HHS post probably won’t come his way, Bredesen tells lawmakers

By GottaLaff

Back story here and here. Let's hope Bredesen's right:

Gov. Phil Bredesen told top legislative leaders this morning that he doesn’t think President Obama will nominate him for the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary position, lawmakers said.

House Democratic Leader Gary Odom of Nashville confirmed that Gov. Bredesen, a Democrat, made the remarks during his weekly meeting with House and Senate leaders.

“It came up during breakfast,” Rep. Odom said. “He basically said he’s expecting to remain governor of the state of Tennessee.” [...]

But Gov. Bredesen has come under fierce attack from liberal health care activists and others for his cuts to TennCare, the state’s version of Medicaid. About 320,000 enrollees have been cut from the program.

On Tuesday, the national liberal group, MoveOn.org, criticized the governor and began circulating an e-mail petition urging the president to nominate a “progressive champion.”

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville would succeed Gov. Bredesen if the governor were to vacate the office.