Bluey Blog - Official Blog of Robert B. Bluey

Jim Nussle Is Under Attack in the Senate

There are few people more qualified for the job of OMB director than Jim Nussle. The former House Budget Committee chairman has a résumé that makes him the perfect fit for overseeing the Office of Management and Budget. Yet that experience could be the very reason Democrats want to block his confirmation.

We found out yesterday that Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D.-N.D.) is threatening to hold up Nussle’s confirmation in an effort to get President Bush to renege on his veto threats. Bad move for Sen. Conrad. In response, RedState asked its readers to phone his offices. And Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform accused Conrad of “obstructionist tactics [that] are nothing more than a callous money-grab.”

As the partisan bickering was taking place, I was at a portrait dedication for Nussle yesterday afternoon at the House Budget Committee room. The current chairman, Rep. John Spratt, a Democrat, sang his praises. So did Rep. Paul Ryan, the ranking Republican on the committee. And then there was Dick Armey, the former House majority leader, who fondly recalled his days serving with Nussle. Each spoke of Nussle’s bipartisan approach to legislating and his commitment to the federal budget. I’ve posted the four videos below.

After hearing those speeches, I found it very hard to believe House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s charge that Nussle “was known much more for confrontation.” If anyone wants confrontation, it’s Hoyer and other congressional Democrats. As the Washington Post reports this morning, Democrats will stop at nothing to smear this good man. Clearly, they want to turn one of Washington’s brightest into a villain they can demonize.