White House Pushes Back On Czar Nonsense
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About time.
Over the past several weeks, we’ve seen with increasing frequency and volume issues raised around the use of ‘czars’ by this Administration. Although some Members have asked serious questions around the makeup of the White House staff, the bulk of the noise you hear began first with partisan commentators, suggesting that this is somehow a new and sinister development that threatens our democracy. This is, of course, ridiculous. Just to be clear, the job title ‘czar’ doesn’t exist in the Obama Administration. Many of the officials cited by conservative commentators have been confirmed by the Senate. Many hold policy jobs that have existed in previous Administrations. And some hold jobs that involved coordinating the work of agencies on President Obama’s key policy priorities: health insurance reform, energy and green jobs, and building a new foundation for long-lasting economic growth
But of course, it’s really the hypocrisy here that is noteworthy. Just earlier today, Darrell Issa, a Republican from California and one of the leaders in calling for an investigation into the Obama Administration’s use of ‘czars’, had to admit to Fox News that he had never raised any objections to the Bush Administration’s use of ‘czars’. Many of these members who now decry the practice have called on Presidents in the past to appoint ‘czars’ to coordinate activities within the government to address immediate challenges. What is clear is that all of this energy going into these attacks could be used to have a constructive conversation about bringing this country together to address our challenges moving forward – and it doesn’t take a ‘czar’ to bring that about! Just some folks willing to act in good faith.
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© 2000-2011 Oliver Willis
Sign seen at the Washington teabaggerfest:
“Obama: More Czars than the USSR”
Which wouldn’t be difficult, of course.
about frickin time
I’m waiting for the Church Nazis to have a “Czar Sunday” where they insist that Congress approve Obama’s nominees. “Up or down vote!”
“Obama: More Czars than the USSR”
Which wouldn’t be difficult, of course.
LOLLing on the floor!
Hey, BTW, whatever happened to Bush’s Iraq War Czar? He got appointed and then totally disappeared.
Goddamn dangling tag syndrome. Big Pharma better get on the stick.
(“We will call you out.” So consider this one of those calls.) Funny, Beck called him out and he left town, and why didn’t the White House list the unconfirmed Czars. No, Beck has them scared, I foresee more resignations.
You just know that, in the minds of the masses, Czar = Russian = Communist = SEE I TOLD YOU OBAMA WAS A COMMIE.
Never mind the glaring truth here that the Commies tossed out the Czars.
So, in truth, Obama is the anti-commie.
Right?
RIGHT????
You funny, vlad.
Bush had 36 Czars, and not one single fucking peep from the same lamebrains who scream bloody murder now that Obama has the same number.
I love the wingnut selective amnesia. No wonder they resemble a cult more than a political movement these days.
The only people Beck has scared are the peasants and rubes who watch him and actually believe what he says. Everyone else laughs at him. He’s the new Ann Coulter; he gets lots of attention by saying outrageous things but there always comes a point when people tire of the act and move on to the next thing.
Burn, my position is already, known I was against then, I am against now. The ebb and flow of Presidential power has been rather dramatic over the last 40 or so years, and President G.W. Bush pushed harder than most to “restore” the power of the office. Obama and the Democrats decried this “Presidential power grab”, but once they take the White House, Obama then expands most of those same policies, warrantless wiretaps, use of executive orders, executive secrecy, Czars, etc. Obama is taking Bush’s ball and running with it, Obama is just continuing to open that hole started by Nixon.
And for historical and constitutional perspective, Bush did use a lot of recess appointments, to get by the confirmation process, these are labeled in his history as Czars as well, but Recess appointments are in the constitution. These are temporary appointments and must be confirmed in the future are replaced by another confirmed nominee.
Just look at what Obama said he was going to do, and what the reality is.
Bush had 36 Czars, and not one single fucking peep from the same lamebrains who scream bloody murder now that Obama has the same number.
This is basically why I’ve just been tuning them out lately. Watching people take the czar ‘controversy’ seriously is really an awesome thing to behold.
As, to Beck, this is a White House problem, they fight back, he gets more powerful, they don’t fight back, they lose by default, I do not feel sorry for the White House, this game was played against Bush with many more news outlets, and Bush remained above the fray so long, that it cost the Republicans at election time, at least Obama only has one to contend with, and Becks ratings are going higher before they drop.
President G.W. Bush pushed harder than most to “restore” the power of the office.
If it isn’t too much trouble, would you mind providing a few links to time and date-stamped blog comments in which you – under your current screen name – decried the uptick in presidential power initiated by the Bush Administration?
It would go a long way toward rendering believeable your assertion that it bothered you then.
and why didn’t the White House list the unconfirmed Czars.
Because nobody agrees on who is a “czar” and who is just a regular employee. If the White House published a list, the Right would come back and say “You didn’t include the Special Advisor for Breakfast Ceral and Pocket Lint! A-HAAA! Coverup!!”
Then the press reports on the accusations and denials of coverup, then report on how the President has been knocked off his game by the controversy.
There is absolutely nothing to be gained by playing along with right wing mania for scandal.
If our freedom-loving Republican Congress wants to stop Obama from being advised by anyone they don’t approve of, wouldn’t it make more sense to put him under house arrest?
Burn, my position is already, known I was against then, I am against now.
How many times did you complain about it publicly when Bush was president? Just a guesstimate is okay.
You know what we really need? A czar for countering right wing B.S.
Bush took 8 years to accumulate that many czars, most of which were appointed in the 2nd term. Need I remind you of his popularity during said time?
By comparison, it took Obama less than 8 months. And with a overwhelming majority in the Senate where confirmation shouldn’t be an issue. All from the “most honest and transparent Administration in history”.
By comparison, it took Obama less than 8 months.
You’re the first I’ve seen who has complained that Obama is appointing czars too quickly. Czars are OK, but the appointments just need to be spread out a little more, right?
Farris, how many times did you complain publicly about Bush’s second-term czars?
Funny how none of our wingnut friends seems willing to answer that question.
Farris, how many times did you complain publicly about Bush’s second-term czars?
Aha!
You see, it’s not the number of Tsars, it’s HOW FAST they were appointed.
So that’s what the wingnuts are really mad about.
Uh huh.
Burn, I think it’s more along the lines of if he has that many now, he’ll have eleventy-billion of them by the time he leaves office.
Which is still some epic dumbshittery for them to cling to, but that’s not really what it’s about anyway. It’s about destroying him at all costs. Which is really the be all, end all of republican politics these days.
Fuck policy. And fuck the other guy. That’s all they got.
Karl Rove was a czar.
I have to wonder why the right wing rank-and-file has shameless taken up this ridiculous set of “czar”-related talking points. The kerfluffle is self-evidently stupid and concocted by right-wing talk show hosts to get the followers agitated. The commenters here know that publicly repeating the bleatings of right-wing media idiots makes them sound stupid. But they do it anyway.
Reasons for Bush “Derangement” Syndrome:
-Fucked up Iraq invasion, causing great loss of life
-Let OBL and the Taliban off the hook
-Appointed political hack to FEMA, New Orleans drowns
-Fiddled while the economy burned
-Gave tax cuts to the wealthy which failed to produce promised prosperity
-Politicized the justice dept.
Reasons for Obama Derangement Syndrome:
-didn’t solve all our economic problems on his first day in office
-deficit spending might cause problems down the road (then again there are lots of other problems it might help avoid)
-might make insurers pay for voluntary end-of-life counseling
-appoints too many “czars”
-hasn’t showed us the “long form”
-didn’t keep any of his college term papers for us to see
-says “uh” a lot when he doesn’t have a teleprompter
-hasn’t bombed Iran yet
-has
a bone through his nosebig ears.Bircher down
Wilbur, funny post, but I keep getting the mental image of Mr. Ed typing at a computer with a pencil in yes mouth.
*his
That’s a coincidence, Impy. Whenever I read your stuff I imagine a fat pimply fifth grader with a bunch of Warhammer toys going “whish! boom! ack-ack-ack-ack-ack! Aha! Thus sayeth the Impaler!”
Close, but my dad thinks of the ABC show Fridays, with well you get the gist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIUxoytpcxE
Oh and Wilbur I wasn’t being mean, if you took offense, it just ran through my mind, and thought it was a funny mental picture. After all, Ed would grab the phone, dialing with a pen in his mouth.
Thanks for the vid, Impy. Sehr komisch. Somehow I missed the cultural phenomenon of “Fridays”.
See if you figure out how I went from that video to this one in only three “related video” clicks.
Maybe if you move the armoir away from the door of your dad’s room he can come out and help.
Meanwhile I’ll go back to reading “How to Keep a Wingnut Busy (turn over).”
And kudos, Imp, a lot of ‘gnuts around here can dish it out but they can’t take it. Glad to see you’re not one of those.
Impaler: why didn’t the White House list the unconfirmed Czars.
Why should they? What has that got to do at all with the point being made: that complaining about the use of the word is stupid and hypocritical.
I wuld like to have seen more actual names used, but on the other side. Follow up on the promise to “name them”. By all means name them. hold thehm up to public scorn, shame them in public.
“the bulk of the noise you hear began first with partisan commentators,”
Name them.
“Many hold policy jobs that have existed in previous Administrations.”
Say “including the Bush Administration”. name them.
“Many of these members who now decry the practice…”
Name them!
“What is clear is that all of this energy going into these attacks…”
… such as those by ____ and ___ and ____
Name them!
Impaler: As, to Beck, this is a White House problem, they fight back, he gets more powerful, they don’t fight back, they lose by default,
IOW, Beck is omnipotent?
SaveFarris: Bush took 8 years to accumulate that many czars, most of which were appointed in the 2nd term. Need I remind you of his popularity during said time?
By comparison, it took Obama less than 8 months.
So shame on Obama for actually getting people into positions where work can be done. Doesn’t he know he should wait until a second term before actually trying to accomplish anything?
Burn & Quaker, You’re the first I’ve seen who has complained that Obama is appointing czars too quickly. No, the understated point was how many well he have had appointed over his term.
Impaler: No, the understated point was how many well he have had appointed over his term.
Oh, I get it now. It wasn’t that he’s being criticized for what he’s done. It’s that he should be criticized for what he may do sometime maybe in the future someday.