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Dem FEC Nominee Withdraws, Leading to Further Delay
Things were already looking pretty hopeless for the FEC, but they just got bleaker. In a letter to White House chief of staff Josh Bolten today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says that Robert Lenhard, one of the Democratic nominees for the commission, has withdrawn his name because of the ongoing stalemate.
It will most likely take "several months" to replace Lenhard, Reid writes, meaning that it's sure to be awhile before Democrats and Republicans can agree on a batch of nominees. Not that there have been any signs of hope anyway: Democrats continue to insist that the Senate vote on vote-suppression guru Hans von Spakovsky separately from the other three nominees, and Republicans refuse to allow that.
Meanwhile, the fracas over John McCain's withdrawal from public financing goes unresolved and outside groups are mounting up without worry of any imminent harassment from the FEC.
Update: By way of explanation, Lenhard has landed a gig (sub. req.) at the mega firm Covington & Burling.
Comments (7)
What a coincidence, his withdrawal comes the same day the DNC files suit asking the Court to force the FEC to act or failing that, file an injunction against McCain. And poor Harry, caught unawares, has no one in the wings ready to go!
April 14, 2008 3:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
and we're supposed to have fair, unbiased elections in The World's Greatest Democracy, correct? How can anybody have faith in this thoroughly destroyed Election Commission this coming fall? Who will hear their complaints??
Meantime, companies like Sequoia and their pissy pants antics in NJ are just the latest stain on an election system that's become more Kabuki than anything that resembles democracy. Can't wait to hear the horror stories from PA's election polling places next week.
April 14, 2008 3:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly. It's not like our last two Presidential elections have differed wildly from Zimbabwe's. That was with an FEC.
-AF
Andrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
April 14, 2008 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Are we sure that Mr. Lenhard simply doesn't want to "spend more time with his family"?
By which I mean that they've got something on him that has "encouraged" him to withdraw his name from the nomination.
April 14, 2008 4:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sounds like Lenhard got an offer he couldn't refuse. (Did anyone else think about Debra Yang when they heard this?)
What's the scoop on the Covington and Burling outfit?
April 14, 2008 10:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Answering my own question - according to Wikipedia, they were hired to lobby for Halliburton/KBR in recent years. Among the partners are some familiar names: John Bolton, Andy Goldsmith, but then also David Remes (who represented the Guantanamo detainees).
April 15, 2008 11:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
What's up with this letter from Reid? He goes out of his way to point out that it will take "several months" to find a new Democratic nominee for the FEC - the message is either:
a) Reid is letting the Bush administration off the hook for incapacitating the FEC, since now it is the Democratic Party that is holding up the nominations while they conduct the search for a replacement nominee;
b) Reid is making a veiled threat of some sort, thinking the Republicans have some interest in having a functioning FEC (would the lawsuit have anything to do with this?); or
c) this is part of a compromise wherein the Republicans will agree to move forward with a pair of nominations, leaving the controversial von Spakovsky nomination paired with the empty Dem slot. Net result would be a functioning FEC during this election cycle.
April 15, 2008 10:09 AM | Reply | Permalink