Barack Obama,  John Bryson

President Obama Nominates Former Southern California Edison CEO and Left Wing Hack John Bryson for Commerce Secretary

President Obama and John Bryson

The Republican Caucus in the U.S. Senate should block John Bryson’s nomination for Commerce Secretary.

To some Republicans, Bryson’s outspoken pronouncements about curbing climate change, his enthusiasm for tough California regulations that actually gave his company competitive advantages, and his support for left-leaning nonprofit organizations — plus his generous contributions to Democratic candidates — are all unsettling.

Bryson’s role, along with actions by colleagues leading up to the 2001 energy “crisis” in California, may invite new Senate scrutiny. Edison International and its subsidiary Southern California Edison prospered during that period. Competitor Pacific Gas & Electric did not. The whole drama helped undercut public support for a sitting Democratic governor, Gray Davis.

A Republican source who interacted with Bryson in California during that period, and who spoke to RCP on background, said Obama’s nominee “is very smart and he’s thoughtful, but his company and his tenure as the head of that company were at the heart of California’s energy crisis, and if Republicans in the Senate want to look closely at the events at that time, and how Southern California Edison fared, it could pose an uncomfortable confirmation process for Mr. Bryson.”

Filibuster should be coming and send Bryson packing.