Obama's Dancing with the Czars and Giving the Boot to the Auto Franchises

In the dumbed-down culture of the United States, citizens are likely to spend more time thinking about American Idol and Dancing with the Stars than our Constitutional form of government and the threats coming from the Obama administration on all levels. Consider just two items for today: The Obama czar-making machine and the auto industry takeover.

Part 1 - Dancing with the Czars:
As Rep. Michele Bachmann states in the video in the post below, the administration is making an end-run around Congress by naming czars to run just about everything. Consider that cabinet posts are subject to the "advice and consent" of the Senate. Who is consenting to these czars? Obama! He is creating a massive parallel government of elitists who are unelected and unaccountable to the American people. There is absolutely no Congressional oversight of these unelected and, in at least some cases, unqualified people.

Using the word "czar" certainly fits the effort because these positions create an imperial group who answer to no one but the president/king. Some have more authority than cabinet posts. Obama didn't begin the practice and it may not be unconsitutional since presidents can appoint advisers. However, former presidents dating back to FDR, had only one or two. Obama has taken the practice to new heights with over three dozen (so far). Obama's list of czars is mind-numbing. He has an "infotech" czar, a "faith-based" czar, an "energy" czar, a "terrorism" czar, a "TARP" czar, an "urban" czar, a "Guantanamo closure czar, a "health reform czar...and on and on. There is even a "non-proliferation" czar who is obviously not working on the non-proliferation of czars! (My nephew is out of work and available to serve as the "unemployed" czar.)

Each "czar" is making between $100k and $180K a year and has a support staff ballooning the costs. Has anyone examined these appointments in depth? You can pay off a lot of political debts with such a crony system. Here are a few examples of these "czars": "Pay Czar," Kenneth Feinberg, a lawyer with no executive experience, has the power to set the wages of the executives of any company getting bailout money. "Science Czar" John Holden has advocated for compulsory abortion and mandatory population control. Some "czars" like Cass Sunstein, are spouses of other Obama advisors -- keeping it in the family so to speak. There's even a former "czar," "car czar" Steve Rattner who resigned in what looks like a brewing financial scandal. (Will we be surprised?) One things for sure, this violates at least the spirit of Obama's promises to the American people about running an ethical and transparent administration. There is virtually no public scrutiny of these appointments.

Americans not outraged over this are probably working for one of the czars. Keep in mind that none of these folks had to apply for the job under Civil Service Rules. They are all patronage appointments, pure and simple. While a few are in positions confirmed by the Senate, most were not. They are new jobs set up by the administration in one more government expansion. Congress, of course, ostensibly has oversight of the Executive branch of government but with a Democratic administration and a Democratic Congress there is currently NO CONTROL. The Obama/Pelosi team will fund whatever our liberal president wants and the taxpayers be damned.

Part 2 - Stealing businesses:
Michele Bachmann (again in the video below) illustrates how the government is taking over and destroying small businesses in the the auto industry. Chrysler executives say they didn't make the decision about which dealerships to close; a White House task force did. Many in the car industry say there appears to be no rhyme nor reason to the closings. Some franchieses that were doing well were targeted which led to concern that closings were politically motivated. Since most car franchises are small businesses the owners are likely to be Republican. Regardless, once government is involved in decisions about which businesses stay open and which close politics gets into the act. Who benefits when the government decides what businesses can operate? When politicians, like Barney Frank, influence which franchises survive (He saved at least one in his district.) what happens? Will the politician who took big bucks from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (and let his boyfriend run a gay prostitution ring in his Capitol Hill home) expect something for his help? What if he doesn't get it? Does the franchise close next year?

Running businesses is not the responsibility of government and the potential for corruption and cronyism when they do is significant. It is interesting that the first "czar" to resign was the one involved in making these decisions over GM and Chrysler. An in-depth investigation of the hundreds of dealerships closed, the political contributions of their owners, etc. would make fascinating reading I'm sure.

With the 2010 elections coming up, a sensible strategy would be CHANGE! Kick out the liberals who have increased the national depth, taken over a large percentage of the private sector with the prospect of gobbling up even more, and have adopted policies driving us into double-digit unemployment.

Throw out liberalism and adopt conservatism. America has problems, but she has a lot that's worth portecting and defending. Don't let liberalism destroy her!