I have to wonder why the Democrats in congress are not standing on the steps of the Capital, screaming about the "Power Grab" being conducted by the current occupant of the White House? During the 8 years of the Bush administration, hardly a week, if not a day, went by without some Democrat Congressman or Senator complaining about the outrageous and "unprecedented power grab" underway by the President and his administration. Of course, no Democrat ever mentions the usurpation of power in the hallowed, sainted Franklin D. Roosevelt administration and his proposal for a "new Bill of Rights" that would have set the standard for Socialist Fascism in it's day.
We were then, according to the Democrats, on the verge of being turned into a "police state" and having "unaccountable bureaucrats in the Executive Branch" running the country and goodness knows, with all of our freedoms and liberties trampled. Now, don't get me wrong, the Bush Administration was responsible for some of the most bone-headed, anti free market, anti-American legislation and non-action in our history. President Bush exercised what was probably the single most idiotic NON-use of the veto pen when he signed the UN-Constitutional "Campaign Finance Reform" legislation; his inability to follow the law and close our borders to illegal immigration was an impeachable offense and of course, who could never forget the single most Liberal Progressive piece of legislation since the War on Poverty that created the largest entitlement in the history of our country by signing the Medicaid Drug Prescription Benefit. Yes, sir, George was our man!
Now to the reason for my confusion ...
Given, and we all know that they care so very much about "liberty" and "freedom" and the "average American" and have a passion for restricting "power grabs" by the government, why haven't we heard a peep out of these paragons of liberty and freedom when it comes to the President's CZARS? Do you know that there are 13? (At last count)
Do you know that there is absolutely NO OVERSIGHT of these people and those who work for them? (Outside of their boss of course. No, not you and I, the president, dummy. Yes, we pay them but we still can't talk to them and they don't have to answer anything we might ask them if we could talk to them, now leave me alone.)
Can anyone name more than 2 of them?
Has anyone ever heard a story about any of the CZARS on the evening news? Yes, every now and again, it is a one or two line blurb in passing but never anything in depth.
Well, here is a thumb-nail on each of them provided by Real Clear Politics:
1. Border Czar: Alan Bersin
Previous Experience: Bersin held a similar job under President Clinton in which he served under Attorney Janet Reno. He now serves under Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, putting him in charge of illegal immigration and drug violence problems.
2. Energy Czar: Carol Browner
Previous Experience: Former Clinton Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and member of Obama's transition board. Browner was head of the EPA from 1993 to 2001. She is said to bring much experience in environmental policy-making and consulting.
3. Urban Affairs Czar: Adolfo Carrion, Jr
Previous Experience: Before being tapped for this newly created position by President Obama, Carrion served twice as New York City's Bronx Borough President with a degree in urban planning. He's worked as a minister and public school teacher in the Bronx.
4. Technology Czar: Aneesh Chopra
Previous Experience: Chopra worked in almost the same job in the state of Virginia for Governor Tim Kaine. He has significant experience in health IT, which President Obama has noted is key for reform. In 2007 Chopra was recognized by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society for his work and in co-chairing Virginia's Healthcare IT Council. Before working in government, Chopra worked at the publicly traded health care think tank Advisory Board Company serving as Managing Director.
5. Health Czar: Nancy-Ann DeParle
Previous Experience: Served from 1997 to 2000 as head of the HFCA (Health Care Financing Administration) in charge of the Clinton administration's Medicare program. Before that DeParle worked at the Office of Management and Budget.
6. Stimulus Accountability Czar: Earl Devaney
Previous Experience: Devaney is a former policeman and Secret Service agent. He worked as chief of criminal enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency and prior to taking the job of Stimulus Accountability Czar was inspector general at the Department of the Interior. During his stint there since 1999, Devaney was responsible for discovering the illegal activities of ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff which ultimately led to Abramoff's sentencing to jail.
7. Pay Czar: Kenneth Feinberg
Previous Experience: A Washington lawyer, Feinberg was Special Master of the Federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, a job which entailed dealing out approximately $7 billion to over 5,000 families and victims of September 11th. Feinberg also headed the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund for the families of victims in the 2007 Virginia Tech school shooting.
8. Guantanamo Closure Czar: Daniel Fried
Previous Experience: Fried served as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs since 2005. Fried was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council beginning in 2001. Fried has also worked as Principal Deputy Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States from 2000 to 2001. He served as Ambassador to Poland from 1997 until 2000.
9. Science Czar: John Holdren
Previous Experience: Holdren first worked as a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, teaching global environmental change and energy, nuclear, and technology policy. Holdren was the chairman of the board of directors for the American Association of the Advancement of Science from 2007 to 2008. He is director of the Woods Hole Research Center. Holdren most recently served as the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and was director of the Science, Technology and Public Policy Program at the School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
10. Green Jobs Czar: Van Jones
Previous Experience: Jones worked as an advocate for the environment before being tapped by Obama for the post. Based in Oakland, California, Jones is president of Green for All, which works to create a green economy to bring people out of poverty. Jones is also the founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Jones's first book, The Green Collar Economy, was a New York Times bestseller. Time magazine listed Van Jones as one of its 2008 "Environmental Heroes".
11. Information Czar: Vivek Kundra
Previous Experience: Prior to his new post, Kundra was a member of President Obama's transition committee on technology issues. Kundra also worked in DC Mayor Adrian Fenty's cabinet as Chief Technology Officer, gaining a reputation for his innovative programs. An initiative called Apps for Democracy garnered Kundra praise for his work creating programs that were more publicly accessible via the Internet. Before working for Fenty, Kundra was appointed by Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Technology.
12. Car Czar: Ed Montgomery
Previous Experience: Previous to his appointment, Montgomery was dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland. In Bill Clinton's administration, Montgomery worked as chief economist at the Department of Labor. From 2000 to 2001 he served as Deputy Secretary of Labor. Montgomery began his university work at Michigan State University where he worked from 1981 to 1990 as an associate professor in Economics. In 1992 he became a full professor of economics at the University of Maryland.
13. Climate Czar: Todd Stern
Previous Experience: With close ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton, Stern worked as a senior White House negotiator at the Kyoto Protocol negotiations. From 1999 to 2001 he worked at the Treasury Department where he served as an advisor on economic and financial issues. Stern was an advisor to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, advising on environmental and global warming issues. Stern was an important member of the Obama-Biden transition team in which he helped orchestrate how Bill Clinton would agree to release the names of 200,000 donors of his charitable foundation allowing Hillary Clinton's nomination for Secretary of State to move forward.
It appears from how they read that the thumb-nail sketches featured on Real Clear Politics are so short and sweet that they were provided by the Obama Administration. Over the next few weeks, I'll be taking the Czars, one by one. I'll be providing a bit more in-depth info on the Czars and their backgrounds.
I think you'll find it interesting to see the people our president continues to surround himself with.
And Democrats, ... HEY, YOU!!! YEA, YOU!!!! ...
I am waiting to hear the first one of you ask about the power grab going on by the Executive Branch. Don't you care about the Constitution? Don't you care that it is YOUR responsibility for oversight? Who approves the money these people spend?
I won't hold my breath for the most hypocritical congress in our history to ask.
