Friday, November 7th, 2008...3:28 pm
I May Be Wrong But…
I know that there is copious speculation that Janet Napolitano is up for a cabinet position, and even speculation that she is itchy to get one. Let me throw a little bit of cold water on this.
I think that had the Democrats been able to capture the State House, she would be a bit freer to leave. But, with the Republicans having an even larger majority and, it seems, even more ideological leadership, it would be a disaster to hand the veto pen over to Jan Brewer. I don’t think that Napolitano is so cynical that she would say “See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya!” to Arizonans. Plus, this wouldn’t do much for a future political career, would it?
And yes, she wants a future political career. The “Mentioners” out there have been talking up Napolitano as a candidate for the United States Senate. She’d be a strong candidate, and there are even polls that show her beating John McCain in a hypothetical match up. Every fight she has with the legislature just seems to leave her a bit more popular, so she doesn’t need to have a plum federal appointment to boost her chances for the Senate, she just needs to keep doing her job.
Who out there thinks that a cabinet position would actually help move her career anyway? Hands up all of you that think that Bruce Babbitt, who left office a very successful governor before being appointed to Bill Clinton’s cabinet, could even get elected to his brother’s old seat on the Coconino County Board of Supervisors these days? I exagerate, Flagstaff still loves him, I’m sure. But, why pass up a surer thing when being in the cabinet has been a dead end for so many? (For reference, ask Governors Janet Reno and Robert Reich, or Senator Richard Thornburgh)
12 Comments
November 7th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I agree.
I can see the alure of a cabinet post but, as you say, she is more ambitious than that. A cabinet post, especially Homeland Security, is a dead end. Attorney General wouldn’t be much of a springboard either.
Yes, there are exceptions to the rule (Bill Richardson, for instance) but I think she would be better off hanging in there and doing here best to fight off the conservative republican theocracy that the R’s will soon seek to install. She’ll look better for it, and better set herself up among dems for a senate run.
November 7th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
I’m selfish. Janet for Senate 12′
November 8th, 2008 at 7:53 am
You’re probably right about her potential long term future as US Senator from Arizona, but in the short term a cabinet post may be an exciting, new challenge for her, and a boost of her “national” ego. We’ll see shortly.
November 8th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Regardless of the election outcome, the BAD move for Arizona and Janet herself would be for her to leave before her current term ends. Even if we had won more seats, we would not have had anything close to a veto-proof majority with which to battle Jan Brewer, who is Al Melvin in a skirt.
The harm Brewer and the GOP majorities could do to this state in the next two years, especially since they have purged all their moderates (save Carolyn Allen), would be tremendous. Speaking solely for myself, I will be crushed if Janet goes to DC and FAR less inclined to support her for election to any office when she returns.
November 8th, 2008 at 10:03 am
What Rex said.
November 8th, 2008 at 10:14 am
I saw this coming and have been working to get DEM pickups in the AZ House for over a year. If Janet goes, don’t blame the carnage on her. Blame those who weren’t out knocking on IND doors every week.
November 9th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Here is what I said a few days ago about this on a now buried list of comments. There is virtually no advantage to her political future is she becomes an Attorney General. Unless that has been her “end career goal” (and it is for some) it is a bad bad idea.
This position, above all, ends up being among the most controversial. You anger the left and the right no matter what you do. On one hand, you do reform and get labelled “soft on crime” on the other, you crack down on crime and get labelled “too conservative”. It also gets you into a lot of hot legal battles with Congress. Its an interesting job, but not one to advance a career, I can assure you. Works at the state level, not at the fed.
November 9th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
I’ve been saying with some measure of confidence for months now that there’s no way the Gov takes a Cabinet post and abandons the rest of us to the wolves. While it was clear to me that she was angling for a glimmer of hope by campaigning more aggressively for legislative candidates this year than she has during the past six years of her term, our losses on Tuesday pretty much guarantee that she’ll serve out the rest of her term.
I take her appointment to the transition team as a sign that the President Elect was trying to reward her early and adamant support, knowing that a Cabinet post would just leave a disastrous situation in the Grand Canyon State.
I still maintain that this could all just be wishful thinking on my part, but God help us all if Jan Brewer becomes Governor (which could still well happen in 2010…).
November 10th, 2008 at 9:04 am
When will the Democratic State Party learn? You can’t launch an attack on the home state of the Republican candidate for president and not expect some kind of disaster for the troops trying to pick up local seats. Bad move all around.
It is a miracle that Democrats picked up two corporation commission seats and the congressional seat once held by Renzi.
Until the state party and the people running for office figure out that it is all about tact, Democrats will remain the minority.
If I were the Governor I would hop the next flight to Washington DC and not turn back. Apparently it needs to get much worse in Arizona until the people here figure out we need a new approach to politics. Janet is awesome, but she can only do so much. Let Brewer in and let the beginning of the end begin.
November 10th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
If Janet bales and leaves a Republican as Governor what does this say about her ability to stay thru the tough times and resolve tough issues in a bi partisan manor?
November 10th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
You are assuming that Janet would plan on coming back to Arizona if she left for DC. What is she were to return to New Mexico after a stint in the Obama administration and run for Senate there? And Bill Richardson continued his political career after serving in the Clinton administration.
If Janet does leave us with a Republican gov and leg, her political career here is over, to be sure.
November 12th, 2008 at 10:54 am
The comments here do not seem to touch on the notion of “patriotic duty.” We need a tough cookie to right the ship at Justice, and Janet would fit that bill well. Yes, it might be a one-way ticket, but when your President calls and needs your help for the good of our country, you have to at least weigh your ambition against the greater good
Agreed, however, with the prevailing sentiment, that some other gig like Education or Homeland Security is a blueprint for thankless obscurity, one from which it would be hard to mount a run for Senate–from whatever state