Sanford Bishop, Agriculture Secretary? Georgia Blue Dog Could Get Post

As the Obama transition team is filling out the rest of the President-elect's cabinet, one name that pops to the surface is Rep. Sanford Bishop.

The Georgia Democrat is believed to be in the running for Agriculture Secretary, and his staff readily admits that he wants the post -- though they say that no deal is "officially" in the works.

"The congressman would very much like to have the position if it is in fact offered," said Bishop's chief of staff Phyllis Hallmon. "But we have had no official interaction with the President-elect's staff."

Bishop's name has been floated in numerous agriculture publications, as well as (mostly local) press. The resume seems, generally, right. He was co-chairman of Obama's Georgia campaign and has served on the House agricultural subcommittee since 2006. He represents one of the largest agricultural districts in the nation and is considered a "go-to lawmaker for Southern farmers."

A blue dog Democrat, Bishop is also regarded as the most conservative African-American Democrat in Congress. He has long championed federal subsidies and price boosters for peanuts (understandably -- they're his home state's biggest product). There are various controversies in his past, including a bizarre bathroom incident on an airline flight in 2002, but nothing seemingly debilitating to his chances.

Perhaps as important: another name being floated for the post, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, has said she's not interested.

Comments

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

I am for Old MacDonald, because he had a farm.

[oafishcad]

Hear hear

[arspar183]

this is my first disagreement with obama. no no no . give the ag job to vilsack of Iowa.

[JenIA]

No, please don't give it to Tommy V.

[okwassup]

Vilsack already said he doesn't want the position. So it's open to anybody now!

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

oh no, this is not good. this guy consistently sides with business over the environment. once again the national forests would be for sale to the highest bidder.

clearly there is someone who is not a servant of big business who is more qualified for the job than this enemy of the environment.

[ebanks84]

We don't need anyone who keeps trying to sell America's finest to the highest bidder that's for sure.-

[3penny]

We need someone who believes in small-scale, sustainable farming, who will focus on protecting our soil and water, on providing wholesome healthy food, who is not in thrall to Big Ag or Monsanto. Michael Pollen suggests one of the following:
Gus Schumacher, Former Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Former Massachusetts Commissioner of Agriculture.
Chuck Hassebrook, Executive Director, Center for Rural Affairs, Lyons, NE.
Sarah Vogel, former two-term Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of North Dakota, attorney, Bismarck, ND.
Fred Kirschenmann, organic farmer, Distinguished Fellow, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Ames, IA and President, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Pocantico Hills, NY.
Mark Ritchie, current Minnesota Secretary of State, former policy analyst in Minnesota’s Department of Agriculture under Governor Rudy Perpich, co-founder of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
Neil Hamilton, attorney, Dwight D. Opperman Chair of Law and Professor of Law and Director, Agricultural Law Center, Drake University, Des Moines, IA.

Sign a petition at www.foodemocracynow.org

[medi22]

thanks, 3penny.

[vjoseph]

You should send this to www.change.gov

[HallStyle]

Oh HELL NO! We don't need ANY CONSERVATIVES in THIS CABINET!!! I didn't condemn Barack Obama when he decided to put MODERATES in his Cabinet. Actually I supported his decision to do so. But to put A CONSERVATIVE in the CABINET AFTER ALL THEY DID TO DESTROY HIS REPUTATION IS UNTHINKABLE. I don't see how he can do it. It doesn't matter if he is a MINORITY or not he is still a CONSERVATIVE.

Whats NEXT? Larry Elder for Secretary of Labor?

[Petey131]

He's a democrat. You make it sound like its Rush Limbaugh.

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

he may have a d after his name, but that means nothing.

his voting record consistently favors big business over the environment and the people. last I checked, that was supposed to be the way the republicans operate, not true democrats.

[jay1975]

Yeah, screw all of the "cross the aisle" talk. We must have only one party and one way of thinking. All of those others are evil and bring nothing to the table. Yeah, this is the new politics we wanted. Partisan for life, right? People like you are the reason we are failing as a nation. Bush wouldn't listen to the Democrats and you want Obama to be the same way. There is a little phrase that I heard years ago that say united we stand and divided we fall. Right now we are divided and if we stay that way, in ten years we will remeber today as the days of prosperity compared to what may come.

[sandpiper1]

I don't agree, it's the types of Rep. pundits I disagree with..I admire and respect Ed Rollins, Kevin Madden to name two, who are republicans and will speak the truth even if it's not popular or complimentary to the Republican party. One can be biased and not be objectionable, nasty & mean spirited, but adult, sincere, intelligent, and principled.

[vjoseph]

AGREED AND COSIGN. I am getting fed up to see how some so-called Obama supporters are not following what he has been preaching. No more labels or partisanship! What part of that, can't they understand?!!!

[leftoflennon]

Finally...­REASON!

[ebanks84]

Agree.

[Georgia1992]

No to Sanford Bishop. Please don't mention Larry Elder. Surfing with the remote last night and Larry King had Larry Elder on CNN. I'm seeing too many GOPers on CNN. That's why I stopped watching CNN. MSNBC is my station.

[sandpiper1]

I agree, though I check out Larry King to see the list of guests though will watch Ac360 tonight because of the Planet in Peril headline. I watch BBC instead or CBC in Canada...
Larry Elder is a republican and a mean, nasty one at that having listened to his remarks on CNN b4.

[Yurdelite]

If you cannot tell what kind of groupthink Obama is aiming for by now, you never will. GET OVER IT!! It is a NEW DAY. The Republicans need to understand that maybe for once in our modern lives people truly understand that UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL. Republicans are all about divisiveness. If you are sick of it, then let them know. I intend to let my Republican Senator Mel not going to run anymore Martinez of Florida exactly how I feel--AGAIN.

[StillIRise]

Isn't this man a DEMOCRAT? What did HE do to destroy Obama's reputation??? Jim Webb is a conservative Democrat, and yet everyone was praising him, some even hoping that Obama would select him as his VP. I think we recognized that in spite of Webb's conservative views on some issues, he was still a Democrat and still upheld the overall values and vision of the Democratic Party. ALL Democrats are not left-wing, and all conservatives are not Republicans!

This labeling by which we define ourselves and others is becoming idiotic IMHO. We're so quick to label someone that we lose sight of their individuality and our own as well. We are complex beings, and for most of us, our worldview is not as simplistic as conservative OR liberal, or right-wing OR left-wing. There is a huge middle ground that many of us fall into or lean toward from time to time, and we need to understand this, as President-Elect Obama clearly does. When we don't, we tend to get confused, not only about who others are, but about who we are!

[vjoseph]

Well said

[osullivjos]

Why pick a pork specialist (...champi­on of federal subsidies.­...)? Why Agriculture anyway? 2% of the GDP and almost all big corporations. What about Forests and Food? We don't need to subsidize sugar cane growers in Florida when the Caribbean is just off-shore and in desperate need of money, or any of the other anomalous situations spotted around the country, the product of indulgent representation in Washington (pork). This guy does not seem to me to be outside-the-box enough. Let's clean up the Ag. mess.

[marinade]

When people think of agriculture they think of food. That's the joke. We need a Department of Food Grown in the U.S. for U.S. Citizens, not a Department of Subsidized Commodities Grown for Export to Ruin The Economies of Poor Nations.

[vjoseph]

WELL SAID. That is why I am sooo against farming subsidies. I read countless of articles about how subsidized food products have hurt poor farmers in less developed nations. F THAT

[vjoseph]

That is where my problem lies with him. No to subsidies of any kind

[marinade]

What are his qualifications?

Agriculture is another area that needs an overhaul. This guy doesn't seem to have any qualifications that would suggest he would fix anything.

[Eyewideopen]

What are Tom Daschle's qualifications to fix Healthcare?????

[NotesFromME]

He wrote a book on the subject and has been in the forefront of healthcare issues for decades.

[Eyewideopen]

What are Hillary Clinton's qualifications to lead our foreign policy?

[marinade]

Is your comment some sort of justification for another bad appointment?

[ProgressDon]

Better than Michael Brown for FEMA Chief, dont ya think?

[marinade]

And that's good enough?

[Grunty1]

I dunno. What does Bishop know about horses??

[vjoseph]

Excuse, but is one person that I want far as possible from the Cabinet.

[buckbuck11]

I'd rather see it go to somebody from Iowa to reward that state for coming to the light! :)

[naschkatze]

Good point. Obama owes his election to Iowa more than to any other entity. Without Iowa he wouldn't have won the primary. And I have no stake in this--I'm an Oregonian.

[FACINGREALIT]

Oh, so it is OK to 'pay to play' as long as it is to people YOU feel Obama owes? I appreciate the votes he received in Iowa however, I don't think Obama owes them anything but his trust, good decisions and an upright and ethical administration. ENOUGH of this because you scratched my back I owe you something special. He EARNED the votes of the people in Iowa he didn't BUY them.

[vjoseph]

That man is not even considered to be a viable candidate, you tro//

[vjoseph]

Ok, I apologize, misread your comment.

[JenIA]

I'm an Iowan and you can bet we're proud that we got the O train going way back on January 3rd. That said, former Gov. Tom Vilsack's name has floated around for this position and meh, just because he's an Iowa doesn't necessarily make him the best choice.

I am, however, thrilled that Iowan Jackie Norris (Obama campaign state director) has been chosen to be Michelle Obama's Chief of Staff!

[gfs5541]

I'm down with a brotha getting a cabinet position, but seriously, brotha's got to hold his urine better. That's beyond embrassing.

[kevingiampa]

The man had to go. No harm done.

[Charmed]

What is a "Blue Dog"......­stop laughing, politics is new to some of us...lol.

[naschkatze]

And how many of them are there? We need to replace them or outnumber them with progressives in the Democratic Party to the point where those who remain can just be the Republicans they've always wanted to be.

[GeorgeP922]

Well they organize under a group they call the DLC.

We did great working unseating many in 2006 primaries, I just hope the Democratic base will be able to fund and GOTV such an effort in 2010.

[ProgressDon]

Lol...I understand your concern. Here in Georgia, in order to win political office a Democrat has to be conservative on some issues. It's important for our party to continue to expand its camp because the GOP is shrinking because of groupthink. So I think we need both blue dogs and progressives.

[BLinCincinnati]

That is the same logic that is destroying the Republican party right now. The GOP is losing because they have driven out all their liberal Republicans (Lincoln was a Liberal Republican by the way) and are purging the Moderate Republicans at this time. Being a one idealogy party is what is causing the GOP's problems. Now you want the Dems to do the same thing? Dumb dumb dumb.

Dems have a larger majority because of their larger tent. There are liberal, progressive, moderate and conservative Democrats. By not having the same rigid stance on ideology as the GOP, the Dems are attracting more people to the party and are more acceptable to independents as well.

I'm conservative on many fiscal and domestic issues, but I'm also progressive on foreign policy and social issues. Because of the GOP's move to the far right my views aren't really welcome there... thus my change to Democratic Party where more diversity in views is accepted.

[ProgressDon]

Moderate-c­onservativ­e Democrats

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

it may as well mean dino.

[larmarch5]

Republican lites

[rockyb26]

forgive me for being naive, but what exactly does blue dog mean?

[GeorgeP922]

Better known as "Bush Dog"

Basically Democrats who sell out, and cowtow to their state's republicans.

So by putting Blue Dog in the headline, the idea is to inflame the liberal majority of Democrats who associated "Blue Dogs" with voting with Bush on almost every single bill.

[Charmed]

Ohhhhhh, thanks George....­....

[rockyb26]

got it. thanks.

[jay1975]

Not even close. the Blue Dogs first got their start from the Boll Weevils in the 1950's and formed their own official coalition in 1994. They try to follow the policies and values of Harry S. Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson. Their only true conservative platform is fiscal conservatism. These days it is old Democrat (JFK, FDR) versus new Democrat (anything left of the mainstream). Your explanation is simple minded, immature and uninformed at best.

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

"Basically Democrats who sell out, and cowtow to their state's republican­s."

that's the correct answer.

[blueskybigstar]

yellow dog I have heard of. blue dog is new to me. they said it means a democrat that is very, very conservative.

[Dystopic]

Blue dog = fiscally conservative, generally socially moderate

[buckbuck11]

Another phrase is DINO - Democrat in name only. Usually southern. Heath Schuler is another one. They are social conservatives.

[JenIA]

Per OpenLeft, these are Bush Dog Democrats--Bush Dog Democrats are Democratic members of Congress who enable the right-wing through their support of Bush's policies on core progressive values at key moments. (Sanford Bishop isn't on this list...):

AL-05: Bud Cramer
AR-02: Vic Snyder
AR-04: Mike Ross
CA-20: Jim Costa
CO-03: John Salazar
FL-02: Alan Boyd
GA-08: Jim Marshall
GA-12: John Barrow
IA-03: Leonard Boswell
IL-03: Dan Lipinski
IL-08: Melissa Bean
IN-02: Joe Donnelly
IN-08: Brad Ellsworth
IN-09: Baron Hill
KY-06: Ben Chandler
LA-03: Charlie Melancon
MS-04: Gene Taylor
MN-01: Tim Walz
MN-07: Colin Peterson
NC-07: Mike McIntyre
NC-02: Bob Etheridge
NC-11: Heath Shuler
ND-AL: Earl Pomeroy
OH-06: Charlie Wilson
OH-18: Zack Space
OK-02: Dan Boren
PA-04: Jason Altmire
PA-10: Chris Carney
SD-AL: Stephanie Herseth
TN-04: Lamar Davis
TN-05: Jim Cooper
TN-06: Bart Gordon
TN-08: John Tanner
TX-17: Chet Edwards
TX-22: Nick Lampson
TX-23: Ciro Rodriguez
TX-28: Henry Cuellar
UT-02: Jim Matheson
WA-03: Brian Baird

[VeniceDave]

Thanks for the list. Now, if you will overlay the list with the district map for each of these members of the House, you will find they represent a moderate to conservative constituency, in many cases "red" districts, and in the rest, "purple districts". In an effort to achieve some type of ideological purity (which Barack Obama said in his victory speech he was against, and has been the undoing of the Republican Party), you would throw the baby out with the bath water. We are the party of inclusion, not exclusion; and the reason we have a Democratic majority is tied to these Democrats.

Snark them as DINO's if you will, but change all these "D's" to "R's" and see what that does to the House majority. I can tell you what will happen: Get used to this title: Speaker Boehner!!

[vjoseph]

As nothing to do with Bush

[truegreen]

Oh...No way....the man is a blue-dog. But when push comes to shove REP. Bishop probably won't be the next SOA.

[vjoseph]

So? Why do you get all in a tizzy at the mention of blue dog?

[utgrad2005]

piss in the cup...what­..what...p­iss in the cup.

[ElBruce]

You know what, I wouldn't mind a true right-winger in Ag. Somebody who's sensitive to rural concerns but would be interested in transforming our Ag policy from a subsidy-based economy to one that gets paid for production.

[pir anha]

that would not be sanford then, since he's pro-subsidies.

[blueskybigstar]

Without subsidies we would be in real trouble. I bet you were the type who wanted to tie Social Security to Wall St. We should subsidize whole grains, organic agriculture, fruits and vegetables that are best for our health, and penalize the stuff that is not good for us. Just eating better would change education in this country for the better in a minute.

[vjoseph]

That is complete BS. Did you know that most farmers who get subsidies are rich and do not even grow crop. Did you know by subsidizing agriculture, you are killing farming in poor nations, which happened to be their major economic sector? I am soo glad that Obama wants to cut that practice. A lot of the subsidies go to big businesses not small growers.

[Dystopic]

Every country in the world subsidizes agriculture. without exception.

[vjoseph]

All Western countries do, not poor countries and middle income countries including Brazil, India and China. That was the major point of contention at the Doha Round and the Uruguay Round, previously. A lot of those poor countries are being undercut about subsidize agriculture, hurting their economy. Its outrageous and needs to be stop

[CatfishAndGrits]

Being from african american and from Georgia, and a progressive I hope he doesn't get it. I have met the Bishop, and on a personal level he's a good guy, and family man. But his politics will leave a bad taste in Obama mouth. However, it is not lost on me why he is picking someone from Georgia. It is now a battle ground state.