Pat Toomey at OMB - The Right Choice
By Mark Kilmer Posted in Elections — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Josh Bolton will be an Administration-refreshing change as Chief of Staff, and the President ought to tab Club for Growth's Pat Toomey to replace Bolton at OMB. Toomey's bona fides as a fiscal conservative are unassailable, and he has experience in the market: as a small businessman and in the investment industry.
Most importantly to the base should be that Pat Toomey is the former U.S. Congressman (R-PA) who Pennsylvania's conservatives supported in the '04 GOP primary against liberal Republican Arlen Specter. Toomey captured the hearts and imaginations of conservatives statewide and is one of the rare politicians who started a movement. In Pennsylvania, there are folks who refer to themselves as "Pat Toomey conservatives."
Getting Pat Toomey on board, putting Pat Toomey on the team, could enliven fiscal conservatives who haven't had much to shout about from this Administration since the President's tax cuts. It would also help the resume of a talented conservative for when or if he decides to seek public office in the future.
Mr. President, please consider Pat Toomey for OMB.
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Pat Toomey at OMB - The Right Choice 8 Comments (0 topical, 8 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Toomey isn't the only good choice for the job, of course, but a bonus would be shoring up Rick Santorum's status with some of the disgruntled "Pat Toomey conservatives" who might be considering staying home this fall.
While it would make sense for the President to look to a Pat Toomey to come and make sense of his fiscal house, what exactly is in it for Toomey? Why would a free-market supply-sider with serious Wall Street training and credintials want to inherit a budget that makes expanding government a priority? A question for anyone that takes the OMB spot (and frankly it is likely to be someone from within, because the Whitehouse rarely if ever hires from without) is: Are you willing to be the last man standing on the ship that will be famous for hitting the $10 trillion debt ceiling mark by the end of '08? The budget has been written already and the next OMB director will spend the next 10 month justifying a document and policies that he had no input on. I think the President would have to do a pretty sweet sales job to convince a true-believer like Toomey to join his band of merry-makers.
Back in November 2004, Human Events' John Gizzi was the first to float the idea of Toomey-for-OMB. On our Right Angle blog, we picked up on that theme again today. And Andy Roth at Club for Growth has his own take on it.
What makes you think this President would be interested in appointing a fiscal conservative to OMB? It certainly would have the potential of interfering with his governing/policy style, don't you think?
The OMB job is a sales job for White House politically motivated policies that are handed to the budget director as a fait accompli. Toomey would hate that, because he's his own man and he puts principle above personal loyalty. It would be an impossible relationship for both men, and Toomey's talents would be totally wasted, as he would either become subservient or would get fired.
I find this whole thread bizarre. It just doesn't make any sense.
And if Toomey does leave Club for Growth, who replaces him there?
The dominos just keep on falling, heh.