From the
Seattle Times:
Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske has accepted a job in the Obama administration, most likely overseeing the nation’s drug policies, according to sources familiar with the chief’s plans.
Kerlikowske, who has led the department for more than eight years, has told the department’s top commanders he expects to leave to take a top federal position, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t officially authorized to disclose the information.
The news, which is confirmed by ABC News, means that former Representative Jim Ramstad probably won’t be joining the Obama Administration. This, of course, means that the Rammer will be free to pursue a gubernatorial run in the event that Tim Pawlenty elects not to seek a third term.
Ramstad would be a strong candidate in a general election because of his moderate ideology and the general goodwill he has built among Minnesotans (particularly in the 3rd District). I wonder, however, if he would be able to escape a GOP primary. Then again, the Republican bench is so thin in Minnesota right now, there might not be a conservative with the stature and fundraising abilities necessary to defeat Ramstad.
Jim Ramstad is apparently in the running to be “Drug Czar” in the Obama Administration. I am wholeheartedly in favor of this appointment for two reasons:
- Ramstad, a recovering alcoholic himself, has been a major advocate for treatment based approaches to dealing with drug addiction.
- There are rumblings that the Rammer may be the GOP nominee for Governor of Minnesota in 2010 and this appointment would take him out of the gubernatorial picture.
Not everyone, however, is as enthusiastic about the possibility of a Czar Ramstad.
A coalition of advocacy and nonprofit organizations, including the National Black Police Association, sent a letter today to President-elect Obama preemptively pushing back against the nomination of Rep. James Ramstad (R-Minn.) to be head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, or “Drug Czar.”
The coalition, which includes civic and drug-policy reform organizations, cites his past opposition to medical marijuana, needle exchange and sentencing reform as reasons for concern.
While I share the NBPA’s desire to see sentencing reform and a different approach to drug policy in general, I don’t think they should get all worked up about a Ramstad appointment. With the economy in meltdown and major health and energy initiatives on the horizon, I don’t think there is going to be much movement on the drug front over the next few years regardless of who gets the appointment.
Paul Schmelzer notices
Jim Ramstad in the National Review Online saying the election is “going to be a tsunami.” In regards to a large Democratic win in November, Ramstad is likely correct.
Schmelzer reads further: (emphasis mine)
Ramstad: “Republicans need to get back to governing from the center. We Republicans need to get away from the addiction to base politics. Karl Rove’s playbook isn’t working anymore.”
That line could almost be perceived as an endorsement of the Democratic candidate in Ramstad’s 3rd Congressional District, where DFLer Ashwin Madia, a former Republican, is facing off against Erik Paulsen, who as a 14-year Minnesota legislator has consistently earned high scores from rightwing social conservative groups like Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, the Minnesota Family Council and the Taxpayer’s League of Minnesota. (Here’s Paulsen’s voting record.)
Not only is the Karl Rove playbook not working for Erik Paulsen, Schmelzer is correct to point out how absolutely unlike Ramstad Paulsen actually is.
The Star Tribune reports:
But Republicans might make things interesting in 2008, as activists are threatening to target Ramstad and 16 other Republicans who voted with Democrats last week in opposing President Bush’s plan to send another 21,500 troops to Iraq, the Politico reported Tuesday.
The newspaper quoted Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, who said: “There’s something called primaries we have in America, and there will be primary challenges in the Republican Party against some of those congressmen. And they deserve to be primaried, because they are acting, I think, in a shameful way.”
Conservatives, led by talk show host Hugh Hewitt, are leading the campaign. Their first target is Rep. Ric Keller, R-Fla. Hewitt wants his listeners to identify possible challengers to Keller who are backing the war. He also said he won’t donate money to the National Republican Congressional Committee because it’s supporting “White Flag Republicans.”I will continue to listen to our commanders in Iraq and vote accordingly, without regard to political considerations,” Ramstad said.
Is Iraq tearing apart the Republican party?
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