Obama’s Cyber Czar Hathaway Resigns… How Many Czars Do We Have Now in Obama’s Shadow Government? Still More Than Russia…
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on August 7, 2009
UPDATE: OCTOBER 21, 2009: Capitol Confidential: Even Left Groups Mobilize Against A Government Takeover of the Internet
So do we only have 43 czars now? Or 44? I keep losing track…
From the Right Perspective:
Obama Cyberczar Resigns
Melissa Hathaway has stepped down from her position of Cyberczar in the Obama administration Monday, reportedly over growing frustration at her being marginalized by the president’s economic advisers.
“It’s time to pass the torch,” Hathaway said in an interview, adding that she and her colleagues have provided an “initial down payment for what’s needed to start to address cybersecurity.”
Hathaway had successfully completed an interview for the position only this past April. A a senior intelligence official and holdover from the Bush administration, Hathaway launched President George W. Bush’s cybersecurity initiative. She reportedly told Obama economic advisers they consider options for regulating some private-sector entities to ensure they secure their networks.
White House bungling over a policy review Hathaway wrote led to her position becoming responsible to both the National Security Council and the National Economic Council. While some argued the new definition indicated cybersecurity as both an economic and national security issue, others said it bogged the post down in bureaucratic red tape.
Obama has made cyber security an important priority for his administration, noting mounting Russian and Chinese spying on American military and commercial networks. The US and North Korea reportedly engaged in a cyberwar for several weeks starting July 4th.
Frontrunners for the post include a former Clinton assistant defense secretary, Franklin Kramer, and Howard Schmidt, a former top security officer at eBay Inc. who has served on several presidential cybersecurity panels.
Encore Video:
The Glenn Beck video about Obama’s growing number of czars below, from his show that aired back in June, is an eye-opener. This is the second time I’ve posted it. If you’ve already seen this video, wouldn’t hurt to watch it again.
This new bureaucracy of czars doesn’t have to answer to the American people, only to POTUS Obama: Shadow government.
Obama’s Shadow Government & Czars — Glenn Beck’s ‘One Thing’ | Aired 06-09-09
Czar stuff:
The Anchoress, First Things: Science Czars & Healthcare; When Life is devalued…UPDATED
Jeffrey Jena, Big Hollywood: Time for a Comedy Czar?
Steady Habits: Science Czar Holdren: Forced Abortions, Mass Sterilization, Planetary Regime
Washington Post: Obama’s 32 Czars
Stop The ACLU: Obama’s Science Czar: Babies Aren’t Human Until They’ve Been Socialized
Chris Burgard, Big Hollywood: Dear Mr. President, Please Don’t Kill My Kids
The Bald Chick: Is Obama’s Science Czar Still a Eugenicist?
Frugal Café Blog Zone: “Green Jobs Czar” Appointed by Obama: Communist Van Jones and Energy Czar Doesn’t Really Know All That Is in Energy Cap-and-Trade Tax Bill
Gary Graham, Big Hollywood: Another ‘Transformational Moment’ — The Cyber-Czar is Born!
Tarheel Pundit: Here a Czar, There a Czar, Everywhere a Czar, Czar
Fire Andrea Mitchell!: How many Czars does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Ed Driscoll, PajamasMedia: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Population Bomb
The Underground Conservative: Dr. Mengele As Science Czar
Michelle Malkin: So much for the Greatest Transition in World History and The pay czar’s power grab and Support the Czar Accountability and Reform Act of 2009 and Lanny Davis wants you photographed and investigated and Meet the FCC Diversity Czar and Obama’s computer security police and Help out the Internet snitch brigade: Report on fishy health czar office and Coming next: A texting czar? and Welcome to Czarist Amerika and More on the wackjob science czar the MSM ignores and Next time, emulate urban czar Adolfo Carrion and Obama dismantles Bush/Cheney shadow government plan… just kidding and Culture of Corruption: Czars of the Obama Underworld and The science czar stonewalls and Alert: Car czar Steven “Chooch” Rattner is leaving; probes intensify and Next: A Fatherhood Czar? and And next: A Fine Print Czar
Hot Air: Glenn Beck to Michelle: Is Obama building his own massive civilian national security force? and Rattner’s exit prompted by probe? and Breaking: Car czar quits and If You Like Putting Sterilants in Our Water and Forcing “Undesirables” to Have Abortions, Have We Got a Science Czar for You and NARN, the Radio Czar Edition
The Clampdown: Obama’s Eugenicist Science Czar
bRight & Early: Czar Mania
CricketSoda: Obama Appoints Czar-Czar
About the author
I see the American people waking up to what is actually taking place and I couldn’t be prouder to be an American. They have underestimated what we are all about and will pay the price.
The title “czar” does not exist as an official title in our government nor has it ever. It was made up initially back in the 80s to describe Reagan’s drug policy director. Drug Czar ring a bell? No one made a big deal about it. It has been in informal use since then.
The Right has now glommed onto it to in a cynical attempt to portray Obama as a socialist tyrant.
Gene,
You’re missing the forest for the trees. Most of us conservatives have never liked the term, as it reeks of Russian totalitarianism, but having a “czar” or two or four is NOT the same as Obama using it now to prevent Congress from looking into these people’s backgrounds and, to date, appoint more than 40. Reagan had what, 2 czars? Bush, maybe 4? Far cry from the 45 or 47 or whatever it is this week with Obama. If Obama was using his “czar power” reasonably, like keeping it under double digits, I wouldn’t be objecting. Instead, it is an obvious scoot-around to keep his appointment choices (some with criminal backgrounds or anti-American histories) from being examined by our elected officials. Nancy Pelosi used the term repeatedly prior to the November election in regards to the auto industry, so even if it isn’t an “official” term, it is one that the current Speaker of the House used long before Obama was elected, as did many other congressional Democrats.
I was too young to know what was going on when Reagan appointed his drug czar, but knowing how the Democrats maligned him for years, I doubt that “no one objected” as you claim. I’d have to do some research on it, but based on history and Democrat behavior, I’m sure there was plenty of objection back then.
Left-wingers should be extremely worried about this acceptance of so many non-vetted people who answer only to the president… if 45 non-vetted czars are okey-dokey for Pres. Obama, when he is voted out in 2012 (and I think the writing is on the wall that will be a strong likelihood), he has opened the door for the same to be done by Republicans, and to have 45, or 55 conservative czars. None of which we’ve elected or scrutinized. Obama has gone overboard and set a dangerous precedent to go outside formal channels to the extent he has.
The point is and has always been that we never voted for these people, Congress has not been allowed to investigate their pasts, and we are beholden to what they want to do to America. A “drug czar” was meant to curtail illegal drug activities, not to micromanage everyday Americans’ lives… we have Obama’s Internet/cyber czar, a car czar, a green jobs czar, a global warming/energy czar, a bank bailout czar, an urban czar, a regulatory czar… it’s absolutely out of control. And oh, yeah, he does have a drug czar, too.
If a Republican was president right now doing this kind of shady shenanigans by not filling established departments (which must be vetted) and was instead willy-nilly putting people with Communist/activist background into prominent czar positions, such as Van Jones, believe me, I’d be protesting LOUDLY about that. I’m funny that way… as are many conservatives… we are not like liberals who scream for years about the war when a Republican is in the POTUS spot, but are now hypocritically silent with a Democrat POTUS. So the war against terror in Afghanistan and Iraq is OK now, statists? You do know that the numbers in Iraq have simply shifted to Afghanistan and that no significant change is planned for any time soon?
Additionally, we’re not being told how much is being paid to the staffs of the czars, which is another campaign promise broken by this administration. So, what ARE their salaries and how many staffers to the 40-plus czars are there? I know that most czars are earning 6 figures.
You wrote: “The Right has now glommed onto it to in a cynical attempt to portray Obama as a socialist tyrant.”
Great word, “glommed.” However, you have not read what I’ve written and many others have written deeply enough, but just pulled from it what you want. That’s OK. No worries. You’re allowed to be in agreement with Pres. Obama’s out-of-control czar appointments. I’m guessing that if a future Republican president appoints 50 or 60 czars with questionable pasts that Congress cannot investigate, you’ll think that will be simply peachy as well. Me, no. I object to this no matter who is in office. It’s abuse of power and lacks transparency. It is another power-grab and further dismantling of the limits of power set forth in our nation’s documents by our founding fathers.