Bush Sneaks in Recess Appointments --->>>

[Stephanie]

Bush Appointments Avert Senate Battles

By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 5, 2006; Page A13

President Bush yesterday made a raft of controversial recess appointments, including Julie L. Myers to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau at the Department of Homeland Security, in a maneuver circumventing the need for approval by the Senate.

Myers, a niece of former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Richard B. Myers and the wife of the chief of staff to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, had been criticized by Republicans and Democrats who charged that she lacked experience in immigration matters.

***

Bush appointed Tracy A. Henke as executive director of the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness. She had been accused in her politically appointed post at the Justice Department of demanding that information about racial disparities in police treatment of blacks in traffic cases be deleted from a news release.

The president avoided an abortion rights battle with the recess appointment of former Maryland Republican gubernatorial candidate Ellen R. Sauerbrey as assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration. Sauerbrey is an opponent of abortion rights.

For the Federal Election Commission, Bush picked Justice Department employee and former Fulton County, Ga., Republican chairman Hans von Spakovsky for one of three openings. Von Spakovsky is widely viewed as a key player in two disputed Justice Department decisions to overrule career staff in voting rights cases.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/04/AR2006010401953.html?nav=rss_nation/special

[ComerPerro]

1. Bush, making appointments to unqualified people based only on

their family relationship with the administration? What a shocker.

His entire presidency is based on a "appointment" given to the son of a President....

[ClintonTyree]

3. The Supreme Court appointed him once.........

and Diebold stole it for him the second time. The only president to serve two terms and never be elected once. What a disgrace to our country he has been and continues to be.
None of this surprises me, he knows he has zero pull in Congress now so this is the only way he'll be able to get anyone appointed. King George strikes again. :puke: I'm sure they're eminently qualified. :eyes:

[ComerPerro]

11. I'm saying, too, that it seems fitting

that an administration headed by the unqualified son of a mediocre former President practice such nepotism

[BlueManDude]

2. I'm going back to bed...

[babylonsister]

4. Averts Senate battles? I would think his cronyism

would encourage said battles. :grr:

[CJCRANE]

5. I'm sure they'll do a "heck of a job" nt

[seafan]

6. Am I reading this correctly? Julie Myers is married to the chief of

staff for Chertoff, not to Chertoff.



....and the wife of the chief of staff to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff,....

[katinmn]

7. Better headline: "Bush sidesteps Senate again"

More cronies who know too much.

This fucking bastard just won't quit.

Impeach now!

[jbonkowski]

8. All Presidents do recess appointments

A recess appointment is not itself a red flag for anything. Clinton did them all the time, and they were not anything to get upset about. I'm not sure there's anyone truly awful in this batch. Bush does use the recess appointments for controversial nominations, which abuses the recess appointment capability.

jim

[jackstraw45]

9. Clinton used them LESS than Reagan, Bush I, & Bush II.....

In 8 years, Reagan had 240 recess appointments.

In 4 years, Bush I had 77.

In 8 years, Clinton made 140 recess appointments.

Through March 2005, Bush II had made over 110.

Just to be clear. And Bush HAS a congress of his own party meaning confirmations should be a snap.

Clinton faced a hostile congress for 6 years.

[Stephanie]

10. read the article - he's appointing unqualified nepotistic cronies

again

[im10ashus]

12. Daily KOS has a complete list of the people that Bush appointed

WITHOUT Congressional approval/oversight. I think there were quite a few appointed to the Federal Elections Commission… three, I think?

Once again… Bush shows what little faith he has in the Republican controlled Senate.