Rahm Emanuel

The morning after Rush Limbaugh repeated his “I hope Obama fails” during the keynote to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told TV’s “sabbath gasbags” (Calvin Trillin’s term) that Limbaugh “is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party.” But Minnesota’s self-described senator-elect called that [...]

If words by Barack Obama’s chief of staff are any indicator, some of us can come out. As “liberals.” Ben Smith reports:
[At] concert hosted by the New Republic last night, Rahm Emanuel — amid a stream of praise for Rep. Barney Frank, also in attendance — embraced the word.
“[Frank] is — to all of us [...]

While Rep. Jim Ramstad’s name has been floated as a possible choice for “drug czar” in the administration of Barack Obama, the retiring nine-term congressman has apparently set his sights on another job, head of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration — and the Republican has enlisted Democrats, notably Sen. Edward Kennedy and Reps. Patrick Kennedy and Pete Stark, to lobby on his behalf.

The New Republic has put together a compelling list of the 30 most influential individuals as Barack Obama begins assembling his administration. Many of them are obvious and already selecting office furniture for their new perches (Rahmbo, David Axelrod), but others are largely unknown to the general public (James Steinberg, Dean of the Lyndon B. [...]

As President-elect Obama moves to form his staff, Minnesotans with ties to his candidacy and a desire to move to Washington, D.C. may reasonably hold out hope to get tapped. One post that already got away from the Minnesota crowd is White House press secretary. Another is chief of staff — and U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel’s ascension to that perch will set Minnesotans who know him a-twitter. Meanwhile, T-Paw finds his own higher perch — on the shortlist of GOP prospects for filling the job of U.S. President.

House Democratic leaders have been working hard on behalf of Democratic challengers, showering them with money and personal attention to expand their majority and to curry favor with future colleagues. Here in Minnesota, Ashwin Madia is the beneficiary of their campaigning.

U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., came to the Twin Cities today to support DFL congressional candidate Ashwin Madia in his bid to replace retiring Republican 3rd District U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad. Emanuel lavished praise on Madia as the sort of practical politician who would be welcomed in the House Democratic caucus, which Emanuel leads. Both are sons of immigrants, with names that not everyone can spell, who in the course of their congressional campaigns have been called “carpetbagger.” In a separate press conference across town today, Ramstad himself assailed Madia and Democratic groups supporting him for engaging in “gutter politics.”

MnIndy video and more after the jump.