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Republicans Acting Like Swine
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No wonder Specter left the party. The flu pandemic reveals the GOP’s reckless strategy to undermine basic operations of government by holding up Obama’s appointees.
At least one person, former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, looks set to benefit from the outbreak of deadly swine flu in Mexico. The Senate Republican minority had, for weeks, successfully delayed her confirmation as secretary of Health and Human Services for the not-very-good reason that she, like the president and the majority of Americans, is pro-choice. Their view was always absurd, but it was only with the outbreak of a major continent-wide public-health emergency that it became untenable and they allowed a vote, and thus her inevitable confirmation, to go forward.
Unfortunately, the sudden flip on Sebelius doesn't change the fact that Heath and Human Services still lacks a deputy secretary. And an assistant secretary for resources and technology. And assistant secretaries for preparedness and response, planning and evaluation, public affairs, public health and science, legislation, and children and families. Nor do we have a surgeon general. Or an FDA commissioner or a director for the Indian Health Services. Or a general counsel. And that's not even an exhaustive list of the still-vacant HHS political appointments.
The main political impact of the Republicans’ appointee slowdown seems to have been to help boost the general impression of the Republican Party as increasingly extreme; the sort of thing that helped push Sen. Arlen Specter out of the GOP and into the arms of the Democrats.
In part, the moral of the story is that the Republican obstructionists ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Ever since embarrassing revelations emerged about problems with the tax forms of some of Barack Obama's appointees, the Senate Republicans have decided to slow the entire confirmation process down to a crawl. The upshot of this is some minor inconvenience for Obama, but with his approval ratings lodged firmly in the mid-60s, it can hardly be said to be dealing a crippling political blow to his administration. Instead, the main political impact seems to have been to help boost the general impression of the Republican Party as increasingly extreme; the sort of thing that helped push Sen. Arlen Specter out of the GOP and into the arms of the Democrats.
The harm to the country and to the world is real enough. Amid a serious economic crisis, Congress has still not confirmed Obama's appointees for several key Treasury posts. To be sure, not-yet-confirmed appointees have some capacity to do their jobs on an unofficial basis. But they lack legal authority, and are unable to represent the administration in dealings with foreign governments, state governments, members of Congress, or business leaders. This is a real handicap to the government's ability to conduct important business. And as the unexpected swine-flu outbreak shows, even agencies like HHS, which don't immediately strike you as mission-critical, can suddenly turn vital.
But while slamming an increasingly irresponsible ideological minority for obstructionism has a certain appeal, the reality is that you can't take the politics out of politics and increasingly brutal confirmation battles have been a bipartisan downward spiral for years now.
A big part of the problem is that the U.S. simply has an outrageously large number of political appointees running the executive branch. Most democracies operate more the way we run our military, with the vast majority of senior administrative posts in the hands of career professionals. Overall policy direction is set by a relative handful of politicians and political appointees, who have some discretion over which career people fill which slots. Our State Department operates under a somewhat similar informal tradition, whereby most ambassadorships with important policy implications (to Iraq, for example) go to career foreign service officers, as do many assistant secretary slots and the job of undersecretary for political affairs.
The fact that it's the national-security branches of the government that are run this way should be suggestive, as this is the portion of the government where there's traditionally the greatest commitment to efficacy. And, indeed, research by David E. Lewis, of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School, has found that on the civilian side the minority of federal programs that are administered by career civil servants are better managed than the majority of programs that are run by political appointees. Follow-up work by Lewis and University of Wisconsin political scientist Donald Moynihan confirmed this in a telling way. Using the Bush administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool administered by the Office of Management and Budget, they compared the PART ratings of over 600 government programs with the backgrounds of the program's 242 managers. The political appointees turned out to have more educational credentials than the career people, but the civil servant-managed programs scored better in terms of strategic planning, program design, financial oversight, and results.
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Bulldoglover100
The Republicans will only realize their mistakes come 2010 when they lose offices again. They did not listen in 2006 or 2008 but 2010 will be a wake up call they can't ignore but by then? They will be gone for our lifetimes. We are going to tell them just what they have told us since November 2008, NO
muddog
The G.O.P is experiencing "Blow Back" from years of relying on it's whacky base, it is now utterly useless as a governing party, either in a Majority or Minority, they have only themselves to blame. They have ridden on the coat tails of Limbaugh, Coulter, World Net daily, FOX News and all the other whacky conservative mouthpieces and think tanks, it is now time to pay the piper....
The G.O.P. will continue down the road to irrelevance as it should and hopefully something will arise out of the stench that it once was, but one wonders...It is truly pathetic what they have done to the country and what they have doe to themselves.....
If Limbaugh and Co. continue to steer it (G.O.P) over a cliff, then so be it....
aBigDeal
"relying on it's whacky base"
No, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are Democrats. Whacky is calling a pro-union bill that eliminates the secret ballot the "Employee Free Choice Act"
Whacky is raising taxes and expecting the taxpayers to be happy about it and not find tax havens. And ignoring the tax troubles of those in your own party.
Whacky is spending doubling the amount we spend on education over the last 30 years and not seeing any improvement in performance.
Whacky is labeling CO2 a toxic substance without any substantial evidence that it's causing Global Warming, er, Climate Change.
Whacky is calling Republicans swine when your party is equally responsible for the debt and record setting deficit.
Whacky is ignoring the president's embrace of an anti-American communist-loving dictator and pretending he's changing everything for the better.
roger37
No, wacko (proper spelling) is ignoring the fact the W took a surplus and turned it into a huge deficit AND raised taxes in the face of a war.
Wacko is never taking Econ 101 and understanding that the right kind of money in the economy provides jobs, not just enriches the top executives of the military-industrial complex.
Wacko is accusing BHO of raising taxes, when he CUT the income tax rates for 95% of you. When are you people gonna accept that?
Wacko is bitching about high tax rates when BHO's top bracket is 10 percentage points BELOW Reagan's top bracket for 7 of the 8 years of his presidency (and Reagan still quadrupled the national debt). And ignoring the fact that the US has the lowest income tax burden of the industrialized world.
Wacko is denying global warming and our causation of it by CO2, when hard data has existed from ice core samples that go back to the beginning of the industrial age. And wacko is not worrying about the repercussions if you are wrong.
Wacko is thinking that George W Bush's foreign policy ethic of not talking to enemies (because his ego couldn't handle it) is smart.
And wacko is drinking the KoolAde that your party loonies have been brewing up since Reagan. Actually, that's not wacko, that's stupid.
avocado
you sad, illusion hugging sucker; truly...I feel for you.
roger37
Woops--W cut taxes in the face of a war, not raised them.
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n--Y--wantingCharlemagne712
"Whacky is labeling CO2 a toxic substance without any substantial evidence that it's causing Global Warming, er, Climate Change. "
really? there is plenty of substantial evidence, the easiest for you to understand will probably be this
http://199.6.131.12/en/scictr/watch/climate_change/images/carbon_dioxide .jpg
yes there is an ice age cycle however never before in the history of the world has there been such extremes that isnt caused by a catastrophe like a meteor impact or volcano (which happens to also release co2)
and as far as it not being a toxic substance, co2 is a waste product of your body, just like urine, and relativly short exposure to levels of 50000ppm (5%) it can lead to reduced cognitive capacity, and higher levels can lead to unconsciousness or death
do your own research, dont just believe what rush limbaugh tell you
muddog
G.O.P = D.O.A.= I.E R.I.P.....
motrbotr
Then there is that pesky little problem that CO2 increases always follow Temperature increase, not precede.
But if the left continues to feel the need to limit co2 output, perhaps they could hold their breath.
ladybastet
Your total lack of a grasp on facts is embarrassing to say the least. I can't imagine trying to refute points that are so obviously erroneous. Tip: Stop watching FOX News!
Chucky70
You either care nothing for facts or you are terribly mis-informed and an eleatist in thought. It is obvious you are not among the well off. read the Free Choice Act. check out Pelosi's and Reid's voteing records and above all stop hateing and get on the band wagon for improvemant with Dems and get off the Reps famous bridge to no-where.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
muddog
Pistolpete.
I think you mistakenly bumped on to this site, you meant to be @ REDSTATE.ORG, there you can find "Your Type" where low brow commentary is expected and encouraged!. Take your "Pistol" and whip yourself into a frenzy & then head to Texas or Alaska, I hear the want to succeed, there you can pro create and dilute the gene pool even further!!.
scough
I think you meant to write "secede", Einstein.
motrbotr
Seems your commentary is pretty lowbrow also... And immature. So much for repectful dialog. Yes, and Texas and Alaska do want to succeed. Something Obama is not grasping.
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n--Y--mblipsavocado
a racist through and through...for sure
scough
PP, you are my C. Buckley! Excepting the fact that I respect you, as I'm sure you don't wear a ridiculous hat and suck on the bow of your eyeglasses.
cbreitel
It's fitting that you ended your idiotic rant with a typo, making it look like you're telling America: Get out! "Get out America!"
Fitting because it's apparent that conservatives like you actually hate America. You don't actually love your country. You just love people who agree with you. If your country is governed by people who disagree with you, you want it to fail and self-destruct. There's one word I can think of for such a viewpoint: Treason. The lot of you should be rounded up and prosecuted for being the traitors and cowards that you are.
motrbotr
Yes, lets kill the dissenters!!! If you dont agree with Obama, then off with your heads! After all Obama is heading down that socialist\communist road. So i can see this type of desire from the socialist\communist\left.
alanmv
You write "A big part of the problem is that the United States has an outrageously large number of political appointees running the executive branch." Considering the alternative you present, I think the current arrangement is marginally better.
Having worked in civil service jobs in policy setting environments, I have seen how views narrow after decades of service, and how much new information lies just beyond established perspectives. People who start their careers as motivated change agents are, by mid-career, excellent at getting ideas through the maze, many of which are the ideas they came to the organization with. By late career, they have often spent too much time within one segment of one discipline to view the horizon in several directions. Thier view is on that point they may have nurtured for decades, and they have become the ones unable to see the wisdom and synergies of the new approaches.
The current system retains much of the experience of the careerists, and occasionally matches one from within with the top post, or sometimes, one who left the agency earlier because of the constriants imposed on their vision and in the process gained new experience and perspective not available within the agency. So the leadership comes from the new executive through the appointee, allowing changes to come to fruition sooner.
It risks lurching changes from one administration to the next, but that only makes it more clear to the electorate how key it can be to have the right party, and the right leadership, in office.
It's a new day...
tiotom77
Sebelius is Pro-abortion..$7000 owed in taxes, her excuse, ignorance...$40,000 un-reported campaign funds from "Tiller the Killer", late-term abortion doctor..She fits in with the tax cheats and liars
roger37
Hey, I made an $8,000 income tax mistake once because I was too busy running my business to pay proper attention. Yes, it says something about how complicated our tax code is, but 8 grand is not that big a deal.
scough
I hope you are wrote that from jail, tax cheat.
roger37
No, actually, I filed an amended return after the IRS called it to my attention, and paid them the 8 large plus interest. Happens every day. Not a BFD.
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Sempronia
NOBODY is pro-abortion, and maybe if you could figure that out we could actually have a sensible discussion about family planning, quality of life, and women being at the proper age and stage in life to have children. The tax issue is inexcusable, but the abortion fight is just the GOP grand-standing because they can't handle no longer being in power.
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ztower
First, Tom Daschle's personal ethics held up the appointment far beyond the Republican's disapproval of Sebelius.
Second, having lived in PA for some 30 adult years, I can tell you Arlen Spector's leap into the arms of the Democratic party had only to do with his self interest.
Finally, Get Franken seated quickly. I'm happy to finally get to 60 and the Republicans out of the way and stop all the Democratic excuses.
scough
OMG! Let it go. The Democrats won. Now govern!
mindlessmissy
If only you whiners would shut up for a moment and let us do what you could NOT do for the past 8 years ...
Ritarita
Ouch.
motrbotr
They cant govern. Thats the problem.
ladybastet
No, Republicans can't get the hell out of the way. THAT is the problem.
Adamska
This article is ridiculous. The Democrats would almost certainly handle this situation in the same manner. This is the kind of clandestine political maneuvering America has become so accustomed to...
Regardless, Obama has the potential to become one of the great rhetorical/sociocultural leaders in recent history, and has already displayed the maturity and aptitude necessary to do so.
...our tax system has created a cycle of perverse incentives that make this type of behavior all too common; yet, the majority of American citizens have no concept of our fiscal policies and are therefore completely unequipped to engage in an intelligent discussion on the subject.
Meghanisgreat
About time the republicans put their childish behavior aside and cater to the work of the country. After 8 years of bringing the country to brinks of bankruptcy, now they are against everything. If they liked the direction of this country which was headed towards becming like the 3rd world, why don't they move to a third world country and leave us alone so we can make some progress.
Banjo1
On DB postings, I have observed, "racist" is code for I disagree with what you said but lack the intellectual firepower to tell you why.
mindlessmissy
And your proof for such an observation ... ?
DeaconDrJones
I find that, "I have observed, "racist" is code for I disagree with what you said but lack the intellectual firepower to tell you why" is right-wing code for I'm a douche and I can't find my way out of this sack.
fk4711
GOP has to decide whether they want to come on board and govern (together with the Democrats) the country or just sit on the sideline and be obstructionist through and through and wait for their time to come when there is a big catastrophic disaster to come that knock Obama out. It just feel so passive-aggressive to me. PLEASE, come up with some better dieas or stop whining. Get Sibelius through so we can have someone in charge of a pandemic crisis!
shortcourse
Where is all of the conspiracy theorists? GOP tried to block the nomination so that she wouldn't discover that Bush and Cheney was down in Mexico messing with the pigs to start a global pandemic. And if Ms Sebelius carries out her pro abortion views, there will be a lot less democrat votes in the future.
Ritarita
short-
Congrats!
Your dumbest
Yet.
Damn.
Banjo1
Funny how the federal health bureaucrats are saying we're in good shape for a pandemic thanks to what the Bush administration did. They're probably lying, though.
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n--Y--wantingMacRandall
This article would actually have some impact, if it was pointed out that the same thing happened with Bush appointees.
And what exactly is the connection to Swine Flu, or was that just a ploy to drive traffic to this piece? republicans didn't invent political patronage, you know; in fact, democrats positively excel at it (good points about the sheer number of political appointees though).
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n--Y--joebloeMacRandall
...and don't you find it a bit odd that Yglesias questions the effectiveness of political appointees in a piece that castigates the republicans for holding up...political appointees?
By his logic, aren't we better off?
Thank you.
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