Czars Are A Presidential Power Grab

I’m not afraid to admit it… This Czar thing scares the crap out of me.  The whole idea is completely ridiculous and I can’t figure out why the President is getting away with this power grab.

How It’s Supposed To Work

Our government is set up to have checks and balances in it… thus the three branches.  No one branch of government, including the Executive Branch, has more power than any other branch.  Because the branches have authority over different matters, it creates checks and balances in the system.

Even the power to appoint government officials to positions of authority is something that requires approval of Congress.  The case of President Obama’s Supreme Court pick is a perfect example of this process in action.

The Constitution lays the process out very clearly in order to prevent fraud and corruption in the American government, and to maintain balance of power.

Why Appointing Czars Is Bad For America

Appointing Czars to run major parts of the American government is bad for America.  Let me tell you why:

1.  Czars are appointed by President Obama without any type of confirmation process.

President Obama can appoint anyone he wants to be a Czar, regardless of their partisanship, education, job experience, etc.  When it comes to Czars, qualifications don’t seem to matter.

The Auto Czar is a perfect example of just how wrong this can go.   This is what Wiki says about Car Czar Steven Rattner:

“…is an American financier and private equity investor… A graduate of Brown University, Rattner started his career as a reporter with The New York Times, first at the Washington bureau, where he became close friends with Times’ ownership-family member Arthur Sulzberger, who also was at the time working as a reporter; and then at the London bureau. Subsequently, Rattner quit journalism and joined Morgan Stanley… “

The Deputy Car Czar, Brian Deese, is a 31 year old who seens to have only worked on political campaigns (First Hillary Clinton, then Barack Obama).  The New York Times described his rise to power this way:

“It is not every 31-year-old who, in a first government job, finds himself dismantling General Motors and rewriting the rules of American capitalism.”

These people are being trusted with Billions of Dollars and a major part of our economy — the automotive industry.

Without the confirmation process, The President can appoint anyone he chooses to be a Czar and put them in a position of authority in America.   The American people didn’t vote for these Czars.  The representatives that the American people did vote for were not allowed to have any influence or approval over the Czars.  The Czars are running major parts of the country even though they haven’t been elected or approved by those who were elected.

That’s just plain wrong.

2.  Czars answer directly to President Obama and aren’t part of any other agency.

The Czars that are appointed by President Obama answer directly to the president.  They aren’t part of any other government agency and therefore aren’t subject to the checks or balances of our government.  More importantly, he can appoint people that will take their marching orders directly from him, without question, and remake America in any fashion The President chooses.

3.  Czars have too much power.

The Czars have been described by people in the White House as “super-staffers” that are merely aides to the President and his team.  If this is true, then appointing Czars is well within the President’s constitutional right.

Even so, the Czars have far too much power in Washington.

Here’s an example… Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, was tapped (and eventually confirmed) to be Health and Human Services secretary.  At her confirmation hearings, senators were able to probe her views on health policy and demand detailed documentation of her credentials.

But while all that was going on, Nancy-Ann DeParle, who was named health czar and began work right away pushing the President’s health care agenda.  There was no outside review of her abilities or opinions.   While lawmakers can ask Sebelius for testimony in the future and control her budget, DeParle remains largely outside of Congress oversight.

That’s too much power in the hands of the Czars… and ultimately too much power in the hands of the President.

4.  Czars inhibit government transparency and accountability.

In February, Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.)  sent a letter to President Obama outlining his concerns about the infiltration of Czars in this administration.  Byrd said:

“As presidential assistants and advisers, these White House staffers are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to cabinet officials, and to virtually anyone but the president.  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.”

Although I normally wouldn’t openly agree with Sen. Byrd… this time I think he’s right on point.

If Czars can assert the right of “executive privilege” while implementing the Obama agenda, then America is in grave danger.

Candidate Obama promised transparency and accountability, but clearly President Obama has no intention of living in a glass house.

5.  Czars have been put in a position of authority above all other government agencies.

Although I had some inklings that Czars were being given a lot more authority than their agency counterparts, it really didn’t sink in until the White House said they would appoint a Pay Czar.  This new Czar will supposedly focus on pay restrictions related to companies receiving TARP funds as well as helping firms to interpret the rules and ensure that they are being followed.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the administration is expected to name Kenneth Feinberg as the new Pay Czar.  But here’s what els they reported:

“Mr. Feinberg will report to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, but he is expected to have wide discretion on how the rules should be interpreted. Firms likely won’t be able to appeal decisions that Mr. Feinberg makes to Mr. Geithner, according to people familiar with the matter.”

Firms won’t be able to appeal decisions???

Yup, that one got my attention too.  Here’s what Ed Morrissey from Hotair.com said about that:

“No right to appeal?  Pick any other area of law enforcement where defendants have no right to appeal, let alone get a fair hearing of their grievances.  The IRS allows appeals, for instance.  Hell, even the detainees at Guantanamo Bay have the right to appeal decisions by military tribunals to the federal appellate court. The appointment of czars means an unconstitutional application of power almost by definition, as the positions deliberately bypass Congressional oversight, and now apparently the judiciary as well.

This demonstrates why I’ve been warning about the czar culture at the White House. It puts power into the hands of one man, Barack Obama, and eliminates any accountability for his actions.  In order for Congress to stop the actions of any czar, they would have to impeach Obama first, a highly unlikely scenario while Democrats control Congress, and hope that Joe Biden would get the message.  Otherwise, the branch that represents the people have no control over the law-enforcement actions of their government, and the courts would have no clear entry point to check executive power.”

I couldn’t have said it any more clearly myself.

Clearly, the appointment of Czars is a power grab.

It’s a blatant attempt to subvert the authority of Congress and undermine the Constitution.  It must be stopped before this administration completely erodes the Constitution and turns America into a dictatorship.

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Filed under: Constitution

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