I've GOTTA wonder about Obama's vetting process

[MercutioATC]

It's been a while since we've had an Obama appointee either "remove them self from consideration" or resign, but we just got another...Van Jones.

Calling Republicans "assholes" is nothing. Hell, Rahm has done much worse (to members of both parties). Van Jones resigned because of his "9/11 Truther" history.

What high-profile administrator, knowing their appointees will be under an especially harsh microscope, either fails to uncover that a candidate is a "Truther" in the vetting process or (worse) HIRES a Truther?

Let's see...tax delinquent, tax delinquent, tax delinquent, Truther...who the hell is vetting these people??

[cliffordu]

1. Yeah, he can't do shit right.

In case anyone wonders,

:sarcasm:

[MercutioATC]

4. I didn't say that.

My question was about his vetting process.

He seems to appoint (comparatively) a lot of people who later bow out for things that a decent vetting process should have caught.

[Uzybone]

8. comparatively to what? Bush? Clinton?

I wonder how many high profile Bush and Clinton people bowed out in the first year?

It is what happens when you set the bar very high.

[imdjh]

40. Why it it necessarily compared to Bush or Clinton?

If a guy is on record (as in You Tube) calling Clarence Thomas "Uncle Clarence" then the White House should know about that and not try to appoint him when it will bring embarrassment to the President.

[RubyDuby in GA]

49. Unless the Administration wants people out there talking about such things

This is one way of getting it out into the public discussion. I find it highly unlikely that people are willing to take one for the team in such a grand manner, but it might be possible.

And I'm not defending anything because I too think the vetting process is poor at best.

[cliffordu]

10. I honestly don't know how involved the Prez would have been at the level

that clown occupied.....

I'm not sure ANYONE can remember every little thing they did that might be interpreted as dangerous or weird, particularly in this country these fucking days.

The operative phrase used by the bekkers seems to be to slime the Prez 'by any means necessary .....'

[MercutioATC]

16. Granted, Obama has 32 appointees at that level (more than any other President)

but I do expect his team to be vetting these people adequately.


...and the degree to which Presidential appointees are vetted DOES directly reflect on the President.

[xchrom]

2. kick

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. A guy is entitled to weird opinions, there is no law against it, is there?

Was he doing a competent job? What matters?

What's the sense of letting glen beck lead you around by the nose about non-issues?

[MercutioATC]

9. As a Federal "Czar"???

It's a political position. Of COURSE "weird opinions" matter.

A Presidential appointee is ALWAYS subject to public (and media) scrutiny and, fair or not, their public opinions (even is only on a petition) reflect on the administration.

[The_Casual_Observer]

11. Thank you for being the apostle of mid-century political correctness.

Glen loves your kind.

I'd rather have 20 of this guy than one god damn republican evangelist bastard like we had to suffer with
of 8 years.

[MercutioATC]

25. Christ on a cracker! He's a liability to a criticized administration.

...and he's the umpteenth example of the administrations weak vetting process, to boot.

Just for the record, I didn't compare Van Jones to "one god damn republican evangelist bastard like we had to suffer with
of 8 years", I posed a question about the competence of whomever Obama has entrusted the vetting process.


...and "Glen loves your kind" is the kind of insubstantial response I'd expect from a grade-schooler...

[The_Casual_Observer]

26. It's all in your mind. The guy has done nothing wrong. You are mislead.

[MercutioATC]

28. How have I been "misled"?

[sabrina 1]

34. Exactly. It's pathetic to see Democrats

falling for this. Van Jones has every right to question the official 'theory' that we were fed about 9/11.

Because the right made it taboo to question that, the 'left' like the weaklings that they are, didn't want to offend anyone, so they jumped on the 'Oh we can't talk about that, the right might call us names' bandwagon.

And now the propaganda that there is something wrong with questioning what was clearly a sham, the 9/11 Commission, has been accepted.

I totally give up on the 'left'. Watching them on blogs over the past several years, worry more about being seen as 'crazy' by the craziest people on the planet, makes me realize there is little hope for this country.

Van Jones should not have quit and Obama should not have allowed him to. I bet Rahm was behind it. A good liberal who slipped in to this administration's cabinet, can't have been very popular with the CIC who openly hates the left.

And here we see the appeasers willing to throw a really great man away, because, and this makes me sick, GLENN BECK a clown, a man who will most likely end up in an insane asylum, went after him. That should have raised his stature in the political world. Instead, the wealkings we elected, cave to one of the lowest, stupidest people on the planet and hand him a victory. Unbelievable. They are not fit for politics. They cannot win against a coward like Glenn Beck. How are they going to win the war in Afghanistan?

[rhett o rick]

46. "I bet Rahm was behind it." Don't you think Rahm is involved in the selection process? nm

[imdjh]

42. What the Republicans did is irrelevant. You are the one who sounds like Beck.

"Johnny did it! How come I'm being punished?"

Johnny is irrelevant. You are being punished because you did something foolish.

[Hugabear]

37. Thank you for completely buying in to Glen Beck's BULLSHIT

Please tell us exactly where the term "czar" was to be found in Van Jone's title.

It's a bullshit title that Glen Beck kept pushing because he KNOWS the negative connotations it carries.

[imdjh]

41. It's a tiresome DC gadget, I will grant you, but you won't find "czar" in anyone's official title.

[BlooInBloo]

5. Concern noted.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

6. Remember Jimmy Carter?

I'm starting to think we've got a re-run of that administration, a bunch of out-of-town amateurs in the White House, without the slightest understanding of how the Presidency works, how this town works.

Bert Lance, Ham Jordan - those two come to mind immediately, mostly because they were thoroughly unequipped to deal with the power politics of Washington. Jordan's mishaps were mostly social, and the press corps loved him, but he was an embarrassment.

Remember Carter having his whole cabinet resign? No one ever understood what that was about.

And, of course, in an act of compassion for a man who had ruled like a monster for so long, with our backing, he let the Shah of Iran into the US for medical treatment. We all know how THAT worked out.

That's what Obama's White House is reminding me of more and more. A one-term Presidency doesn't seem impossible now.

January 20, 2009 seems like a very long time ago, and the feelings of that day more like a dream than any kind of reality.

I'm very disillusioned so far, and I hate to admit that..................................

[MercutioATC]

13. It takes a pretty eclectic mix to be a great President.

Intelligence, charisma, judgment, credibility, fortitude, chance...the list goes on.

Unfortunately, a dedication to true public service and a sense of political reality are almost always mutually exclusive (as an extreme example, I give you Dennis Kucinich).

Your "out-of-town amateurs" statement seems particularly appropriate. They often have the best of intentions, but they lack the political savvy to get the job done.

I don't envy ANY President the level of scrutiny to which his decisions are subject...but I expected Obama to have the team he needed to handle things like this. His choice of appointees, in at least a few cases, does seem amateurish.

[sandnsea]

7. He signed a 9/11 investigation petition

It doesn't hardly mean he thought Bush was involved in 9/11.

[MercutioATC]

19. Agreed, but it's a pretty significant political liability.

I'm not questioning his signing of the petition (which he claims he didn't fully read). I'm questioning why he made it through the vetting process, in light of the fact that even the private opinions of political figures (especially Presidential appointees) are subject to extreme scrutiny.

[imdjh]

43. OK, what genius thought this guy was going to work in the WH without being ripped up by media?

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/09/under-fire-presidential-adviser-van-jones-resigns.html

"I was a rowdy nationalist on APril 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th, " he said. "By August, I was a communist."

[Liquorice]

12. I don't know whether the Obama administration has a problem

with vetting people in general, but I think Van Jones was a very poor choice for any position in the administration. I realize I am in the minority on this issue here, but that's my honest opinion.

[Mind_your_head]

14. "good" (not PERFECT) wo/men don't seem to last very long in Washington....

do they? Although, perhaps, THOSE PEOPLE are EXACTLY who we need!!!

Not 'perfect'. They feel SHAME. They know they're 'not perfect'...and the truth will come out 'sooner', rather than 'later'....

Mebbe, that's EXACTLY what we need.

-------

Jimmy Carter was/is one very FINE human being! Too bad that we were so tough on him. <-----(lesson to be learned there & not repeated, imho)

[DCKit]

15. I hear Sarah Palin is available. n/t

[Sebastian Doyle]

17. What the fuck is wrong with this country

When NOT believing the lies of the Bush Crime Family is considered a valid reason to fire someone? :wtf:


It's not a problem that the Agriculture secretary worked for MONSATAN???

It's perfectly fine if the Wall Street WHORES (no offense to sex workers) who destroyed the economy are now supposed to "fix it".

One corporatist insurance shill fails to pay his taxes and can't run healthcare, so he's replaced, NOT by an UberQualified doctor and former governor, but by some DLC shill from a red state who doesnt know SHIT about healthcare.


All of this is fine, but GOD FORBID somebody questions the BIGGEST FUCKING LIE ever told to the American people.

[MercutioATC]

22. I'm sorry, I stop listening as soon as I hear "Bush Crime Family"

...or "BFEE", or similar extremist jargon.

It implies a gross understanding of both federal statutes and political reality, and it is demonstrative of the sort of "left wing nuttery" that causes ALL of our views to be viewed with suspicion.

[rhett o rick]

45. Bush Crime Family, Bush Crime Family, Bush Crime Family

Mark it up to "left wing nuttery".

[rhett o rick]

50. I am curious about the motives of those that criticize the "left". Can you enlighten me? nt

[The Straight Story]

55. I am curious about those who don't - how did they become brainwashed cult members?

Seems pretty normal to me that if you want the org you belong to to improve, you find problems with it and fix it.

Unless of course they are rw fundies who believe that criticizing America means you are bad and anti-American.

[rhett o rick]

57. What do the lefty's support that you dont? nt

[quiet.american]

56. "Extremist jargon." Being aware of the truth is considered extremist.

No wonder the Bushes have been able to perpetrate such damage on this country - real and documented, not imagined - for decades.

[karnac]

18. Nothing that needed to be vetted, Nothing wrong with him.

Except with being a passionate "community organizer" like Obama.

As such you say things to stir your people up. Sometimes silly, Frankly, it's unavoidable.

That's where Jones fell, Not the 9/11 junk. Too many other people on both sides of the political spectrum blindly signed that petition too. He had a "OUT"

When this came up, I did a bit of research. I found HUGE archives on the internet of audio recordings of van jones. Nothing really wrong with them except for too many things easily taken out of context and out of time relevance. WAY too many speeches/discussions.

Problem is many OTHER people Obama has hired are also ex-community organisers OR people when probably never expected to work ever for the government. And therefore didn't mince/guard their words.

It's true. Check out the Pacifica,DemocracyNOw,youtube archives and others, Heck I found some old speech my sister made about reproductive rights 10 years ago! Hasn't made a speech since.

Better pray Beck doesn't find them.

[Chulanowa]

20. Mercutio, do you ever post anything else?

Can't you just get an avatar that says "Obama Sucks"? That way you just have to make a post with "." as the title and no text and still get your usual message across.

Sad thing is it'd probably float around on hte greatest page for a while, too.

[MercutioATC]

27. Give us performance, and I'll wax romantic about this Presidency.

We're NOT getting what was advertised.

This is a man who campaigned on "change". To effect change, one has to be an effective leader. Obama the candidate was an effective leader...Obama the President seems to be hampered by a lack of political savvy (and that's assuming the best).


As you pointed out, I'm not an Obama cheerleader...but, then, I'm not ANYBODY'S cheerleader. I voted for Obama for two reasons. I thought he was a better choice than McCain and, more importantly, I both liked his ideas believed he had a plan to implement them.

I still believe that Obama was a better vote. I still like his ideas. However, I doubt his ability to implement them...in part because I don't believe he's able to politically compete at this level...as evidenced (again, in part) by his inability to adequately vet a Presidential appointee.

[sandnsea]

58. Whaaa I want Hillary Whaaaa

Get over it already.

CHANGE

Sept 4, 2009 Historic agreement to post all White House visitors online
Aug 6, 2009 Creation of 3 new scenic trails, Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, the New England National Scenic Trail and the Arizona National Scenic Trail
Aug 6, 2009 $2.4 Billion In Advanced Battery Development
Aug 3, 2009 Post 9/11 GI Bill
July 27, 2009 Cash For Clunkers cars.gov
July 6, 2009 Arms Reduction, Bilateral Presidential Commission Russia
Jun 12, 2009 Kids Tobacco Legislation
May 21, 2009 Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform
May 20, 2009 Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights
May 19, 2009 Helping Families Save Their Homes Act
May 18, 2009 Mortgage Fraud and Recovery Act and Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
May 12, 2009 Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration Exec Order
Apr 21, 2009 Kennedy Serve America Act
Mar 30, 2009 Omnibus Public Lands Wilderness Act
Mar 11, 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
Mar 11, 2009 Executive Order Creating the White House Council on Women and Girls
Mar 9, 2009 Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells
Feb 17, 2009 Recovery & Reinvestment Act
Feb 6, 2009 Executive Order: Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects
Feb 5, 2009 Amendments to Executive Order 13199 and Establishment of the President's Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Feb 4, 2009 Presidential Memorandum -- State Children's Health Insurance Program
Jan 30, 2009 Executive Order -- Economy in Government Contracting
Jan 30, 2009 Executive Order -- Notificiation of Employee Rights Under Federal Labor Laws
Jan 29, 2009 Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Jan 27, 2009 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Gaza
Jan 26, 2009 The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
Jan 26, 2009 California Request for Waiver Under the Clean Air Act
Jan 23, 2009 Mexico City Policy and Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning
Jan 22, 2009 Review of Detention Policy Options
Jan 22, 2009 Review of the Detention of Ali Saleh Kahlah
Jan 22, 2009 Closure Of Guantanamo Detention Facilities
Jan 22, 2009 Ensuring Lawful Interrogations
Jan 21, 2009 Ethics Commitments By Executive Branch Personnel
Jan 21, 2009 Presidential Records
Jan 21, 2009 Freedom of Information Act
Jan 21, 2009 Pay Freeze
Jan 21, 2009 Transparency and Open Government

[MercutioATC]

65. Hardly.

I also voted for Obama in the primary.

[Hannah Bell]

21. Is there some reason that questioning the official story on 911 is grounds for dismissal, whereas

FUCKING LYING US INTO WAR isn't?

I don't think so.

Same with the Clinton impeachment for lying about a blow job & the Bush non-impeachment for lying about the grounds for war.

Thus, something else is going on behind the scenes.

[polichick]

23. Wonder how long before we find out the 9/11 Truther stuff is true...

...like everything else has turned out to be true ~ at this point, I wouldn't be surprised.

[Mind_your_head]

24. +1

[MercutioATC]

29. If you only knew...

...how naive and gullible that sounds to any sane person who has any actual experience with commercial aviation (or security, or photography, or physics, or any number of other topics depending on the individual 9/11 conspiracy).

[polichick]

36. Uh-huh, and people said it was crazy to think they took us into a war...

...knowing it was completely unnecessary ~ nobody would EVER do that.

Saying I wouldn't be surprised has nothing to do with being naive or gullible ~ has to do with putting nothing past these people.

[Jennicut]

30. Mercutio...were you around for Bill Clinton's first year? Remember the AG mess?

I mean really...

[Hoopla Phil]

33. I don't recall that one but I remember the travel office deal. That was a mess.

That office is a-political made up of career professionals that perform logistical miracles. The Clinton admin thought it was a political type of office for putting in your own people. Oops.

[Jennicut]

47. This is what happened with the AG mess

"Kimba Wood was Bill Clinton's second unsuccessful nominee for attorney general in 1993. Like Clinton's previous nominee, Zoë Baird, Wood had hired an undocumented immigrant as a nanny; although, unlike Baird, she had paid the required taxes on the employee and had broken no laws (Wood employed the undocumented immigrant at a time when it was legal to do so), the threat of a repetition of the same controversy ultimately led to a withdrawal of the nomination." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimba_Wood

The travelgate mess was really bad too.

All Presidents make mistakes, there are tons and tons of positions to fill. And Van Jones really did not do anything all that bad.

[AieinAristuein]

31. This is BS!

I don't believe for one minute he had to resign for calling people aholes or because of some truther list with his name supposedly on it somewhere on the net. He was forced to resign for one reason and one reason only, Because he DARED utter the word communist. This is worse then any McCarthy hearing. Jones is being forced out of work for his politic views and this SHOULD NOT STAND.

So can I be fired if I am a dreaded commie? Who's next if we let this stand!?

[Luminous Animal]

32. Indeed. Who vetted Wolfie, Rumsfeld, Cheney...

War mongers and torturers. The Bush admin can rub the most reactionary government in U.S. history and barely an eye is bat.

[1Hippiechick]

35. Thanks for

the link to Upsize This - looks like an interesting website.

[Luminous Animal]

62. You are welcome! I forgot the link was there

because I have sigs turned off. I'm owner of the site so if you'd like to join, shoot me a PM and I'll validate your membership.

[spanone]

38. educate yourself...

Appointed as a special adviser for “green jobs” by President Obama, Mr. Jones did not go through the traditional vetting process for administration officials who must be confirmed by the Senate. So it was not until recently that some of Mr. Jones’s past actions received broad airing, including his derogatory statements about Republicans in February and his signature on a 2004 letter suggesting that former President George W. Bush might have knowingly allowed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to occur in order to use them as a “pre-text to war.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/us/politics/06vanjones.html?hp

[MercutioATC]

48. Even better. A Czar-level appointee with little or no vetting.

Nobody sees a problem with this?

[Hugabear]

52. Let's be perfectly clear - these are ADVISERS - not policy makers, and are NOT 'czars'

Please stop using the term 'czar', it does NOT exist in any of the special advisory titles.

[Old and In the Way]

39. Should Bush and Cheney have resigned after 9/11?

They ignored the warnings and 3000 people died. They get a pass. Someone who wants accountability and justice? He's crazy.

[Octafish]

53. Dereliction of Duty, at best.

Treason, most likely.

What's the problem?

That is, besides the fact that so many refuse to see the problem?

[Old and In the Way]

66. Odd, I've never seen any apologists for W. want to see him held accountable.

Look at the crew in the 9/11 Dungeon...none want to hold the Bush administration accountable. Forget MIHOP or LIHOP...how about gross criminal negligence? 3000 people died, but no one is held accountable. Maybe MercutioATC can explain, after 8 years of defending the Bush administration, why he has a problem with a Democrat asking for a real investigation. Takes a lot of balls to find fault with someone who wants real justice and an independent investigation to happen.

[elocs]

44. So, that's what DU has become, accusing those with whom we don't agree of being Glenn Beckers?

That's simply cheap and lazy and I would expect more of people who post here. If you can't make an intelligent reply to the OP's thread, then resorting to name calling seems to be using tactics much like those we profess here not to despise.

[Raineyb]

54. Well when the OP makes an intelligent cogent argument for why Mr. Jones is unacceptable

instead of just calling him a Truther for questioning the ass covering "investigation" that was done by the previous administration then perhaps you'll find more replies to your liking. This flaming bit of excrement doesn't quite warrant that.

[sandnsea]

59. Glenn Beck orchestrated the attack

Beck picked a black man in response to Color of Change exposing his racist comments. Sadly, the administration let him get away with it.

[alcibiades_mystery]

63. Van Jones co-founded Color of Change

That's why beck went after him.

It also goes to Beck's absurdist "czar" argument, which bitter Clintonites are happy enough to repeat with gusto.

The fact is that the first year of most administrations are filled with pratfalls, because it is a hard ass job. Clinton had two AG noms shitcanned. AG nominations! Not some eighth tier climate guy, a functionary, but the fucking Attorney General! He also had a complete and utter failure of his health care plan. People calling the Obama Administration's record to date "disastrous" are either lunatic partisans or complete imbeciles. The transition has been remarkably smooth compared to the Clinton first year, and we might actually get a health bill out of committee.

[sandnsea]

64. Didn't know he founded Color of Change

I get their emails and post their action alerts. I like to support organizations that focus on individual people and how "social issues" hurt individuals. They do a great job at that. Now that makes me even sadder. He would have done a great job.

I don't know how we're going to get this county on a cohesive path if we can't get people to stop with the ideology and go back to thinking of every American as their neighbor.

[Octafish]

51. Yes. Everybody knows the 9-11 Commission answered all questions regarding 9-11.

President George W Bush heroically defended the nation from further attacks from his old family business partner, bin Laden.

[Subdivisions]

60. I'm as sick and tired as I can be about the denial that 9/11

was to some degree allowed to happen or made to happen and I'm even sicker and tireder of people who hold those who don't believe The "official" version of 9/11 in contempt, ESPECIALLY WHEN THAT CONTEMPT COMES FROM FELLOW DEMS!

It is no US who are psychotic! It is YOU who can't handle the implications of what really happened that day that are psychotic!

[Uzybone]

61. a little historical context

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8630680