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Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Nov. 10, 2009 / 23 Mar-Cheshvan 5770

Czar light, czar bright

By Cheri Jacobus


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | After a flurry of justifiable outcries over a number of individuals President Barack Obama chose as his "czars," the political heat seems to have cooled. How unfortunate. But perhaps with the lowered temperature, the Senate will have the freedom to take some responsible measures to address this ever-expanding problem.


While the political alarm bells have been clanging from the right over some of the questionable czars appointed by Obama, it is natural the public would commence to vet the czars in instances where the president has skirted past the Senate. "If the Senate isn't going to vet these czars, then by golly, we will!" seems to be the battle cry, and understandably so.


However, the objective should not solely be to shine a light on Van Jones, Obama's "green jobs czar" until he resigned, although it was a positive and necessary move. Kevin Jennings, the Safe and Drug Free Schools czar who has some seriously disturbing statements in his past regarding sexual relations between teenagers and adults in addition to his controversial positions on sexual orientation education for schoolchildren, also needs to go. Perhaps there are more. But the problems with these individuals should mainly serve to underscore the larger, more important point — that without proper vetting and the advise-and-consent role of the United States Senate, disaster lies in wait.


Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) recently conducted a hearing in the Judiciary Committee's Constitution subcommittee in a laudable attempt to address the proliferation of czars in the Obama administration and the extent to which they operate outside the parameters of any sort of congressional oversight, particularly those reporting directly and exclusively to the president. The White House was invited to send a representative to testify at the hearing, but declined the senator's overture. Feingold's intent to address what he deems a serious constitutional issue, regardless of the individuals in those czar roles, is precisely how the Senate should proceed from here. Presumably, this exercise would be of value to future administrations, Republican or Democrat.


Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) also conducted a czar-related hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In an attempt to help ensure transparency and a more legislatively defined role for czars as part of the system of checks and balances, the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), has announced plans to introduce legislation to eliminate funding for the czars unless they appear before Congress.


Even if every individual on Obama's czar list, those under President George W. Bush and previous presidents were absolutely, positively the bee's knees, the Senate needs to discern that fact and examine the czars' roles and accountability through oversight. Many czars are granted the authority to develop and implement key policy initiatives, much in the same way Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretaries do. Because many czars are not confirmed by the Senate, there is virtually no oversight of their activities. Therein lies the rub.


When George W. Bush piled up a collection of czars, many in his own party were concerned and there were more than a few raised eyebrows. With Obama already appointing 18 new czars not subject to Senate confirmation, we seem to have encountered the tipping point. The Senate needs to take a close bipartisan look at this trend and be prepared to take action. It is off to a good start, but it can't end with just the Feingold and Lieberman hearings - especially in light of the Obama White House's shameful refusal to cooperate with the senators' request to send an administration representative to testify at the hearings alongside the esteemed experts and academics on the witness list.


With the legislative leadership of moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lieberman, and hopefully with the support of the principled progressive Feingold, the country may well, indeed, benefit from a bipartisan (tripartisan?), balanced, responsible and welcome effort to ensure transparency and a return to a proper advise-and-consent role for the Senate, regardless of which party is in power.


Whether the political heat is turned up, or cools considerably, Congress needs to stay on top of the czar issue. The American people deserve to have confidence that even if they do not agree with the president — any president — on the issues, at least there is proper oversight by a body of their democratically elected officials of those creating government policy that affects us all.


Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

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JWR contributor Cheri Jacobus, president of Capitol Strategies PR, has managed congressional campaigns, worked on Capitol Hill and is an adjunct professor at George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management. She is a columnist for The Hill and appears on CNN, MSNBC and FOX News as a GOP strategist.


Previously:

11/02/09: Reid's landmines
10/26/09: Public option for Congress
10/19/09: Big Brother wins
10/13/09: Dancin' DeLay
09/26/09: Paterson under the bus
09/14/09: Start over, Mr. President

© 2009, Cheri Jacobus

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