I recently suggested that, in response to the passel of unqualified deplorables the President-Elect wants to seat in his Cabinet, Democrats should convene a Shadow Cabinet. The United Kingdom has a Shadow Cabinet consisting of members of Parliament from the opposition party (usually the party with the second-largest number of seats) presenting themselves as an alternative government-in-waiting. In the United States, such an association of Democratic policy experts could lead public opposition to the Trump Administration’s ignorance, greed, and antipathy to public service.
The Green Party supports a Green Shadow Cabinet, but it doesn’t seem to get much press. Democrats, whom could we offer to talk facts and good sense on national policy?
We could just ask members of the Obama Cabinet to continue serving the public as spokespeople for how their former Departments ought to work. But if those good public servants need a break, we can bring on some Democratic all-stars:
- State: Samantha Power (promote her from U.N. Secretary!)
- Treasury and Commerce: Bernie Sanders (he’s good enough and right enough on economic policy to do both)
- Defense: Colin Powell (they don’t have to be Democrats; they just have to know their stuff!)
- Justice: Eric Holder
- Labor: Robert Reich
- Environmental Protection Agency: Al Gore
- Interior: Bill McKibben
- Agriculture: Wendell Berry (he probably wouldn’t take the job, but he deserves the first pitch!)
- Education: Bill Nye
There are more spots to fill, and I welcome your suggestions. They key is to pick intelligent, well-known people who can step up to a microphone at a moment’s notice and lay out clear principles and policies. They should all be able to expose Trump’s Cabinet members as the chumps, stooges, and saboteurs that they are.
I’d also be curious to see if we could create a state Shadow Cabinet for South Dakota. That’s a little trickier (trick #1: Google “South Dakota Cabinet,” and most of the first two screens that pop up are for cabinetmakers). Our state executive branch includes elected offices other than Governor’s cabinet appointees, so South Dakota Democrats forming a Shadow Cabinet would want to include the newsmaking offices of Secretary of State and Attorney General. My suggestions:
- Attorney General: Brookings County State’s Attorney Abigail A. Howard
- Secretary of State: me! (who else can you think of who gets as excited about election law?)
- Economic Development: Scott Parsley
- Agriculture: Jason Frerichs
- Environment and Natural Resources: Red Dawn Foster (remember, she was at the Dakota Access protests!)
- Education: Kathy Tyler
- Health and Social Services: Michael Saba
Again, I welcome your suggestions. But we Democrats, at the state level and at the national level, need a corps of smart, eager go-to spokespeople for the media. At both levels, those Shadow Secretaries can be plowing the road for the Democrats who will run for executive positions, testing messages and getting people thinking about how government ought to work.
Don’t forget HHS – maybe Russ Feingold or Tim Kaine…
Bill Nye gets my vote to feed phony right wing kristians to dinosaurs to show how to recycle poop.
Just call it what it is….point/counterpoint, and it already exists. Not mysterious. Also get Eric Holder’s name off of the list as he didn’t prosecute any of the Wall Street Banksters. Had he, or had Obama given him permission to do so, VOTERS all over the nation would have had more faith in their government, and this election might have turned out differently.
Great idea! Especially for South Dakota. The SDDP has the funds to give each cabinet member a stipend to keep the GOP Politburo in line with the press and voters. If nothing else, the media would have a second source to contribute to their reporting.
Let’s save a salary and shrink some government. For both Environment and Labor ~ Governor Jerry Brown. For Interior ~ Governor John Hickenlooper. Both proven leaders and very likeable. Both could take over the Presidency immediately.
At the risk of seeming as if I am only promoting my good friends, I submit for your consideration for Tribal Relations and for Tourism: Mr. C and Bill.
If wingnuts had any integrity or family values HRC still won in a landslide. Wingnuts used their entire dirty tricks manual plus Russians plus the FBI and still barely stole this election.
Wingnuts committed treason but HRC’s the crook.
New York Post: “The White House is accusing President-elect Donald Trump of knowing the Russians were interfering in the US election — and standing idly by because it was hurting Hillary Clinton. “There was ample evidence that was known long before the election, and in most cases long before October, about the Trump campaign in Russia, everything from the Republican nominee himself calling on Russia to hack his opponent,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at Wednesday’s press briefing.
“It might be an indication that he was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he had available to him, that Russia was involved and their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent’s campaign,” he added. Earnest even went so far as to say that Trump chose campaign manager Paul Manafort — the second of three to lead his successful presidential bid — because of his closeness to the Russians.”
Justice: Barack H. Obama
State: John Kerry
Defense: Eric Shinseki
State Economic Development: John T.
The shadow cabinet is a great idea. It would be even better if it was combined with a Question Period like in the UK. And, if our presumed leader-elect was too busy not discussing business with his kids (wink, wink) and declined to take part, as he has declined to speak to the Press so far, it would give more time for an organized Opposition to make their case to journalists and the public.
In Canada, “the primary purpose of Question Period is to seek information from the Government and to call it to account for its actions.” The période des questions is tightly organized chaos televised daily for 45 minutes while the House of Commons is sitting.
Similar to the one in the UK, in Canada, questions may be asked to any cabinet member, not just the Prime Minister. – Wiki.
Shadow Cabinet should sue and use the activist wingnuts court’s pretzelled 14th amendment resolution saying America will be irreperably harmed by coronating Drumpf as Oligarch. Then say it is for one time use only, not precedent.
One more morsel, North Carolina’s wingnut lege has passed around 30 new bills in a special session making the new, legally elected Dem guv powerless. These treasonous bastards never stop.
This is brilliant! I also really love Barbara’s suggestion. When there is someone this dangerous about to take office, we need a formal opposition to him. The gridlock in Congress over the past 8 years is almost over as republicans will have majorities and then every horrible piece of legislation, the dismantling and privatization of Medicare will move through both chambers like a knife through warm butter. How do we make this happen?
Porter, good suggestions! We should include several members in the Shadow Cabinet who can show that they could step into the Presidency (or in South Dakota’s case, the Governor’s office) at a moment’s notice.
Grudz: I’d be happy to add Messrs. Cornelius and Fleming to the South Dakota Shadow Cabinet. Good recommendations!
Jerry, if President Obama wants a place in the Shadow Cabinet, I yield him whatever seat he wants. Heck, maybe he should hold the plenipotentiary seat, covering all dockets. He does have experience running Cabinet meetings…
…and Tsitrian for GOED Shadow! That would be a great cross-partisan addition!
We’ve got lots of good people available—let’s get them to take the mic!
Question Period—good idea, Barbara! We’d need to follow the UK/Canadian lead and appoint our Shadow Cabinet strictly from sitting members of Congress and the Legislature, but that would be fine if it meant we got that regular questioning period, with opposing views presented for the media and all interested voters on a regular basis.
Rita, the “how” differs depending on whose plan we pursue. To go Barbara’s route, we’d need to change rules in Congress and in the Legislature. To simply pursue media attention, the Dems (national and state) would simply need to recruit and publicize the members and hustle to get them in the press.
For South Dakota, I think we could just get willing members of the DFP commentariat to grab the mic and speak up.
I’d vote for pursuing media attention. As long as fake news thrives on social media and T—p surrogates obfuscate issues on cable news without challenges or followup, we desperately need clear and persistent messaging to counter this. DFP voices are great – we need an Opposition Press Secretary or Shadow Speaker.
Nyet! Nyet!
We’re nothing more than a Russian colony now.
I’m losing it over Patch Adams being the first name on the Green Party Shadow Cabinet. Laughter truly is the best medicine.
Now if Dr. Adams would get out and add some value with that Shadow Cabinet position. He should get on the news, offering rebuttals to whatever pro-corporate, pro-Pharma, anti-working class madness comes from Trump’s man Price at HHS.