dancing with the czars
From The American Thinker
The three dozen or so people that Barack Obama has surrounded himself with to handle this problem or that issue, and yet are not confirmed by the Senate or operating an agency created by Congress, are not really his “czars.” These people are, instead, his “commissars.” Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany both called those vague, undefined figures appointed by the Leader to carry out his intentions “commissars” (Hollywood never speaks of Nazi commissars for the same reason that it never notes that Nazi Party members called each other “comrade” – the pretense that Nazis and Bolsheviks were polar opposites rather than identical twins is too vital a myth to dispel.)
In our constitutional republic, government does not have a role in every part of life. That is why Congress has to create departments, agencies and administrations. Everything that the federal government does must, in some way, relate to its powers under the Constitution. The first cabinet offices dealt with clear cut federal duties – diplomacy, war, justice, money, and postal services. Before Congress creates a federal office, a threshold question is whether the Constitution allows the work of that office to be done by the federal government. That is the heart of limited government.
There is, for example, no Department to Promote Politically Correct Thinking. No Congress would ever pass a law creating such an entity. A terrified Reichstag or the Central Committee of the Communist Party, on the other hand, might well do that. In those totalitarian regimes, “government” does not really exist: the party exists or, rather, the party and the state in a hopeless confusion of purpose and function. The very independence of Congress, even a venal and silly Congress, is a natural check upon a party-state with a leader at its apex.
Afghanistan/Pakistan Czar – Richard Holbrooke President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
AIDS Czar – Jeffrey Crowley President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Asian Carp Czar – John Goss Council on Environmental Quality selected
Auto Recovery Czar – Ed Montgomery President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Auto Czar – Ron Bloom President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Bank Bailout/TARP Czar – Herbert Allison President Nominated, confirmed by Senate
Border Czar – Alan Bersin Secretary of Homeland Security Appointed
California Water Czar – David J. Hayes President Nominated, confirmed by Senate
Central Region Czar – Dennis Ross President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Climate/Energy/Global Warming Czar – Carol Browner President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Compensation/Pay/Gulf Claims Czar – Kenneth Feinberg Secretary of Treasury Appointed
Consumer Czar – Elizabeth Warren President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Copyright Czar – Victoria Espinel President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Cyber Security Czar – Michael Daniel replaced Howard Schmidt President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Domestic Violence Czar – Lynn Rosenthal Vice President Appointed
Drug Czar – Gil Kerlikowske President Nominated, confirmed by Senate
Economic Czar – Paul Volcker President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Energy and Environment Czar – Carol Browner President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Ethics/Transparency Czar – Robert Bauer President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Faith-Based Czar – Joshua DuBois President Appointed, not confirmed by the Senate
Government Performance Czar – Jeffrey Zients
Great Lakes Czar – Cameron Davis EPA Appointed
Guantanamo Closure Czar – Daniel Fried Secretary of State Appointed
Health Czar – Nancy-Ann DeParle President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Information Czar – Vivek Kundra President Appointed, position created by statute
Intelligence Czar – Dennis Blair President Nominated, confirmed by Senate
Iran Czar – Dennis Ross President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Manufacturing Czar – Ron Bloom President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Mideast Peace Czar – George Mitchell Secretary of State Appointed
Performance Czar – Jeffrey Zients President Nominated, confirmed by Senate
Regulatory Czar – Cass R. Sunstein President Nominated, confirmed by Senate
Science Czar – John Holdren - President Nominated, confirmed by Senate
Stimulus Accountability Czar – Earl Devaney President Appointed, position created by statute
Sudan Czar – J. Scott Gration Secretary of State Appointed
Technology Czar – Aneesh Chopra President Nominated, confirmed by Senate
Terrorism Czar – John Brennan President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
Urban Affairs Czar – Adolfo Carrion Jr. President Appointed by Executive Order, not confirmed by the Senate
War Czar – Douglas Lute Held over from Bush Administration
Weapons Czar – Ashton Carter President Nominated, confirmed by Senate
WMD Policy Czar – Gary Samore President Nominated, confirmed by Senate
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[...] say President Obama failed to follow through on this promise is an understatement. By appointing a virtual army of “czars” — each wholly unaccountable to Congress yet tasked with spearheading major policy efforts for [...]