THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XI, Issue # 182, August 29, 2009
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
OBAMA'S UNCONSTITUTIONAL "CZARS"
By Alan Caruba
PRESIDENT OBAMA, HIS "CZARS," & THE U.S. CONSTITUTION: THE PRESIDENT'S CONSTITUTIONAL POWER TO
APPOINT U.S. GOVERNMENT OFFICERS POSSESSING SIGNIFICANT AUTHORITY -- THE PARAMETERS WITHIN WHICH THE
PRESIDENT MUST OPERATE WHEN EXERCISING THE APPOINTMENT POWER -- PROBLEMS WITH OBAMA'S EXERCISE OF THE
PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENT POWER -- THE THREAT TO LIMITED GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTIONALISM, & THE RULE OF
LAW
FULL STORY:
Here’s a question that has been nagging me for months. Are Obama’s ever-growing number of “czars” constitutional?
I am not a constitutional scholar, but I have read the document known as the Constitution of the United States.
Article II, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution provides: “He [the President] shall have power, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate,
and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consults,
judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein provided
for, and which shall be established by law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers,
as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.”
As I read it, the U.S. Constitution is very specific about whom the President may appoint, and he can do so only within
parameters “established by law” and this applies specifically to the “heads of departments.” I interpret this to mean
Cabinet Secretaries, all of whom must be vetted and approved for their positions by the U.S. Senate.
The Republican National Committee’s Conservative Caucus recently passed a resolution expressing their concern,
noting: “The U.S. Constitution explicitly states that government officers with significant authority (called ‘principal
officers’) must be nominated by the President and are subject to a vote of the U.S. Senate.”
Obama’s appointments are clearly “principal officers,” though it will be argued that they are only advisors to the Office
of the President. Clearly, Obama’s appointments are not heads of departments, but they appear to have been granted an
unknown degree of influence and control as regards their responsibilities. They function “in the dark.”
For example, since we have a Department of Labor, why do we need an “Auto Recovery” czar, Ed Montgomery, who
reports to Larry Summers, the President’s top economic advisor? What can he do to effect recovery? And,
constitutionally speaking, is it lawful for the United States to have “ownership” of General Motors -- or any other
private enterprise? I think not.
Why does President Obama need a “Special Envoy for Climate Change”? Todd Stern reports to Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, but we have the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, which includes the National Weather Service. What exactly does Stern do and why? Stern is best
known for having helped negotiate the Kyoto climate pact, which was based on the discredited claims of a global
warming that is not happening. It was instantly rendered void by the exemption of nations such as China and India.
Meanwhile, the socalled Energy and Environment czar, Carol Browner, is reportedly coordinating policy in the same
area as the “Climate Change” czar, despite the fact that we have both a Department of Energy and an Environmental
Protection Agency. Obama's choice for “Green Jobs” czar, Van Jones, is a Marxist radical.
I could go on, but the point, obviously, is that there is an enormous amount of overlap going on and it involves
appointees who give the appearance of being doppelgangers to the existing Secretaries and the huge bureaucracies
they oversee. The czars answer directly to the President, but presumably so do the Secretaries whom we
occasionally see gathered around a huge table in Cabinet meetings.
If these people who have not been approved by the Senate or occupy positions that have not been “established by
law” and are not “heads of departments” exist solely at the pleasure of the President, are we not hip deep in some
very muddy waters concerning who is answerable to the Senate or House committees?
I am of the belief that Obama has methodically gone about creating a shadow government of men and women with
undefined powers, but who likely have even more influence with the Oval Office than those who hold office under
the mandates of the Constitution.
To borrow a term from the White House, it all smells “fishy” to me in ways that go beyond just the provision of
advice and which likely intrude deeply into the process by which laws and regulations are drafted and enacted.
There are now some thirty or more of these “czars,” and they represent a threat to the authority of the Congress and
could be utilized in some manufactured “crisis” to take control of the U.S. national government, dispensing with the
rule of law.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Government & the U.S. Presidency:
Presidential Politics & National Leadership
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
The United States Constitution
CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY & OTHER POLITICAL REGIMES
Modern Constitutional Democracy:
Fundamental Character & Essential Ingredients
Constitutionalism: The First Essential Ingredient
of Modern Constitutional Democracy
Dictatorship: The Opposite of Constitutionalism
Representative Democracy: The Second Essential Ingredient
of Modern Constitutional Democracy
Direct Democracy & Representative Democracy
Political Culture & Modern Constitutional Democracy
Modern Constitutional Democracy:
Summary & Conclusion
Alan Caruba writes a daily post at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com. A business and science writer, he is the
Founder of The National Anxiety Center.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity