On Czars

The first man to assume the title of "czar" was Ivan the Terrible in Russia. His reign introduced a period of totalitarianism never seen again in the country until the time of Stalin. Over twenty years ago the word was used in American government to refer to officials with unprecedented powers to address dangerous problems. President Reagan appointed one to address drugs. Subsequent presidents appointed a few here and there. They were seen as emergency officials, not part of the routine.

Obama has appointed thirty one. Thirty one!

Czar Nicholas I wanted to expand his authority over Russia in the 1800s but found the traditional bureaucracy in his way because his ideas wer emostly ill-founded. To get around them, he appointed special commissioners to do his bidding and ignore the usual government procedures. This created confusion and turf wars more than anything.

Now we have the spectacle of a president creating positions to try and get around the Cabinet that he appointed. Senator Byrd has attacked the proliferation of czars as an abuse of power and an attempt to do an end run around the authority of the Senate over the executive branch. It is now routine in the Obama era to try to rush wrong headed policies thorugh as quickly as possible. The president's henchmen are empowered to do whatever he wants with no oversight whatsoever.

2010 cannot come quickly enough.

Obama Executive Branch Called Dangerously Top Heavy

An analytical story that crossed the wires yesterday afternoon raised an alarming point. Obama has not only appointed traditional Cabinet secretaries, but also an amazing number of issue "czars," special advisers, and special diplomatic envoys responsible only to him. An expert noted that Obama seemed "addicted to czars." Five separate executive branch officials can claim a leadership role on the climate change issue, which many Americans by now have come to understand is no issue at all. Special envoys will be sent to Pakistan and other Middle Eastern countries, a move that undercuts the ambassadors to those nations and Her Royal Hillariness in the State Department.

Obama did not invent this style of government and it remains to be seen if this is intentional, or just the president muddling through, building legitimacy by appointing as many experts as he can find to do the same jobs. Franklin D. Roosevelt intentionally followed this pattern. Several people worked the same job independently, meaning that if a conflict arose, FDR would arbitrate, ensuring that he was kept informed and maintained his power. Accomplishing this meant that FDR presided over one of the most secretive and deceptive administrations in history at a time when the press was not only friendly, but by and large served the function of adoring accomplices. Obama will get no such treatment if he continues to try and intimidate hardened White House reporters with stare down tactics.

Other historical figures who have created ponderous and unwieldy systems such as Obama's include Russia's Czar Nicholas I and Adolf Hitler.

Obama is likely trying to establish these special offices and departments to get around his own Cabinet selections. He certainly wants to keep Hillary's wings clipped. His opposition includes the moderate and conservative Democrats as well as Republicans. Obama may believe that these special positions will lead to him keeping control of his own policy. Unless he has the intellect of FDR, it will more likely lead to a jumbled mass of ego, contradiction, and inactivity.

Of all the possibilities of a left leaning administration, socialist policies caught in the quicksand of a byzantine Executive Branch sounds like a less horrible result than others.

********************************************************************

I read yesterday where Obama and other local elites dined at Washington's Georgia Brown's. We walked past that place the other weekend. It had $30 entrees. Was this fancy food? Nope. $27 or so for a meal that included fried chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and collard greens. It must be nice to be able to pay $30 for a meal you could get for one third the price at the same quality. Combine this with $100 per pound beef and you see how differently Obama and his friends are used to living than the rest of us.