TAKEOVER OF THE "CZARS"

In the news lately we here the term “czar” being mentioned more and more frequently. Many Americans may think this just a cute title for another President Obama appointee, but when you delve into the issue a little deeper the concept becomes at a minimum, troubling.

There are currently (15) cabinet members appointed by the President and they are basically Department Heads who report to and advise the President regarding their respective departments. In addition to being appointed by the President, prospective cabinet members must be confirmed by the Senate. This is an important step in the process of maintaining the “balance of power” which is so necessary to maintain democracy. Without the confirmation, the President would have the unchecked ability to execute an incredible amount of control over these Departments. The confirmation process helps to further identify just who the individuals are that the President is appointing.

Many potential cabinet members have fallen by the wayside over the years as a result of this important process.

Zoe Baird was nominated for Attorney General under the Clinton administration. She was forced to withdraw after it was discovered she was employing illegal aliens and not paying social security taxes on their services. Oh, the irony!

Bernard Kerik was nominated by George W. Bush as Secretary of Homeland Security, but also was forced to withdraw over employing illegal immigrants. Kerik has been the subject of numerous investigations since then, and was indicted on federal charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and lying to the Internal revenue Service in 2007.

The above examples help to demonstrate the importance of the confirmation process in helping to eliminate unqualified or unseemly candidates. Unfortunately, it is becoming apparent that our sitting President has found his own little loophole to this process. To date, Barack Obama has appointed almost three dozen “Czars” in various departments from overseeing the closing of Guantanamo Bay, to overseeing the massive government spending of the failed stimulus package. That is a lot of power for individuals to wield, many of which face no confirmation from the senate. That is correct!! Basically, President Obama has created additional cabinet positions without titling them as such, and has avoided that pesky confirmation process which would further examine these appointees past indiscretions and qualifications to execute such power over our nation. Am I just being a biased “fringe” conservative, as we seem to have been labeled as of late? Let’s look at what Senator Robert Byrd, Democrat-W. Va, said in a letter to President Obama regarding these Czars:

“The accumulation of power by White House staff can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances” and…

“As Presidential assistants and advisors, these White House staffers are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to cabinet officials, and to virtually anyone but the President. In too many instances, White House staff have been allowed to inhibit openness and transparency, and reduce accountability.”

His own party is disturbed by the President’s growing staff and the lack of oversight Congress has over them.

If you begin to do your own investigation of some of President Obama’s appointments, you will become even more disturbed by what you find. You don’t even have to dig deep on the appointment of Van Jones as Green Jobs Czar. Van Jones is a self-proclaimed communist and worked with a group named STORM (Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement). After reviewing the above examples of individuals who were forced to withdraw their nominations, how far do we think Mr. Jones would have gotten in the process with this on his resume?

Let’s put it all in perspective. Since his election, President Barack Obama has instituted government control over the automobile industry, the banking industry, and coming soon to your neighborhood, the healthcare industry. He is slowing building a crew of “Czars” who he needs no approval to hire, and answer only to him. Hmmmm…maybe we should have looked into that Barack Obama-William Ayers connection in a little more detail last year.