governor

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Senate Approves Locke as Commerce Secretary

(Newser) - The Senate today confirmed former Washington Gov. Gary Locke as commerce secretary, handing President Obama an easy victory after his first two nominees for the post withdrew. Locke, 59, was America's first Chinese-American governor, serving two terms from 1997 to 2005. He has promised to focus on job creation and...

Blago's New Gig: Talk Radio

Disgraced governor to host local Chicago broadcast

(Newser) - Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has a new temp job—as a radio talk show host. WLS-AM program director Bob Shomper says Blagojevich will be on the air on the Chicago station tomorrow morning, taking calls from listeners, telling stories, and talking with guests. Shomper says it's a one-time deal...

Palin May Create Fund to Pay $500K in Legal Bills

Guv may start a legal fund to handle costs

(Newser) - Sarah Palin has racked up more than $500,000 in lawyers' bills defending herself against ethics complaints and may create a legal fund to help pay them off, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The Alaska governor calls the complaints “baseless” and chalks them up to "political blood sport....

McAuliffe Tack: Virginia Is for Garbage Lovers

He's leading Dem race for governor with new zeal for solid waste

(Newser) - For Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic party chief turned Virginia gubernatorial candidate, the way to Old Dominion’s heart runs through trash. “I love trash," he tells Dana Milbank of the Washington Post. "I love chicken litter, cow manure, garbage. This is the kind of thing that...

Palin Rejects a Third of Stimulus Cash

Critics say Alaska gov. is turning down funds to further national political career

(Newser) - Sarah Palin is refusing to accept almost a third of stimulus funds offered to Alaska, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The governor—who can be overruled by the state legislature—says the funds, including $170 million for education, would expand government, but critics charge that she is going against Alaska's...

Amid Recession, Obama to Prod Weary DNC Donors

(Newser) - President Obama is set to address a Democratic fundraiser later this month—the first such event of his presidency—but the money might not flow from donors cowed by recession and overextended after the recent election, Bloomberg reports. “Nonetheless,” said a White House deputy press secretary, “the...

Palin Hates Earmarks, but Alaska's No. 1
Palin Hates Earmarks, but Alaska's No. 1
OPINION
Mar 13, 2009 12:56 PM CDT

Palin Hates Earmarks, but Alaska's No. 1

State has highest amount per capita; Is crusade on hold?

(Newser) - Sarah Palin crusaded against earmarks as a VP candidate, but she's going to reap the benefits as a governor. The new spending bill gives Alaska a total of $143.9 million for various projects, or $210 for each resident—the most per capita of any state, write Jonathan Stein and...

Lawmakers Sour on Governors Filling Senate Vacancies

Post-Blago, some push special elections

(Newser) - Soured by the taint of the Rod Blagojevich scandal on a US Senate seat, members of congressional judiciary subcommittees considered a Constitutional amendment that would fill interim vacancies in the body by election, rather than by gubernatorial appointment, the Washington Post reports. The selection by governors is “not only...

Blago Fails to Boot Federal Prosecutor

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich has failed to get Chicago's top federal prosecutor kicked off of his case, the Chicago Tribune reports. A judge ruled today that comments made by Patrick Fitzgerald—which Blagojevich called inflammatory—did not warrant removing him from the corruption case. Nor did Fitzgerald's release of wiretap transcripts that...

Winning Blago Book Name: Rod and the Giant Impeach

(Newser) - The people of Illinois have voted in a Chicago Tribune contest to name Rod Blagojevich’s upcoming memoir, and the winner is: Rod and the Giant Impeach. “I thought of the impeachment of the governor, and about my childhood,” the winner said of his inspiration, which scored him...

Burris Figured 'To Do Some Things' for Blago: Ex-Ally

(Newser) - John Ruff, a former associate of Roland Burris and his staff, is claiming Burris planned all along to make a trade with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich for the Senate seat he now holds. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Ruff, then a participant in the effort to get the seat for Burris,...

Spitzer Moves Into DC Real Estate
Spitzer Moves Into DC
Real Estate
Mar 6, 2009 5:48 AM CST

Spitzer Moves Into DC Real Estate

Disgraced NY gov buys $180M office tower a block from tryst hotel

(Newser) - Eliot Spitzer is now working in real estate in the city where his downfall began, the Wall Street Journal reports. The ex-governor of New York has worked with his father's real estate company to buy an office block in Washington DC, only a block away from the hotel where he...

Blago's Book Bad News for Emanuel
Blago's Book Bad News for Emanuel
OPINION
Mar 4, 2009 10:39 AM CST

Blago's Book Bad News for Emanuel

Ex-gov likely went with small publisher so he could bash Rahmbo

(Newser) - Why is Rod Blagojevich’s tell-all book coming from such a small publisher? The press release says it’s so everyone’s favorite ex-governor can share his story “without restriction over content,” but Cindy Adams of the New York Post thinks she knows the real reason. Blago’s...

'A Little Slavery' Is Not OK, Gov. Crist

(Newser) - A dozen years of prosecutions against Florida slave-holders still hasn't convinced Gov. Charlie Crist to back the cause—but he better, Barry Estabrook writes in Gourmet. Advocacy groups, who have tried for 2 years to meet with him, now threaten to re-enact slavery abuses in the state’s capital. Such...

Blago Inks 6-Figure Book Deal

(Newser) - A publicist for Rod Blagojevich says the former Illinois governor plans to write a book "exposing the dark side of politics," the AP reports. Glenn Selig says Blagojevich signed a six-figure deal today. The book, to be released on October, also will detail how Blagojevich selected President...

GOP Finds Promising Candidates in US Attorneys

Image of corruption-busting prosecutor plays well in recession

(Newser) - US attorneys have been a sore subject for Republicans since the Bush administration's politically motivated dismissal of eight prosecutors in 2006. But in the Obama age, the office is becoming a wellspring of strong Republican candidates, Politico reports. The current climate of public distrust toward government and financial institutions means...

Unemployed Furious at Contrarian Govs

Constituents fear losing out on stimulus dollars over politics

(Newser) - Opposing the stimulus’ expansion of unemployment benefits may be good PR, but there’s one constituency it’s not playing well with: unemployed people. “It just seems unreasonable,” one jobless Texan tells the New York Times, “that when people probably need the help the most, that because...

Gregg Pulled In Profit on Air Force Base Earmark

No personal gain from earmarks, says senator

(Newser) - Barack Obama can be glad Sen. Judd Gregg, briefly nominated for commerce secretary, backed out. Today, the AP reports that Gregg invested heavily in efforts by his brother Cyrus to redevelop New Hampshire’s Pease Air Force Base, while earmarking federal dollars for the redevelopment. “These earmarks do not...

Blago Gave Burris' Son Job
Blago Gave Burris' Son Job
Feb 26, 2009 12:34 PM CST

Blago Gave Burris' Son Job

Facing foreclosure, Burris II gets housing gig; 'reeks of hypocrisy,' state rep charges

(Newser) - Sen. Roland Burris’ son, Roland W. Burris II, got a job with the Illinois housing authority last year, weeks after the IRS imposed a tax lien and his home entered foreclosure, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The appointment came as his father lobbied for Barack Obama’s Senate seat, and Gov....

Kenneth: I'm More Lumberjacky Than Jindal

30 Rock 's Kenneth responds to comparisons

(Newser) - With the Internet buzzing over how much Gov. Bobby Jindal sounded like Kenneth the Page from 30 Rock in his Obama response Tuesday night, Jimmy Fallon gave Kenneth—aka Jack McBrayer—a chance to respond. On the Jimmy Fallon Late Night blog, McBrayer appears before a background strikingly similar to...

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