LA Times: Is Obama Seeing Czars?

In March of 2009 the LA Times did a thorough piece on Obama's anticipated extensive use of czars in his administration. They pointed out several legitimate concerns by others, including outside experts and even fellow Democrats like Robert Byrd. They also pointed out almost immediate issues involving overlap and conflicting authority arising back then. Given Obama's unusually high use of such special advisers, it doesn't seem imprudent to continue to ask some questions along these lines.

Back then, they were being touted as important by this administration, not dismissed as insignificant presidential appointees. Now we know they weren't required to fill out Obama's standard questionnaire, though the FBI is said to have checked them out. And that link to Hot Air suggests they actually would be expected to fill out the questionnaire, or some equivalent, at least.

Add all this to Obama's previous significant vetting problems, I'm assuming Jones did pay his taxes..., it doesn't strike me as unrealistic for the public to want to know just a little bit more about these czars and how they came to be given their jobs. There is a lot of taxpayer money being expended here. And last time I checked, the government was responsible to the people taxed as much, if not actually more, than Obama himself. 

Now that the White House is launching the system, aides are refining the description a bit. Messina emphasized that the czar positions rank below Cabinet positions.

He said the confirmation-free appointments do not violate the Constitution because the czars are aides to the president and his team. "They're super-staffers and report to the president and to Rahm," he said, referring to Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. "I meet with them. I don't meet with Cabinet secretaries; they're above me." Czars mainly will do their coordination work behind the scenes, and secretaries will serve more as what Messina calls the "public faces" of the administration.

That description does not allay Byrd's concerns, said his spokesman, Jesse Jacobs.

"If the czars are working behind the scenes and the secretaries will be the mouthpieces of the administration, it calls into question who is actually making the policy decision," he said. "Whoever is making the policy decisions needs to be accountable and available to Congress and the American public."

It's still very early in the Obama presidency, but others also question the czar setup.

Comments

[Xerocky]

From wikipedia about Van Jones early life...

"Jones and his twin sister Angela were born in 1968 in Jackson, Tennessee. Their mother was a teacher at a high school and their father was a principal at a junior high school. Jones's sister says that as a child he was "the stereotypical geek—he just kind of lived up in his head a lot."[10] He has described his own childhood behavior as "bookish and bizarre."[10] His grandfather was a leader of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and Jones sometimes accompanied his grandfather to religious conferences, where he would sit all day listening to the adults "in these hot, sweaty black churches".[10] Jones was a young fan of John and Bobby Kennedy, and would pin photographs of them to a bulletin board in his room in the specially delineated "Kennedy Section". He used to imagine his Star Wars action figures were politicians: Luke Skywalker was John, Han Solo was Bobby, and Lando Calrissian was Martin Luther King, Jr..."

And I thought I was weird.
Did he make Han Solo order the tapping of Lando's phone?

I've stated it before on this blog, none of what Van thinks wasn't known to Obama. He thinks the same things that Van thinks. Obama didn't think that Van would rub the American public the wrong way. He was incorrect.

[WAHOO WILLIE]

"They pointed out several legitimate concerns by others, including outside experts and even fellow Democrats like Robert Byrd."

This just in: Grand Poobah of the KKK Byrd was seen dropping off his sheets at the DC laundry.

[USMC]

What kind of event or "crisis" will Obama generate to suspend or over ride Congress? He talks constantly 21st century. He's convinced our way of doing things is out dated and this punk bitch swears he's cutting edge so what will they do to over ride Congress or minimize them?
I have a feeling he wants to shut them out for good. I mean why else would you have czars and a cabinet that surpasses the number of Senators? Just a thought.

[PA]

Substitute "commissar" for "czar" and it all starts to make sense.

[FeFe]

Will there be an audit of Van Jones stimulus bill funded $30 bbbbillion in taxpayer redistribution? Is Obama's Pay Czar, Kenneth Feinberg, going to review his golden parachute?

[FeFe]

Also, what staff did Van Jones assemble and who are they?

[Barbara]

Dan,
This is what they said at the time on January 25th " Aides say he believes the Cabinet structure is outdated because it doesn’t recognize that problems like global warming sprawl across several agencies, often requiring a sort of uber-Cabinet member – a czar – to confront them."
also:
"Some of the Cabinet agencies were created before the most pressing issues of today,” this aide said. "To have people cut through a bureaucracy that doesn’t match the times we’re in is just more effective.”

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/www.raphaelholomanfranklinsupportObama08.com/gGx2dm