rssLamar Alexander Defends His ‘Czar’ Crusade
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 7:10 pm
- 6 Comments
The White House pushed back a little bit on the “czars” story today, with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs pointing out how, in the past, Republicans like Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) called for new czars to take charge of mounting problems. Alexander has issued a statement pushing right back:
The White House staff should review my full remarks before launching an attack. I made it clear that there have always been a few czars but nothing like the 18 new czars appointed in this administration. Eighteen of the administration’s 32 czars hold new positions that did not exist in previous administrations and were not authorized by law. These czars are unconfirmed by the Senate, unavailable for questioning, and unaccountable to the American people through their elected representatives. They’re the most visible symbol of too many Washington takeovers. The White House should spend less time misrepresenting others’ views and more time answering legitimate questions from Senator Collins, Bennett, myself and others: What are these new czars’ authorities and responsibilities? How are they being vetted? How will they be accountable to Congress?
And so it goes on …
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6 Comments
Comment posted September 17, 2009 @ 1:44 am
Senator Alexander should follow his own advice and stop misrepresenting the facts. I guess he feels when republicans do it, it's legal?
Comment posted September 17, 2009 @ 5:04 am
Did he list these 18 so-called “czars?” Or at least provide a link to a list on FreeRepublic or Stormfront or wherever Republicans are getting this stuff?
Pingback posted September 17, 2009 @ 10:07 am
[...] Republicans are able to put the breaks on the president’s nominees while complaining, as Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) did yesterday, that President Obama’s appointees are “unaccountable to the American people [...]
Comment posted September 17, 2009 @ 12:54 pm
The GOP is harping on Czars because their idiot tea-bagging base thinks it just proves Obama is a commie. The unfortunate fact about this is it sounds so stupid but its true.
Of course they are ignoring all the “czars” Bush had, but you expect hypocrisy from Republicans right?
Comment posted September 17, 2009 @ 12:56 pm
Obama should go back to his campaign promises and open up his Administration to be transparent and actually give us all of the information for a change. Although if that happened, we might expect it to occur more frequently, and we already know that won't happen…
Pingback posted June 25, 2010 @ 4:21 am
[...] Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican, has also spoken out against the president’s profligate use of “czars.” Still, the senator is supporting the [...]
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