१३ डिसेंबर, २०२०

Why did Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms turn down a position in Joe Biden's cabinet?

Is it that she wants to keep her political path separate and independent from Biden's or just that the offer wasn't good enough?

Bloomberg reports:

Bottoms had been rumored to be under consideration to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development or to head the Small Business Administration, a cabinet-level post. A reporter for the New Yorker said Friday she’d been offered the less prestigious role of ambassador to the Bahamas. The transition denied that report on Friday, and Taylor did again Saturday.

Ambassador to the Bahamas! 

९७ टिप्पण्या:

Readering म्हणाले...

Her office reported she turned down SBA.

DavidUW म्हणाले...

There's way more graft to be had delivering fraud votes from Atlanta to the Democrats than ambassador to Bahamas or whatever else.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Is it just me or does Lance Bottoms sound like the name of a porn star?

iowan2 म्हणाले...

Not able to pass back ground check

donald म्हणाले...

She has the approximate intelligence level of Joe Biden, Mebbe a little dumber. I’m guessing this will repeat itself with all of his appointments.

donald म्हणाले...

A good possibility Iowan2.

Sebastian म्हणाले...

"Ambassador to the Bahamas!"

With all the killing in Atlanta on her watch, it would be a good escape.

WhoKnew म्हणाले...

Nobody in their right mind would turn down ambassador to the Bahamas. Beautiful tropical beaches and offshore bank accounts. It's the perfect job! Plus, you know you'll never be asked to do anything about the sketchy financial deals going down as that would expose the corruption of the American political class. She's a fool.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

Ambassador to the Bahamas usually goes to a big time fundraiser, not to a politician. I wonder what the Mayor of Atlanta could have done for Joe that so helped his election that it’s equivalent to raising tens of millions of dollars?

Political Junkie म्हणाले...

She was mayor of Atlanta. Good god. Could she have been mayor of D town Austin, TX. No way.

mockturtle म्हणाले...

The people of Atlanta must have a sense of humor. You couldn't make up a name like that.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Ambassador to the Bahamas would be a nice gig, but it isn't the stepping stone to national office that has an ambitious up and comer rubbing her hands together.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Just from the name I'm tempted to look up her picture.

donald म्हणाले...

They don’t Mockturtle.

Wince म्हणाले...

A reporter for the New Yorker said Friday she’d been offered the less prestigious role of ambassador to the Bahamas.

Ambassador to the Bahamas!


Couldn't make the trip because she let someone borrow all four of her suitcases.

donald म्हणाले...

She’s fat and ugly rhardin.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

You can't really tell. They're all front shots and she's sort of chunky.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

I mean you want to know if there's a Hottentot thing going on.

mccullough म्हणाले...

So now Stacey Abrams will be offered the Ambassador to Bahamas job.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

In a bizarre coincidence, Lance Bottoms and the Bottomfeeders will be playing at my local bar next weekend.

Static Ping म्हणाले...

Ambassador to the Bahamas is an unimportant position. It is given as a reward to a large donor who thinks it awesome to be able to list "ambassador" in his or her bio without having to do any real work other than enjoy an island paradise and show up for parties. For someone who wants to have a real career in politics or the diplomatic corps, it is basically worthless. When you are planning on destroying small business - something that has been pursued with vigor this year by Democrats and select Republicans - being in charge of the SBA is pretty worthless. I could very much believe someone compared being head of the SBA as the equivalent of being ambassador to the Bahamas and hence the confusion.

Do remember that our media are pretty dim bulbs. Being a journalist these days requires essentially no qualifications other than being able to write on an elementary school level and regurgitating the correct political beliefs on command.

Quayle म्हणाले...

Could do worse then hanging around Nassau. Plus there’s a McDonalds next door to the embassy. What’s not to like.

Jupiter म्हणाले...

Binders full of Black women.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

There were fine people on both sides at the meeting about whether to offer her a cabinet post.

Jersey Fled म्हणाले...

Anything is a step up from being mayor of a big American city. Even mayor of a small American city.

Tommy Duncan म्हणाले...

Blogger mccullough said...

"So now Stacey Abrams will be offered the Ambassador to Bahamas job."

I hope she checks with Hank Johnson. Abrams could easily tip over a large island.

Mr Wibble म्हणाले...

Bottoms had been rumored to be under consideration to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development or to head the Small Business Administration, a cabinet-level post

Translation: Bottoms and her friends in the Biden campaign were telling reporters that she was under consideration in hopes of making it happen. Instead she was quietly told that the best they could do was Ambassador to the Bahamas and she told them 'no.'

Lucien म्हणाले...

If that Bahamas gig is still available, I’m willing to register D for four years.

Eric the Fruit Bat म्हणाले...

She's got a haircut made for anime.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Maybe she decided to wait a few weeks and see what President Harris offers.

R C Belaire म्हणाले...

Re Bob Boyd : No, it's not just you.

Jupiter म्हणाले...

Also, why hasn't Kamalla Harris resigned her Senate seat?

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Or, maybe she wants to go somewhere you don't have to wear a swimmin' suit.

It's all speculation at this point.

I'm Full of Soup म्हणाले...

Who cares about this Bloomberg News?

Perhaps Bloomberg News should compare and contrast the incoming Biden's appointee's laughable background [I bet it's polisci major or sociology] versus the outgoing Cabinet Member, Dr. Ben Carson, who is arguably a certified genius.

gspencer म्हणाले...

Ambassador to Da Hoods would have been so much more prestigious.

And appropriate.

hstad म्हणाले...

AA, this A.M. I've seen you report about Atlanta's politician, statures in Madison, yet no coverage of the Wisconsin's Supreme Court hearing. I'd like to get your take, as a Constitutional Lawyer and Educator has to the two Wisconsin Supreme Court Judges who opined that Trump's lawsuit was about racism and "keeping the King in power". Even California, where I live, we don't have crazies like these judges on the CA Supreme Court. Truly unbelievable that voters in Wisconsin would vote for despicable people like that for the highest court in Wisconsin. Courts are going the way of every institution controlled by Democrats. Creditability shot and people notice over time the rot begins to take its toll. 'Boston Tea Party' time?

David Begley म्हणाले...

For stealing GA for Biden, she deserved more.

As noted above, more graft and money to be made in Atlanta.

David Begley म्हणाले...

Hstad

One of those crazies is a UW Law grad.

mikee म्हणाले...

I nominate Dan Rather for Press Secretary. To restore the honor taken from him.

BudBrown म्हणाले...

Bahamas got hammered by hurricane last year. A lot of that job maybe entails
determining how aid should be directed.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

"In 2015 [Bottoms] and others chastised a city public-safety board for erecting billboards advising “don’t run” from cops, prompting the board to suspend what it deemed a common-sense advertising campaign.

"One of the things I will always teach my children is that they have the right to run. It may be ill advised but the issue is not with them exercising their rights but the response to them exercising their rights," she said in a meeting."

robother म्हणाले...

Lotta opportunity for scuba diving in that Bahamas Ambassadorship, for which Lance Bottoms seems a natural fit. I can see where Biden was going with this. Pick a guy whose first name is "General" for Secretary of Defense. Aaron Judge for the next SCOTUS vacancy. Keep it simple, don't overthink.

mtrobertslaw म्हणाले...

She may have seen the writing on the wall about the disastrous future that awaits the Biden administration.

Rick.T. म्हणाले...

"One of the things I will always teach my children is that they have the right to run. It may be ill advised but the issue is not with them exercising their rights but the response to them exercising their rights," she said in a meeting."
-----------------
Anybody who's even watched a cop show knows you can beat the rap but you can't beat the ride.

mccullough म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
Temujin म्हणाले...

Atlanta is a vibrant, booming metropolis. The best major metro area I ever lived in. The Bahamas is a nice place to go for 3 days. Sometimes.

She'll do well to steer clear of the Biden/Harris mess, which will be a two-year facepalm Presidency followed by a two year mistake. If she can stay clear of it, while Atlanta continues to grow and take in more people and companies, she'll be someone the Dems will need to look at. To be the token POC running HUD seems a dead end.

Michael म्हणाले...

With all the dark cash flowing in and out of the Bahamas, gotta think being ambassador can lead to some lucrative post-government opportunities.

Achilles म्हणाले...

rhhardin said...

I mean you want to know if there's a Hottentot thing going on.

For you.

Adrian म्हणाले...

I wonder what she might have done for the Biden campaign that makes her think that she deserves a cabinet post? Is there anything special that someone who controlled vote-counting in Atlanta might have done for the campaign? It’s not like she has anything to do with water mains. It’s a real mystery why she might think the campaign owes her something.

gadfly म्हणाले...

First Susan Rice takes a nothing job as the White House domestic policy advisor - not in her background - and Keisha Lance Bottoms says "no" to appointment as Ambassador to the Bahamas - an insult for the Atlanta major - albeit close to home. Both of these ladies were declared frontrunners to be Biden's VP but have now been thrown under the bus. Can you spell "Kamala?" - who wants her 2024 competition out of the way.

Mike of Snoqualmie म्हणाले...

She doesn't want to be caught in the CCP-gate backlash when China Joe is indicted for money laundering and treason.

Michael म्हणाले...

Reminiscent of when Carol Moseley Braun was made ambassador to New Zealand - because we didn't have an embassy on Mars.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

Sorry. I'm not doing the voting cases. It would take a lot of work to do it right, and I refuse to do it in a bullshit way that just sides with somebody or other. I've got to be in or out on that one. It would take a lot of time, and I don't want to spend my time that way, not without getting paid a lot of money, and there's no one who would pay for the work that I would do on this thing, because it wouldn't be partisan, firebrand shit. So you all can stew in your own juices. I'm out.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne म्हणाले...

rhhardin said...

I mean you want to know if there's a Hottentot thing going on.

He likes big butts and he cannot lie
You Althousians can't deny
That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist
And a round thing in your face....

Achilles म्हणाले...

She is not that fat...

She is big, but not fat.

Zach म्हणाले...

An offer designed to be rejected.

Bilwick म्हणाले...

Her reward for her role in helping turn Atlanta into a total slum.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

First thought: Georgia will flip to the Democrats and she wants to be the one who flips it and does what Abrams and (presumably) Warnock couldn't do.

Second thought: Whatever they offered her probably wasn't something she though was good enough for her.

Suppressed thought: She could see the coming catfights with Kamala up ahead and wanted to avoid them.

Lloyd W. Robertson म्हणाले...

I hadn't come across the story about "go ahead, run from the police" before, but in general I thought Bottoms was one of the better Dem office holders in the past year. Atlanta is surely one of the biggest success stories of large American cities with large African-American populations.

Narr म्हणाले...

Geez, Prof!

Not that I blame you. Why do so many people think it their business to pose legal puzzles and exercises for you?

Narr
That's a rhetorical question

Balfegor म्हणाले...

Re: Bob Boyd:

Lance-Bottoms sounds vaguely Wodehousian to me, like Fink-Nottle.

Anyhow, Bahamas isn't that bad, as a location to keep someone sidelined. That's why they sent the Duke of Windsor therr during the war, after all.

Bob Smith म्हणाले...

Probably afraid of a hair pull fight with President Harris.

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

Once they started investigating her for a potential appointment, Keisha Lance Bottoms turned out to be too dirty to promote up. This happens all the time with Democrat mayors in Atlanta. Bill Campbell was supposed to be elevated in the Clinton administration: they sniffed around and he went to prison instead. Shirley Franklin is perennially shortlisted, and then her crooked airport concession deals come up. Kasim Reed was supposed to be considered for an Obama slot, even VP: they sniffed around and realized he was too crooked to promote, and he'll probably end up in prison. Keisha is well-known as a crook who nearly got indicted for "working" two full-time jobs, one as city counselor and the other as the head of the most corrupt city sinecure, the Atlanta and Fulton County Recreation Authority, which exists solely to dole out no-show jobs to relatives of elected officials. She also let armed protesters take over the burned-out Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was shot, leading to three additional shootings including an 8-year old child murdered as her mother tried to steer clear of the violent mob. Keisha was "negotiating" with the "occupiers" when the child was killed, even as residents were under siege and two people had been shot previously by them.

Yet Biden still considered her and offered her something. If only we had something like a 24-hour cable news network in Atlanta to report these things.

Rory म्हणाले...

Too many pigs for the teats.

JPS म्हणाले...

She has a tremendous sense of entitlement. After she gave a fine speech denouncing rioters, she was talked about as a possible vice presidential pick. Biden had made clear he was going to pick a black woman, and all of a sudden she had national buzz. When she wasn’t picked, she took a few spa days to recover from the disappointment.

Personally, I would think more of her leadership if Secoria Turner hadn’t been shot dead at age 9 by a militia illegally occupying a part of her city, but yeah - it sure was a fine speech she gave.

Freeman Hunt म्हणाले...

Mayor of Atlanta seems like a more prestigious position than any of these. Ambassador to the Bahamas, however, sounds like a pretty plum gig, prestige and sense of purpose aside.

Iman म्हणाले...

and she just go, Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

Sorry, city commissioner, not counselor. And she's still Mayor of Atlanta. So that's four up, four out. Tom Wolfe wrote a good book about race and Mayors in Atlanta.

Freeman Hunt म्हणाले...

It seems obvious to me that

mayor of major American city > member of cabinet

Maybe that's just me.

Narr म्हणाले...

Atlanta has benefitted from being the state capitol, just like most other state capitols. This has been a trend for many decades now: it's a process similar to the concentration of wealth around DC but localized.

That said, Atlanta is a pretty nice place. It's too big for my tastes, though, and I've never been in or through the city (except at 11pm or later) that traffic wasn't an issue. I once spent 30 minutes trying to get out of a parking lot--30 minutes just to get to the road!

Narr
I wonder if Cheetahs is still there

Wince म्हणाले...

Althouse said...
Sorry. I'm not doing the voting cases. It would take a lot of work to do it right, and I refuse to do it in a bullshit way that just sides with somebody or other. I've got to be in or out on that one. It would take a lot of time, and I don't want to spend my time that way, not without getting paid a lot of money... So you all can stew in your own juices. I'm out.

Sounds familiar, like it could have been written by 7 members of the US Supreme Court refusing to even hear a claim in their original jurisdiction.

If it's not money, what is their excuse?

I buy the "political question" dodge, honestly, before I buy the "standing" argument.

But "petitioner's lack of standing" makes them seem less, ahem, dodgy and political.

Rory म्हणाले...

"With all the killing in Atlanta on her watch, it would be a good escape."

Bahamas is No. 11 in the world murder rate derby.

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

Yes, Narr, you can still catch the prime rib and stripper gonorrhea lunch special at Cheetah's.

The (principled, centrist-independent) councilwoman whom Keisha barely defeated still has an open federal investigation into the voter fraud that lost her two Atlanta mayoral runs against crooked black opponents. Both times, Mary Norwood was ahead and lost by only a few hundred votes discovered after all the votes were "counted." Norwood has provided some statement for one of the Georgia voter cases. She's not a Republican and has basically signed her own death warrant for speaking out. Nobody knows more than Norwood about voter fraud in Atlanta. She is widely respected for fighting fraud in city hall, at horrible personal cost: John Lewis broadcast one of his sleazy "klansman" speeches telling black Atlantans to vote for Keisha and against Norwood "or face waterhoses and police dogs the next time they vote." Soundtrack accompanied by snarling dogs, on the radio. This is what you get when you elect Democrats. Or maybe don't.

Rabel म्हणाले...

She endorsed Biden early - the day after the "that little girl was me" debate.

Except for the statement from the Mayor's advisor the sourcing on this is nothing more than gossip - "A reporter for The New Yorker said" - Jeeze.

Rabel म्हणाले...

"So you all can stew in your own juices."

That statement seems to apply to everyone, including those here who support you, enjoy your work and send you money.

Why?

Mary Beth म्हणाले...

Is it the Harris people who are making the decisions on what to offer to whom? I could see them wanting to offer her something, just to say they did, but not wanting to offer her something that could give her a boost so that she could be competition for Harris in 2024.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Althouse had been assuming that the democrats meant well, and is now out rather than having to notice that the republicans seem to be the ones meaning well.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Trump does man-jokes.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

There's waaaaay too much money to be made in graft as the mayor of shithole Atlanta.

Earnest Prole म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

"So you all can stew in your own juices."

That's okay by me. I'm fortunate to be possessed of excellent juices. There are not many people who's juices I'd rather stew in.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"Althouse had been assuming that the democrats meant well, and is now out rather than having to notice that the republicans seem to be the ones meaning well."

There's no basis for that statement. You are just talking bullshit partisan talk. That's easy to do and I wouldn't need to be paid to do the work it would take to produce that sort of drivel. To do the issues right would be take me hours and I don't see the value. No one would take the trouble to read it and no one would care. You'd just make assumptions along partisan lines the way you do when I don't bother with any analysis at all. So I'm being very efficient.

Whiskeybum म्हणाले...

Ambassador to the Bahamas...

Talk about opportunities for bureaucratic cost-cutting... why do we need all of these worthless ambassador positions to these tiny states? Couldn’t some other ambassador handle the Bahamas in his spare time? For example, couldn’t the ambassador to Mexico handle the Bahamas on, say, Tuesday’s between 2:00-3:00 PM?

Rusty म्हणाले...

The opportuniy for graft is greater in Atlanta.

MD Greene म्हणाले...

For the last two generations, Atlanta has been the go-to destination for ambitious African American professionals. It's a hell of a lot more dynamic than, say, San Francisco, and I'll bet it hasn't attracted as many addicts who move there so they can shoot up and poop on the streets. Mayor Bottoms spoke well for her city after the rioting began, which set her apart from many other mayors.

If I were she, I'd stay put.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

@Rusty

See my comment at 12:49...great minds think alike : )

Michael म्हणाले...

She turned down what she was not offered.

Douglas B. Levene म्हणाले...

Uh, Joe, if the job is still open, I'll take the Ambassador to the Bahamas job. I'll do a great job, too. I won't get embarrassingly drunk and I'll serve proper cocktails to my guests, not those silly Caribbean thingies with flags and umbrellas in them. Once a week, I'll send you a long text message telling you about everything that we did and everyone we met. So, is it a deal?

Bunkypotatohead म्हणाले...

She doesn't look to need more sun, anyways.

narciso म्हणाले...

wasn't maxine waters husband, chairman of united bank, ambassador to the bahamas,

Skippy Tisdale म्हणाले...

Is it that she wants to keep her political path separate and independent from Biden's

Bingo. She has a good shot at becoming governor and is much more electable than that racist, sexist Stacy Abrams. And Governors make good presidential candidates. Why waste her time with Biden?

Skippy Tisdale म्हणाले...

Is it just me or does Lance Bottoms sound like the name of a porn star?

No, you're thinking of his brother Randy.

Skippy Tisdale म्हणाले...

Bilwick said...
Her reward for her role in helping turn Atlanta into a total slum.


Clearly you've never been there. I lived in Druid Hills near the Emory campus. Mercedes and BMWs everywhere.

Sam L. म्हणाले...

Ambassador to the Bahamas! Getting her out of the country, eh????????????????????
BAD Biden! BAD!!!

Bilwick म्हणाले...

Unfortunately I live there, Skippy. All the Mercedes and BMWs are the equivalent of lipstick on a pig.

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

MD Greene and Skippy. Don't believe what the news boosters tell you. Bottoms may have said pretty thing to the sycphant press, but she wrongly fired an officer who did no wrong and then pumped up the racial riots against police. She made police stand down and let armed "protesters" occupy the streets, leading to three shootings of innocent passersbys including the murder of an 8 year old, which she then blamed on the police -- who weren't allowed to keep order. Police morale is gone. She refused to stop riots at and around the state capitol, resulting in multiple beatings of white pedestrians and preventing lobbyists like me from testifying in crucial hearings. She used thugs to shut down the legislative process and freeze commerce in downtown. Small business owners have given up. Cops are quitting in droves. Street racing has claimed a half dozen lives; shooting have more than doubled, and she called in a sleazebag leftist anti-cop DC operative, Chuck Wexler, to "advise police on sensitivity" rather than appoint a real chief.

Yeah, things are going swimmingly. Enjoy your privately patrolled hoods. Dozens of people I know in downtown and South Atlanta are hiding in their houses more scared than they've ever sounded.

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

MD Greene and Skippy. Don't believe what the news boosters tell you. Bottoms may have said pretty thing to the sycphant press, but she wrongly fired an officer who did no wrong and then pumped up the racial riots against police. She made police stand down and let armed "protesters" occupy the streets, leading to three shootings of innocent passersbys including the murder of an 8 year old, which she then blamed on the police -- who weren't allowed to keep order. Police morale is gone. She refused to stop riots at and around the state capitol, resulting in multiple beatings of white pedestrians and preventing lobbyists like me from testifying in crucial hearings. She used thugs to shut down the legislative process and freeze commerce in downtown. Small business owners have given up. Cops are quitting in droves. Street racing has claimed a half dozen lives; shooting have more than doubled, and she called in a sleazebag leftist anti-cop DC operative, Chuck Wexler, to "advise police on sensitivity" rather than appoint a real chief.

Yeah, things are going swimmingly. Enjoy your privately patrolled hoods. Dozens of people I know in downtown and South Atlanta are hiding in their houses more scared than they've ever sounded.