The norm for Presidential political appointments has been to reach out to the other side and include members of the opposing party. I’m sure the Harris Administration will follow suit.
But who should she reach out to, and for what roles?
For example, Mitt Romney seems like someone to include, but as long as he’s in the Senate, he’s too valuable there (unless a Dem could unseat him).
Liz Cheney should be rewarded for her ethical stand against Trump and the MAGAs, but in what capacity? Her politics are dreadful and far out of line from Harris. Is there a role that would be acceptable?
What other Republicans and conservatives should be considered, and for which roles?
Let’s do for fun what the Harris team is having to do for real.
He’s out of the Senate, I believe, when Harris’s term will begin.
I think Obama proved that trying to reach out/compromise is of limited utility.
And what Democrats did Diaper Don include in his cabinet? Harris should include just as many Republicans in hers.
As long as she puts a Democrat in charge of the FBI I’ll be happy.
Any Republican she contacts and who doesn’t rebuff her publicly will instantly face the fury of Trump and the GOP, so it will be a rare person who accepts.
Appointments such as ambassadorships would be harmless to make Republicans eligible for. Making Cheney our ambassador to China would be reasonable–her job would be to implement President Harris’s policies. Of course, Cheney would have to be extremely helpful in the Harris campaign for such appointments to be made.
There are probably many members of The Former Administration who would be happy to accept an ambassadorship to someplace like Montenegro because it has no extradition treaty with the US.
Of course, since these appointments would be for Republicans/conservatives who have proved themselves helpful to the Harris campaign, they would necessarily consider their careers as R/c dead, so no harm in accepting them. In my opinion, their R/c careers are dead anyway–Adam Kinzinger has no future in that party, but he might have one as a right-wing Democrat. Cheney may be beyond reclamation, and Romney is too old to have a future in either party.
Exactly. Why waste a prized and influential seat in government on the opposition? I’d rather it go to a competent and effective party standard-bearer. If the Republicans want to earn some points here, the ones in Congress need to start working much more across the aisle.
It signals that the Dems are willing to make a limited number (as opposed to zero) of appointments without regard to party, and it rewards those GOP (or former GOP) operatives who helped the Dems by campaigning effectively for Harris/Whoever in 2024, assuring future GOPers that there is some sort of worthy role they can play if they act similarly. It is a practice long observed that some Republicans get significant Cabinet posts in Democratic administrations (Dillon as Sec. of Treasury in JFK’s, for example). It’s not a terrible policy, and it highlights the extreme partisanship of the current GOP.
Any Republican who hasn’t condemned Trump by now probably wouldn’t even be on the list for any such job. So it will be a short list, in any case.
If he wasn’t currently running, I’d suggest Larry Hogan somewhere in the Harris administration.
This is probably the best option, if it were to happen. Solid anti-Trump record, and if you look at his actual policy positions, there’s enough there that he could do some cabinet jobs in a manner that both he and the Democrats could live with.
But he wants to “go home again” eventually. Would he accept that he’s burning bridges, even if Trumpism disappears in, say, the next 20 years?
Is he burning bridges, or just spending time in the wilderness?
If the GOP is ever going to re-build itself in a post-Trump world, they’ll need experienced members who haven’t been tarnished by close association with Trump. He might be well-positioned to assume a leadership role in reconstructing the party.
It’s not about fairness, but about political calculation. If at least the appearance of cooperation enhances the chance of getting useful things done and siphoning off some residual semi-decent Republican elements into the Democratic orbit, then it’s worthwhile.
Enraging the MAGAs is a side benefit.
But the chickens are a long way from hatching.
*the practice of enlisting the help of prominent Republicans in one’s Democratic administration goes back at least as far as FDR.
Genuine question-did anyone who helped Nixon ever admit their wrongdoing and ask for forgiveness? The GOP. Is so deeply involved with Trump it would be embarrassing to shed their skin.
Who are they? Have any GOP’ers demonstrated this yet?
This Republican has endorsed her. Small, but interesting. On the larger scale it doesn’t mean much.
Well, first they went to jail.
I don’t think Haldeman ever accepted he had done anything wrong. I skimmed his memoirs and he was still on the offence.
Chuck Colson found God while he was in prison. I think he did acknowledge his wrongs, stayed out of politics, and founded a prison ministry organisation.
I think Jeb Stuart may have acknowledged it as well.