This is the first article I have seen about the right’s biczarre obsession with Obama’s czar appointments. I don’t believe in justifying the wrong one president commits by pointing to the same wrong in another president but this particular article made me laugh….perverse of me, I know.
Eric Cantor: All of George W. Bush’s ‘Czars’ Were Totally Fine, But Obama’s Really Piss Me Off
By: Blue Texan Thursday July 30, 2009 10:30 am
The right’s sudden concern about black Democratic presidents appointing Presidential ‘Czars’ has been simmering in the wingosphere for a while — and now Eric Cantor gives it a Congressional imprimatur.
By appointing a virtual army of “czars” — each wholly unaccountable to Congress yet tasked with spearheading major policy efforts for the White House — in his first six months, the president has embarked on an end-run around the legislative branch of historic proportions.
To be sure, the appointment of a few special officers to play a constructive role in a given administration is nothing new. What is new is the elevation of so many czars, with so much authority on endless policy fronts. Vesting such broad authority in the hands of people not subjected to Senate confirmation and congressional oversight poses a grave threat to our system of checks and balances.
A grave threat!
Totally not like those benign Bush Czars, which included:
* Cyber Security Czar
* Regulatory Czar
* AIDS Czar
* Bird Flu Czar
* Intelligence Czar
* Health IT Czar
* Katrina Czar
* Manufacturing Czar
* Drug Czar
* Domestic Policy Czar
* War Czar
* Copywright Czar
* Abstinence Czar
* Mine Safety Czar
* Latin American Czar
* WTO Health Czar
* Corruption Czar
* Privacy Czar
* Health Czar
Most Bizarre of Czars?
- Abstinence Czar appointed by George W. Bush.
- Car Czar appointed by Barack Obama.
- Czar of Prices appointed by FDR.
- Missile Czar appointed by Dwight Eisenhower.
- And we have Nixon to thank for the first Drug Czar.
Table of Czars
I really don’t know how accurate this is but I thought it was interesting:
| President’s name | In office | Number of “czar” jobs |
Number of appointees |
Number of new positions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Roosevelt | 1933-1945 | 12 | 18 | |
| Harry Truman | 1945-1953 | 6 | 6 | |
| Dwight Eisenhower | 1953-1961 | 1 | 1 | |
| John F. Kennedy | 1961-1963 | 1 | 1 | |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | 2 | 2 | |
| Richard Nixon | 1969-1974 | 2 | 4 | |
| Gerald Ford | 1974-1977 | 1 | 1 | |
| Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | 2 | 3 | |
| Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | 1 | 1 | |
| George H. W. Bush | 1989-1993 | 2 | 3 | |
| Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | 6 | 9 | |
| George W. Bush | 2001-2009 | 35 | 45 | |
| Barack Obama | 2009 | 32 | 34 |
Also in that list of Bush Czars is “faith czar”. There were 4
Don Willett, John Dilulio, Jim Towey, Jay Hein
For Most Bizarre Czar I nominate “Bird Flu Czar”.
timesr Reply:
September 8th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Upon further research, I wish to withdraw my previous nomination and nominate Bush’s “Birth Control Czar” for Most Bizarre.
Yeah , that guy was a real winner. He was being investigated for medicare fraud.
Also had other unusual ideas.
That sex with multiple partners hurts women’s ability to bond by altering their brain chemistry.
He claims that premarital sex suppresses the hormone oxytocin, thereby impairing one’s ability to forge a successful long-term relationship. How does the body know if its premarital and usually there is some kind of bond when you get married.
Sage Reply:
September 8th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I don’t remember that. I wonder where he got his “scientific” facts?
The point that there are “Czars” or “advisors” isn’t the point… the point is how every single administration move, nation-wide address, press conference, vacation or appointment of the Obama administration is a trigger that causes another political explosion, controversy, apology, or walk-back. President Obama is not being well-served by his Press Secretary, Mr. Gibbs and his staff who should be managing these events much better rather than by responding with snide remarks, diversionary and off-topic responses, snickering, laughing, joking, and otherwise discounting questions from the Press whether they are right-wing, left-wing, or from a foreign country. An intelligent and personable White House Press Secretary can have a friendly and respectful relationship with the Press on many different levels. To that end, President Obama should hold the daily White House press briefings until Gibbs is replaced because he has incredible skill and patience to dialog respectfully with people who agree or don’t agree with him.
Some of these so called czars have been confirmed in the Senate. Some of them are from the previous administration. This is all bunk, imo.
http://pr.thinkprogress.org/2009/09/pr20090909/index.html