Kathleen Sebelius Accepts HHS Nomination

by Todd Beeton, Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 01:20:27 PM EST

There goes our best chance at the Kansas Senate seat.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius accepted President Obama's nomination to become Health and Human Services Secretary this afternoon, according to administration officials. Sebelius will replace former senator Thomas A. Daschle, who withdrew from consideration last month.
"This evening, the President asked Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to serve as his Secretary of Health and Human Services, and she accepted," one administration official said. "The President will formally announce the nomination on Monday afternoon at the White House."

Assuming the Lt. Gov. assumes the governorship once Sebelius is confirmed, meet the next Governor of Kansas, Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, HERE.

Update [2009-2-28 18:28:10 by Todd Beeton]:Haha, make that "Mark Parkinson, barely a Democrat."

From Wikipedia:

Parkinson entered Kansas politics as a Republican in 1990. He served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1991 to 1992 and the Kansas Senate from 1993 to 1997. From 1999 to 2003 he was Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party. In 2004 he served as chairman of the Shawnee Area Chamber of Commerce board, and in 2005, served as the "Chair of the Chairs" of the six Chambers of Commerce in Johnson County.
In May 2006, Governor Kathleen Sebelius announced that Parkinson had switched parties and was her running mate for her reelection campaign, succeeding retiring lieutenant governor John E. Moore (also a former Republican who had switched parties shortly before he joined a ticket with Sebelius). Parkinson's business experience and track record of working with both Republicans and Democrats were the reasons Sebelius gave for choosing him.

Tags: HHS, kansan, Kathleen Sebelius (all tags)

Comments

19 Comments

Sort by

permalink

I love President Obama, but I wonder...

is he intentionally taking out potential strong Democratic Senate candidates in red states?

by JDF 2009-02-28 01:32PM | 0 recs

permalink

3 Senate Chances Sqandered by Obama

1. Napolitano who could have beaten McCain.

2. Vilsack who could have pushed Grassley into Retirement.

3. And now Sebelius who would have had a good chance of winning especially with a nasty GOP Primary between Tihart/Moran on the Horizon.

by Obamafan 2009-02-28 03:02PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: 3 Senate Chances Sqandered by Obama

I don't think McCain is going to run again, anyway?

But, I agree, this is tough stuff....

by WashStateBlue 2009-02-28 03:07PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Kathleen Sebelius Accepts HHS Nomination

I don't think McCain is going to run again, anyway?

On the same day that Obama spent the night in Phoenix after signing ARRA in Denver, John McCain held a campaign fundraising dinner in the exact same resort hotel where Obama was staying that night.

Napolitano and Sebelius may have direct ramifications on our 2010 Senate outlook, but I'm not quite so sure about Vilsack.

And while there's no doubt that those two women could have been formidable opponents for those seats, speaking as if they were guaranteed victory is a bit silly.

Neither one of those seats was ever competitive for any Democrats other than Napolitano and Sebelius. And while both of them would have made the races shift from "guaranteed Republican victory" to "too close to call", "too close to call" doesn't automatically equal "guaranteed Democratic victory".

If they can both perform well in their Cabinet roles and help Obama to enact the agenda he promised, I'm OK with it.

Assuming things go well over the next two years, we're gonna easily get to 60 Senators in 2010, even with AZ and KS out of play. I'm not gonna freak out if we have to settle for 64 Senators instead of 66. They're both filibuster-proof, which is powerful enough for me.

by Obamaphile 2009-02-28 03:19PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Kathleen Sebelius Accepts HHS Nomination

Could be retiring debt...

He might run again, we will see...

I hope your numbers are right...

64 would be good, some balance for the Ben Nelsons with a few more lefties...

by WashStateBlue 2009-02-28 04:37PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Kathleen Sebelius Accepts HHS Nomination

McCain has hired 2010 re-election staff.

He's running.

by Trowaman 2009-02-28 09:28PM | 0 recs

permalink

Yeah, Obama's killing our bench

But at least this Parkinson guy looks strong enough to hold the governor's seat.

by Bush Bites 2009-02-28 03:55PM | 0 recs

permalink

she better be good at HHS

If she muddles through or gets behind a reform plan that won't do the job, it's not worth giving up a chance at a Senate seat.

by desmoinesdem 2009-02-28 05:16PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: she better be good at HHS

She's had ample experience confronting the insurance industry in her state, I think she is a great pick for HHS Secretary. Getting universal heathcare is more important than a senate seat in Kansas.

by pubasnacks 2009-02-28 05:37PM | 0 recs

permalink

That she apparently

never had any interest in running for anyway?

by DTOzone 2009-02-28 11:45PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Kathleen Sebelius Accepts HHS Nomination

Chuck Todd said a few weeks ago that Sibelius never had any interest in the senate seat... She's been acttively pushing for a cabinet position for months.

by LordMike 2009-02-28 05:31PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Kathleen Sebelius Accepts HHS Nomination

Perhaps Sebelius needed those quasi-Republican Lt.Govs. to get elected as a Democrat in Kansas.

She's a graduate of Trinity College in Washington DC, the same college that graduated Nancy Pelosi a few yrs earlier. Also like Pelosi, she's from a Dem. political family.

Best wishes from her hometown, Cincinnati.

by susie 2009-02-28 07:10PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Kathleen Sebelius Accepts HHS Nomination

The Lt. Gov was elected in 2006, and is elected independently from the governor. He was recruited directly from Sebelius to help grow the Democratic party of Kansas, which needed/and still needs some serious growing power.

It was a good move.

by Trowaman 2009-02-28 09:27PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Kathleen Sebelius Accepts HHS Nomination

Two things - being a county Democratic Chair and having just returned from Washington Days in Topeka - Parkinson announced a few weeks ago he was not running for governor. I don't think this changes things - it might, but what I heard over the weekend it doesn't. Second the Lt gov is not elected independently in KS. When Sebelius leaves, Parkinson will choose his Lt. Gov. They are elected as a ticket. I'm glad to have my governor going to a major cabinet post, but as a Democrat it leaves us without leadership at the top. Parkinson is well liked, but not the commanding presence Sebelius is. It also deprives us of a top presence on the 2010 ballot were she to have run for the senate. Electorally we don't have a very deep bench. Our 2006 elected AG had to resign over an affair scandal, so our current AG has never been elected. Sebelius appointed Dennis McKinney state treasurer when Nancy Boyda was defeated and he has never been elected statewide (though he was house minority leader and lost his house in the Greensburg Tornado). So we don't have a very deep bench, but we have some great young talent - 2010 could be a tough slog.

by sandzen 2009-03-01 07:00AM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Kathleen Sebelius Accepts HHS Nomination

Thanks for clarifying.

by susie 2009-03-01 10:25AM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Kathleen Sebelius Accepts HHS Nomination

I am so dissapointed that Gov. Howard Dean was not given this spot.

Just goes to show how much influence Rahm Emanuel has over Obama!

by lja 2009-03-01 07:27AM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: Kathleen Sebelius Accepts HHS Nomination

I suspect Howard has chosen to spend some time in Vt. with the lovely Dr. Judy and their children.

by lojasmo 2009-03-01 12:22PM | 0 recs

permalink

AZ senate

McCain is definitely running in 2010. His only real competition for the nomination is former Rep. (from my district), JD Hayworth. Hayworth now has his own local talk show, and the dude is a complete clown. That race won't cost McCain much money in fundraising at all.

As far as Janet's shot at Senate, don't be swayed by her extraordinary numbers. We are in the middle of a massive budget crisis that the GOP can easily turn against her in a run against mister pork barrel.

If McCain was running for senate in 2008, she could have beat him. But you can never rule out the power of an incredibly rabid base of Mormons and no-government types that pretty much rule the state senate and congress down here.

by KoolJeffrey 2009-03-01 07:41AM | 0 recs

permalink

An excellent choice

Sebelius has a proven record of reform in a tough environment-- that's exactly what we need in HHS right now.

If there's only one Democrat in all of Kansas that can win a Senate seat there, then it's probably alright that we don't have a Democrat representing them... we can make up the difference to 60 elsehwere. Consider it incentive to get some better candidates.

by Dracomicron 2009-03-01 09:18AM | 0 recs