Granholm has made attracting wind turbine manufacturers and alternative energy suppliers a key part of her administration's economic development strategy. Now, some are speculating that could mean Obama might be interested in asking ask her to lead the federal Department of Energy.
The Canadian-born governor says she's ready to work with Obama as governor until her term expires in 2010, but hasn't ruled out leaving for Washington. She's also been mentioned as a possible U.S. Supreme Court justice if an opening arose.
Granholm is term-limited and this would be a perfect opportunity to find her next job and set up a successor. I've been saying for a while to anyone who would listen that Granholm would make a great Secretary of Energy given her focus on and knowledge of energy issues and how those issues affect the domestic auto industry. This would also give a successor a head start on a win in 2010 and help Democrats retain the governor's mansion (although a repeat run from DeVos would practically ensure that anyway).
Posts
19 comments:
Even without a further appointment is is clear to see that Granholm has the president elects ear when it comes to the automakers troubles.
While the present administration fiddles, America's manufacturing Rome is burning. The automakers continue to scream out for help.
Today there will be an announcement from General Motors that is likely to rain hellfire on Michigan's citizens.
Obama seems to have a grasp on the seriousness of the situation announcing Thusday that a meeting of his transition economic advisory board would take place today. Those economic advisors include Michigan governor Granholm, and Michigan congressman David Bonior.
I am amazed that Republicans continue to chant capitalist slogans while dispensing tax dollars to failing corporations, and using tax dollars to wage wars to protect the profits and dividends of oil companies owned by investors from other parts of the world.
My biggest disappointment with Jennifer is her well-meaning support of the obsolete car companies.
America became great by allowing the inefficient and obsolete to end, making room for the more efficient and more worthy.
Whatever happens for Jennifer, the vast hordes of people who are relying on socialist handouts from the taxpayers in order to produce high-priced fossil-fuel guzzlers will eventually need to find something else to do. The sales-pitch that we need to support this crew for a few more years while they wait for an idea to show up is ridiculous.
Foreign transportation inventors already are tooling for the future, and have already set up distribution networks outside the USA that will confine our sales to domestic competition for a declining demand for luxury heavy-weights.
Perhaps a Secretary of Energy (somewhat like the Homeland Security fiction) has some potential, but unless we force the "Big" Three to learn how to manufacture something other than cars, we will become an assembly state for components produced by more advanced and efficient Asian manufacturers. What skills we have developed for building machines, tools and dies will pass into history with our aging craftspeople, and the unions will once again represent the sweatshops and factory laborers.
How long will we continue to listen to the chants that "American" labor is the best in the world? We are only the best when the consuming public prefers to buy our products, and that is no longer true.
Don't take my word for it. Look in the shopping carts of your fellow shoppers (and at your own). How many USA products were you willing to pay the premium price to own? Are you still convinced that you are getting the best quality in the world? It's about time you advanced from the old WWII idea that "made in Japan" means cheap goods.
"Guns don't kill people," (eight-year-old)"people kill people."
The courts are wondering if an eight-year-old person is "competent" to understand the consequences of killing the person who is teaching him how to shoot a gun.
The right-wing people are buying record numbers of household weapons in case the left-wing liberals invade their homes to confiscate their six-guns.
Talk about Darwinism gone berserk!
I support a gun giveaway to provide all right-wing radical parents (and potential parents) with guns light enough to be lifted, and loaded easily, by their kids.
The Constitution was amended before nuclear, chemical and biological weapons became popular. Doesn't it seem logical to allow these other forms of violence to be included in the amendment to stay abreast of the times?
Imagine the potential employment increases for Dow and other Michigan producers!
Hasta la vista, bebe!
Greetings from the Casa Ridgeway Hostel in steamy downtown San Jose, Costa Rica.
The buzz is: Jenny G for Auto Czar!
That, in my estimation, would be the equivalent of being appointed "Queen of the Buggy Whips".
When will the capitalist myth kick in and allow this dying industry go the way of the horse and buggy? We have lived with modifications of the horseless carriage for over a century, long enough to enrich several families beyond their value. It is time to move on!
Well, I suppose that we have to subsidize the executives until enough trickles down to save the economy from not enough trickling down earlier.
Once we have collected our trickles and have built some more Corvettes, Hummers, and T-Birds, we can look back at how the government spent billions of tax dollars to perpetuate the construction of carriages and the breeding of fine livery animals.
We all know that if God intended us to travel without burning fossil fuels, he would have given us wings.
Here's a really great idea for Detroit.
Manufacture a little light-weight car with the engine in the rear and a five-speed up front. Only make one model and paint it black. Keep making the same car for years. Don't even change the tail-lights.
Call it the "Michvagen 60".
I think I have the plans here somewhere, just a minute. Send me the $50 billion in cash, por favor.
sent from the open air restaurante of the Hotel Andrea, Ciudad Neilly, Costa Rica where it is steamy hot, by wireless.
Four days later, same place.
So, was the Renaissance Zone in Woodbury a good idea?
Was the whimpering about rising corn prices due to ethanol a real issue or just another technique to bamboozle the drowsy USA?
Why are the producers of ethanol from sugar cane so successful in Brazil? Why do so many Brazilian cars burn ethanol? Why does Brazil produce some of the best buses in the world?
I assume that those who voted for a Bush continuation still picture Brazil as a wide river with canoes being pushed with poles.
The combined creativity of the entire metropolitan Detroit area could not produce a bus to compete worldwide with the Busscar 340.
I assume we are still alone.
If anyone is interested in being on the email list for the Barry Co Dem party, shoot me a line at roseanger@sbcglobal.net
We just had our Ex Committee election and I'm the new Vice-Chair. Any questions feel free to email me.
Rose:
Congratulations on winning the Vice-Chair for the local Dems you will be good for the party.
Could you give us the names of the other officers?
As a member of both the Dems and the Progressive Dems do you see a merger of both groups to give Barry County voters a good alternative?
Molli,
I will be running as a Democrat in the next election, since nobody else will be. My platform is that I will do no harm, since I will be out of the country most of the time. If you run again, that will put two of us on the ballot.
Former employees of the obsolete Detroit "automakers" will be better off if the $50 BILLION is spent on Toyota Coasters and they are taught to drive.
Check out images of the Coasters on Google.
The elected board....Patrica Wilson, Jackie Schmitz, Anne Richards, Stephen Garrett, Ken Cichy & Carol Jones-Dwyer. State law requires that myself and Dave Brinkertt are automatically on the board in addition Patricia Royston and Greg Greives (who we'll assume will never show up). Mike Lewis would have had a seat has moved out of the area. We then elected officers. Dave and Ken back in Chair and Treasurer, myself as vice and Anne as Secretary. That was the minimum board the law required but we can expand it and we did to include all other who were willing to serve. We'll probably ask if anyone else in interested in our March meeting. Ken says he is short term because they still plan on moving this spring. The expansion added Mel & Alberta Goebel, Barb Cichy, John Loftus, Blance Munjoy and a couple others I don't remember. We'll see who keeps showing up.... quorum is those present so I suspect we'll get down to a working group of about 7 by the end of the 4 years.
As for a merger...won't occur this cycle. The Progressive Dems are into more national/international issues. As a political action committee they get to take much more aggressive positions and don't have some of the annoying statuatory requirements of a local party. I would hope that perhaps they could start playing more of the regional role they have cut out for themselves.
And for those of you who know the law, we had 5 statuatory positions and 5 elected positions to the board. We had 16 people on our ballot and 16 people present and voting. At the end of things we had a 4 way tie for positions 3,4 & 5. Instead of proceeding to a runoff we took that forth person and replaced Mike Lewis' vacancy by concensus.
Thank you Molli
Thanks for the update on the Dem's Rose. Congrats on being the vice-chair. I am the secretary for the Barry County GOP unless someone else wants the job on the 15th.
If anyone wants to be on the Barry County Republican Party Executive Board please show up to the Dec 15th Meeting at the Courts and Law Building at 7pm. And by the way it's non-smoking lolol
Heather's post is exactly why the Barry Dems are suffering. She has made an open invitation to the one meeting where they elect the leadership for the next cycle. Do you thing the Dems would do the same thing...no way! I got my invite the day after Thanksgiving and they didn't invite the general membership. The law allows you to fill delegate slots with interested persons, so why not? The simple answer: At some point the disgruntled minority becomes the majority.
@el grillo: "and using tax dollars to wage wars to protect the profits and dividends of oil companies owned by investors from other parts of the world."
This has not happened yet.
To say we retaliated against Saddam Hussein and the terrorists over "oil" is like saying that D-Day was launched against Germany over chocolate and beer.
Post a Comment