person of real stature who best embodies the qualities that McDonough floated for the Special Envoy position. My guess is that he’d relish such a high profile challenge and if appointed it would solve the Democrats’ risk of losing what otherwise ought to be a safe blue seat in Connecticut.
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How do senate appointments in CT work?
Submitted on April 14th, 2009 by Sandy in Chicago (not verified)Governor-appointed? Special election? Cuz Jodi Rell's a republican--as I understand it, relatively moderate.
Same as they do in most states
Submitted on April 14th, 2009 by Phoenix Woman (not verified)In 2000, when another Republican, John Rowland (who is now in prison), was in office, one of the best arguments against picking Joe Lieberman for VP was that Rowland would fill Lieberman's seat with a Republican if Holy Joe had made it to the White House.
Ironically, the person who probably would have been picked, Philip Giordano (no relation, I hope!), the mayor of Waterbury and Lieberman's opponent in the 2000 Senate election, was convicted of child molestation a few months after the election.
Great idea
Submitted on April 14th, 2009 by Emma (not verified)Dodd's a perfect fit for the job. Obama would be crazy not to ask him, and Dodd would be crazy to refuse.
Sandy: The Democrats have veto-proof majorities in the Connecticut Senate & House of Representatives, so I'd imagine they could swiftly pass a law requiring a special election to be scheduled within 60 days of a U.S. Senate vacancy, taking away the governor's power to appoint a Senator, just like the Massachusetts legislature did to prevent then-Governor Mitt Romney from appointing a Republican to succeed John Kerry (in case he were elected President). It's a step every single state should take in my view, since there's no need to give governors this potentially corrupting and undemocratic power.
Blumenthal would probably take his place
Submitted on April 14th, 2009 by Badcrumble (not verified)Dick Blumenthal, Connecticut's Attorney General, has wanted to rise to a higher position for years, but is a bit politically skittish (he really wanted to run against Gov. Rowland, but has always shied away from substantial opposition). He'd almost certainly be the obvious candidate to replace Dodd. I'm not particularly thrilled about the man's politics even though he's a family friend, but I'm sure the Democrats would be quite happy to have someone who could keep the seat warm for two terms.
I've already mentioned the possibility of Dodd doing something akin to ambassadorial work to my friends who are concerned about his seat and the banking matter - if your reading is correct, Al, it's good to see my pure speculation reflected somewhat in reality. This is something I'd love to see Dodd do - while I have my problems with him, he's long been a voice for human rights in the rest of the Americas.
No Go
Submitted on April 14th, 2009 by ikl (not verified)Maybe after 2010. Jody Rell is Gov and she is a Republican. She would get to make an appointment. In theory, maybe the Obama adminstration could work out a deal as was done in NH, but I don't see any reason why Rell would help the Democrats hold Dodd's Senate seat. Blumenthal would be strongly favored for an open seat.
I saw Dodd on CNN en español...
Submitted on April 14th, 2009 by Riley Lynch...and was impressed. I also saw Dan Restrepo speak regarding the change of policies vis-a-vis Cuba. Part of the diplomatic message of this administration seems to be: "We speak your language." This is a winner. It reinforces the idea of the diversity that is integral to the idea of the United States. This is the USA that people, the world over, like, and not infrequently dream of.
But a good idea if Dodd is willing to step down after this term
Submitted on April 14th, 2009 by ikl (not verified)I think that the Obama folks should promise Dodd a nice job if and only if he doesn't run again in 2010. That would also free up Dodd to say and do things as chair of the banking committee that are necessary but could upset doners or voters. I had been thinking along those lines myself. But this can't be done now because we need Dodd's vote and can't give Rob Simmons (the likely GOP candidate) the advantage of being an incumbent.
As for changing the law, I don't think that is in the cards. CT isn't nearly as Democratic as MA and there might be some blow back. The Dems are exactly at 2-1 in the Senate so any one of 24 Dems could block the new election law.
The poutragist candidates
Submitted on April 14th, 2009 by bonkers (not verified)Remember, probably the two most popular Prez candidates amongst the now dubbed poutragists were John Edwards and Chris Dodd. I had serious reservations about both of these two, and was usually chastised for pointing out these problems to the poutragers.
What a disaster either one would've been as the Prez or the Vice Prez candidates. Demonstrating their checker skills once again, or it's more like tic-tac-toe skills.
Drug Policy
Submitted on April 15th, 2009 by Ben Maselin the early debates, notably at Howard U, Dodd showed the best stance this side of Mike Gravel.
Democrat for US Senate (Wisconsin 2012)
No drama choice
Submitted on April 15th, 2009 by lucidamente (not verified)Agreed, Dodd would be the "no drama" choice, but I can't imagine he'll do anything other than run for re-election in 2010. His approval ratings are awful right now, but a year and a half is a very long time in politics, and I'm sure he's sure he can turn things around.