Judd Gregg expecting Republican replacement ? Huh?

I wrote this to talkingpointsmemo's comment address:

I heard a report on NPR this morning to the effect that Judd Gregg had said that he would only consider the Commerce post if there were some kind of guarantee that his replacement would be "aligned with the Republican caucus." What gives? How is that even possible? I can't imaginge NH's governor would agree to such a thing. I know as an "involved Democrat" I would find that totally unacceptable, and I'm sure it would be extremely unpopular among Democrats generally.

Frankly, the prospect of a Dem. Senator is the only reason Judd Gregg should even be considered for this post. I'm not buying the utility of "bipartisanship" generally, since the Repubs are mostly obstructionist, not "bipartisan." But this would be utterly beyond the pale.

To which I add, if Gregg doesn't want the post, no strings attached, he can turn it down. The Republicans need to wake up and realize they aren't in power anymore. And if they can't do that, then they shouldn't whine about it. Gregg can either get on board and support the President, or get out of the way so someone else can take the post. A Democrat, for instance.

UPDATE 03.02.09: OK, so now this reported "deal" has actually happened. One word: disgusting. Feingold is right, we do need a constitutional amendment to take away the power of governors to appoint to fill Senate vacancies. More to the point, in the current climate, I can't imagine what anyone was thinking in agreeing to this. Gregg isn't worth it.