The Political Fish

Its common knowledge that Presidents here in America have used “czars” to handle specific issues. Clinton had them, Bush had them. But Barack Obama has taken this to an extreme level…folks, we now have a Great Lakes czar.

By some estimates, this would be the 18th czar appointed by President Obama in the first 4 months of his presidency. Some would even put that number over 20, some put the number at 14. Thats in and of itself is the real problem. The jobs of these so called “czars” are unknown. Their power is unknown. Their pay is unknown. What happened to transparency in government Mr. President? I am sure the information is out there somewhere, buried in some obscure website…but why is the information not easily accessible. We are after all paying these czars, for whatever they do. The one thing we do know about these appointees, is that they only answer to one person. That is the President of the United States. They are basically free-wheeling bureaucrats with no oversight at all, other than the big guy himself.  So here is what I have been able to come up with with a little help from a few different websites.

1. Car czar – handling the newest company, Government Motors and its subsidiary Chrysler
2. Cyber-security czar – given a “broad mandate” by President Obama to oversee our nations cyber infrastructure. (Careful what ya say, the czar is watching)
3. Pay czar – for bailed out companies…this position will oversee wage limitations on executives of these companies. (Really stinks for the banks that were forced to take the money)
4. Great Lakes czar – tasked with the cleanup of the Great Lakes waterways (good luck)
5. The border czar – oversees border security?
6. Drug czar – war on narcotics trafficking?
7. Stimulus accountability czar – (this one is really working out well)
8. Urban czar – also known as the ghetto czar (just kidding)
9. Energy czar – makes sure we do not drill offshore
10. Bank bailout czar – self explanatory
11. Regulatory  czar – since regulation is on the rise, this one may actually be necessary.
12. Terrorism czar – umm, overlaps with DHS I suppose
13. Faith-based czar – oversees faith based programs
14. Health reform czar – so far there has been no reform, so its safe to say she isnt doing much
15. Guantanamo czar – locks up and turns the lights out?
16. Non-proliferation czar – i’m getting worn out.

This doesn’t count special envoys. I will aquiesce to this position to handling sensitive diplomatic situations, i.e the special Middle East envoy George Mitchell. I might add that this is a much more important role for Mr. Mitchell than the MLB Steroid gig he was doing the last we heard from him.

Now, I understand that czar really is a media term. President Obama doesn’t go on tv and announce that he is appointing a czar. It’s not really an endearing term to the position. Neil Cavuto this weekend referred to these czars as “evil despots accountable to no one”. That is the reason the media has come up with the term czar, is because they have no authority over them, other than the President.

In this writers humble opinion, this is nothing more than an executive power grab. I mean, all of these areas that these appointees oversee already have agencies and departments that oversee them. These government entities have to answer to the Congress of the United States. To appoint another layer to the executive branch to circumvent the legislative branch is another slap at the Constitution by this administration, and as I said at the outset, previous administrations.

West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, well known as a strong proponent of the Constitutional separation of powers noted in an open letter to the President, “As presidential assistants and advisers, these White House staffers are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to cabinet officials, or to virtually anyone but the president,” Byrd wrote. “They rarely testify before congressional committees, and often shield the information and decision-making process behind the assertion of executive privilege. In too many instances, White House staff have been allowed to inhibit openness and transparency, and reduce accountability.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself Mr. Byrd. This practice has got to stop. Frankly, its embarrassing to have a Great Lakes czar, not to mention a car czar that just started shaving. Can we please return to the Constitution in this country?

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