Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on September 9, 2009

Washington is looking closer at Pres. Barack Obama's multitude of non-elected czars

There’s trouble brewing in Obama’s Czar Land…

“Green jobs” czar Van Jones, resigning on Sunday amid the controversy of his Communist, radical, 9/11 Truther, cop-killer admiring, non-vetted background, has prompted a longer, more critical look at the other people Pres. Obama has appointed in his shadow government. People who are in power but were not vetted by Congress, were not elected, have questionable pasts, and answer only to Barack Obama.

Scrutiny prompted by a Democrat… knock me over with a feather.

From Tulsa World:

Boren says Congress should push for removal of unconfirmed “czars”
By Jim Myers, World Washington Bureau
September 8, 2009

U.S. Rep. Dan Boren said Congress should use the power of the purse to push the Obama administration to remove so-called czars that do not go through a confirmation process.

Responding to questions during a telephonic town hall, the Oklahoma Democrat said he was glad Van Jones, who resigned over the weekend as controversy continued to build over past statements, has left his post.

Boren joined others in criticizing the growing trend to name czars to lead efforts in specific areas.

Such officials do not go through oversight hearings or a confirmation vote in the Senate.

Boren referred to them as unelected bureaucrats who do not answer to lawmakers. “It is something I have heard a lot about,’’ he said.

Even though such czars do not go through a confirmation process, Boren cited the “authority’’ that came along with the congressional control over the power of the purse.

He also singled out Cass Sunstein, who was picked by Obama to be the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget.

Boren cited Sunstein’s reported views on animal rights, adding they are out of step with those of Oklahomans.

“I don’t believe he should be appointed to anything,’’ Boren said.

With his nomination sent to the Senate in April, Sunstein does not appear to fall in the same category as a czar.

Hot Air weighs in on Sunstein:

…A “czar” does not get Senate confirmation. The post for which [Cass] Sunstein has been nominated requires Senate confirmation and is subject to Congressional oversight. That differs greatly from the post Jones held, which had neither, with predictable results. Czars exist outside of the checks and balances provided by the legislative branch on executive power, which makes them a dangerous expansion of presidential power, and worthy of a concerted campaign to end those appointments. But Sunstein isn’t one of the czars.

The Senate and individual Senators have to decide what they feel is too radical for confirmation, of course. However, the guiding principle for most of our nation’s history is that a President has the right to choose his advisers in order to implement his policies. Absent evidence of, say, paranoid-conspiracy thinking, people usually allow that elections have consequences. Sunstein is a liberal thinker, not one I’d promote for a policy position in a government. Obama won the election, though, and gets to make those appointments.

In this argument, though, Sunstein opponents have a very handy precedent. George Bush wanted to make John Bolton his UN ambassador, and Bolton had plenty of qualifications for the position. Democrats blocked the appointment not because Bolton was unqualified, but because they didn’t like his politics. Should that appointment have been blocked? No, but it was, and Democrats set that precedent…

Two days prior to Van Jones resigning, Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) released the following:

Sen. Kit Bond News Release: Bond Urges Congressional Hearing on Administration’s Mr. Jones – Senator Highlights Jones’ Repugnant ‘Truther’ Association and Inflammatory Language

U.S. Senator Kit Bond, ranking member of the Green Jobs and the New Economy Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today called for a Congressional oversight hearing probing the fitness of a senior White House official.

[...]

“Today, news outlets are reporting that Van Jones signed a petition from the so-called ‘Truther’ movement which suggests that the Bush administration ‘may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext to war.’ I can imagine few sentiments more repulsive to our brave fighting soldiers and the victims of the 9/11 terror tragedy than to think the U.S. government deliberately allowed the events of 9/11 to occur. Of course Mr. Jones in hindsight is embarrassed by the public disclosure of his participation in the petition drive and now asserts he did not read the fine print of the petition. But can the American people trust a senior White House official that is so cavalier in his association with such radical and repugnant sentiments?”

Congress is finally waking up and smelling the czars…

Related reading:
Stanley Kurtz, The Corner on NRO, Van Jones on ‘The Enemy’
Fire Andrea Mitchell!: Democrat Rep. Dan Boren pushing for removal of UNCONFIRMED Obama Czars
Citizen Wells: Cass Sunstein, Obama Czar, Information and Regulatory Affairs, White House office, Sunstein quotes, US Constitution, Sunstein radical ideas
Andrew Marcus, Big Government: Major ACORN Victory In New York Thanks In Part To Van Jones
Hot Air Green Room: Cass Sunstein: An Intellect Who Towers Over the Founders
CBS News: For Van Jones, A Week Already Feels Like A Year
Dianej in my opinion: Hey Catholics what say you on Cass Sunstein?
The Patriot’s Mind: Video of the Week – Glenn Beck on Obama’s Communist Czars
Lurita Doan, Big Government: ObamAmerica: Reign of the Czars
Leigh Scott, Big Hollywood: Van Jones: Out of the Commie Closet — Who’s Next?
FOX News: Mainstream print and broadcast media ignore Van Jones: timeline of who reported what and when
Hot Air: White House source: We never asked Van Jones to fill out the vetting questionnaire Update: FBI vetted Jones and Unbelievable: Van Jones says 9/11 petition didn’t reflect his views; Update: Jones didn’t “carefully review” petition
GayPatriot: Van Jones: Dereliction of MSM in Age of Obama and Van Jones, Obama’s “Truther” Green Jobs Czar, Resigns and To Critics of Republicans: Show me the Legislation where GOP pushes its beliefs on others
Behind Blue Lines: Meet Zampolit Jones
George Moneo, Babalú, an island on the net without a bearded dictator: The company he keeps
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Andrew Breitbart on Van Jones and Media’s Inaction Reporting His Radicalism, Americans Tuning Out MSM
and GOP, Meg Whitman, Are Any of You Listening to Conservative Talk Radio? Here’s Michael Savage on Radical Van Jones 5 Months Ago (video) and You Kiss Your Mother with That Mouth? Obama’s Green Jobs Czar Van Jones: “Republicans Are ‘A**holes’” (video) and Undeterred by WH “Green Czar’s” Boycott Strong-Arming, Beck Hits Back on Van Jones’ Background & ‘Color of Change’ and We Have Many Questions, Mr. President: Michelle Malkin and Glenn Beck on Radical Czars in the White House (video)
Goodtimepolitics: List of Obama’s Czars with Backgrounds
Ed Driscoll, Pajamas Media: Van Goes Under The Bus — Updated
Diary of a Mad Conservative: More Jones on imperialist, evil white America and the religion of Marx
Tarheel Pundit: Play That Funky Jew-Hatin’ Music, Van Jones
Patterico’s Pontifications: The Unvetting of Van Jones
The Foundry: The Green Jobs Fallacy
Hot Air: Obama appointees: Plenty of empty seats, Plenty of thrones and Rattner’s exit prompted by probe?
JammieWearingFool: Another Great Vetting Job: Obama’s Car Czar Under SEC Investigation
Michelle Malkin: Czar backlash builds: Democrat calls for removal and So much for the Greatest Transition in World History and Castro Watch: Walking Commie corpse appears on TV and Culture of Corruption: Czars of the Obama Underworld and The pay czar’s power grab and The Etiquette Czar’s Rules for Patriotic Protest and Obama summons his army: “This is the moment our movement was built for.” and The pay czar’s power grab and Support the Czar Accountability and Reform Act of 2009 and Meet the FCC Diversity Czar and The science czar stonewalls and Alert: Car czar Steven “Chooch” Rattner is leaving; probes intensify
Pundit & Pundette: Van Jones smears himself, then resigns
Gateway Pundit: FOX News All Star Bill Kristol on Van Jones: Jim Hoft in St. Louis Who Runs Gateway Pundit Blog Did More Reporting On This Than Entire MSM (Video) and Comedy Gold!… Leftist MSM Reporters Beat Up On Internet After Van Jones Resigns (Video) and Sing It… Van Jones Cut Nasty Hate-Filled Music Album, Too! (Video) …Update: Album Cover Found!
The Underground Conservative: More Vetting Problems Ahead?
Right Voices: The White House Is So Desperate They Got Brokow To Try And Cover For Them
Washington Post: White House Adviser Van Jones Resigns Amid Controversy Over Past Activism
Left, Right, and Centered: Imagine What The Press Would Do With This Under W
Robert Stacy McCain, American Spectator: Van Jones: Victim of Right-Wing ‘Terrorists’?
NewsBusters: Jones Resigns Over What? and NYTs’ Friedman Was Big Fan of Green Job Czar Jones in Oct 2007
Verum Serum: CBS: Was VS Post the Last Straw for Van Jones?
Power Line: Lights Out for Van Jones
VotingFemale Speaks!: Van Jones – Obama Will Miss His Racist Radical Communist Pal; Obama? Your Crap just gets deeper
Obi’s Sister: Don’t You Love It When Politicians Call You Names?

Categories: Government, Law & Constitution, Social and Political Climate
Tags: appointing czars, Cass Sunstein, Congress, czar, Dan Boren, George W. Bush, John Bolton, Obama's czar, Obama's czars, Obama-appointed czar, Oklahoma, political, politics, Pres. Obama, Rep. Dan Boren, shadow government, special advisor, Van Jones