HHS Secretary Nominee Neera Tanden in hot water after prior comments about Republicans and Progressive Democrats get leakedBlitzer: President Clinton's Nominee for HHS has gotten into hot water recently for many comments she has made over the years about republicans , and progressive Democrats which could make it tougher for her to be confirmed . Many believe these comments are also exactly the type of comments needed for Senate Minority Leader Jeb Bush to find the justification needed to launch a filibuster effort which in turn would make confirmation impossible. So David how big of a deal do you think this is
Gergen : To me it depends greatly on the reaction you see from conservative commentators on Fox News such as Bill O Riley and Sean Hannity as well as talk show radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh because they could put the pressure on republicans to indeed filibuster Mrs. Tanden in which case I think it would happen
Blitzer : Cant Republican leadership defy them like they have in the past
Gergen : Oh absolutely but keep in mind that Republicans are just coming of their worst election defeat in 20 years so the power of republican leadership is at the moment very weak which is why the influence of conservative cables News and talk show hosts likely will be at the strongest . A year from now it probably wouldn’t be which is why those hosts know that if there is any time for them to flex their influence, it is now as they likely won’t have an opportunity like this in quite some time .
President Clinton names Congressman Tim Ryan to head the DNC:source : https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rep._Tim_Ryan_Congressional_Head_Shot_2010_(cropped_3).jpg#mw-jump-to-licenseCopper : The president today announced that she would be appointing representative Tim Ryan of Ohio to head the Democratic National Committee over the next few years . So Paul what do you think of this pick
Begala: I think its a fantastic choice as Congressman Ryan really is someone who is a rising star , a really strong fighter for working class Americans and is someone who being from Ohio can help bring a perspective to the Democratic Party that many bellwether voters feel. Now whether he is successful or not only time will tell as he will follow in the footsteps of two successful DNC Chairs in Howard Dean and Kirsten Gillibrand and we have to see if he can build upon their work.