Turlington to lead NC Dems

A winter advisory for the Kentuckiana area is out there for tomorrow so drive safely.

Gov. Mike Easley (D-NC) wants Ed Turlington of Raleigh to lead the party.

Ed Turlington, a Raleigh lawyer who was the right-hand man for such Democratic leaders as Jim Hunt, Terry Sanford and John Edwards, has been tapped to lead the North Carolina Democratic Party during the next two years.

Gov. Mike Easley has signaled that Turlington, 47, is his choice to become the new state Demo-cratic Party chairman, succeeding Barbara Allen, who will be stepping down early next year.[...]

The naming of Turlington would put an operative with a national reputation at the head of the state party. He would oversee efforts to keep the General Assembly in Democratic hands in two years, would help push Easley's agenda including a possible state lottery referendum and would ensure the party's coffers are filled.[...]

"It is a unique moment in the state party's history where we have a chance to lead nationally," Turlington said Monday. "Gov. Easley is one of the leading Democratic governors and is already part of an effort to work with the national party leadership. We have David Price as co-chairman of a party commission. You have Mel Watt, who is chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and we just had John Edwards on the national ticket. North Carolina Democrats can play an important role in national politics."[...]

Turlington said presidential politics should not be read into his choice -- either for Edwards or for Easley. Turlington said he supports Edwards' seeking the presidency in 2008 but said that decision is likely a couple of years away.

He said it would be "a stretch" to view his selection as an effort by Easley to position himself for a presidential run. But he said that Easley, having twice been elected governor in a red state, could provide valuable advice to the national party.[...]

Turlington would be the first North Carolina Democratic chairman in recent memory with extensive experience in presidential politics. He was general chairman of Edwards' presidential campaign and deputy campaign manager for New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley's 2000 presidential run. Most recently he was state co-chairman of the Kerry-Edwards campaign.

He also has one of the longest political resumes in North Carolina, having served as a key aide to Sanford, Hunt and Lt. Gov. Bob Jordan and as executive director of the state party. Turlington said, however, that his most important qualification might be his involvement in precinct politics since he was a 15-year-old in Sampson County.

I've had the priviledge of corresponding with Mr. Turlington for sometime now. He's a great guy and will do good for the party in North Carolina. Maybe he should consider the DNC Chairmanship?

On the subject of retiring Senator John Edwards, PoliticsNH.com reports that there is no question that Edwards might run in 2008.

The most senior advisor to John Edwards in New Hampshire said he believes Edwards is seriously considering another White House bid.

“I don’t think there is any question,” state Sen. Lou D’Allesandro (D-Manchester) said when asked if Edwards would run for president in 2008. “He knows he has a bright political future ahead of him.”

D’Allesandro served as Edwards’ state campaign chairman in his bid for president.

The Detroit Free Press reports what politicians are doing now that they are retired from Capitol Hill.

Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., is sifting offers. Rep. Jack Quinn, R-N.Y., will join one of Washington's top lobbying firms. Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., who helped write the prescription drug law that Congress passed last year, will become president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a powerful drug industry trade association.[...]

Among the more famous to make the move in recent years is former Kansas Republican Sen. Bob Dole, who lobbies as Bob Dole Enterprises and is special counsel with Alston & Bird, an Atlanta-based law firm. Dole's former Kansas colleague, longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Glickman, recently landed one of Washington's most prestigious lobbying gigs as president of the Motion Picture Association of America.

That explains why my email to Secretary Glickman bounced back two or three weeks ago.

Here are some very interesting and thoughtful articles:
Homeland Security Losing Its No. 2 Executive, Too

James M. Loy, the department's deputy secretary, plans to stay until March 1 or until a successor is confirmed, the agency said yesterday. Secretary Tom Ridge, who announced his resignation from the Cabinet late last month, plans to leave by Feb. 1 if his replacement has been lined up.

Not a surprise at all.

9/11 Panel Members to Lobby for a Restructured Congress

In the Senate, the Governmental Affairs Committee is being renamed the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, but it is not being given jurisdiction over several of the largest agencies within the Homeland Security Department, which will continue to report to other Senate committees.

There is no shortage of voices calling for powerful and unified Congressional oversight. A report this month by a research group led by Thomas S. Foley, a Democrat and former House speaker, and Warren B. Rudman, a Republican and former senator from New Hampshire, called for streamlined oversight of the Homeland Security Department, joining with the Sept. 11 commission in describing Congressional oversight as dysfunctional.

I thought my mom's family was dysfunctional...this idea sounds interesting.