‘Czar’ List

GOP Rep Grabs ‘Czar’ List From FreeRepublicBy DAVID WEIGEL 9/9/09 1:20 PM


Following up on this morning’s post about Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) calling for a hearing on “44 czars,” I asked McHenry’s spokesman Brock McCleary where that number came from.“We’re using a variety of sources and finding everyone who has been referred to as a ‘czar,’” said McCleary. “It would be appropriate for the WH to release a formal list.”In the meantime, McClearly provided me with two sources that McHenry’s office is using to build a czar list: this list from Politico, and this thread from the conservative web forum FreeRepublic.com. The FreeRepublic thread begins with a list from the conservative AmericanDaughter.com, which calls the appointment of czars “the beginnings of dictatorship” and includes several administration officials who’ve actually been confirmed by the Senate.The FreeRepublic list, and some comments from that thread — which got pretty wild, as is the norm for the site — are after the jump:Afghanistan-Pakistan (Af-Pak) czar, Richard HolbrookeAIDS czar, Jeffrey Crowley [openly gay white man]Auto recovery czar, Ed MontgomeryBehavioral science czar, position not yet filledBailout czar, Herbert Allison Jr., [replaced Bush bailout czar Neel Kashkari, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability confirmed by Senate]Border czar, Alan BersinCar czar, Ron Bloom [Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury , under Senate oversight]Climate change czar, Todd SternCopyright czar, not appointed yetCounterterrorism czar, John BrennanCybersecurity czar, position will be vacant on August 21st [upon the departure of Melissa Hathaway]Disinformation czar, Linda Douglass [This is a new media buzz since our earlier list, a response by pundits to the White House request for informants: see Glenn Beck and Lew Rockwell]Domestic violence czar, Lynn RosenthalDrug czar, Gil KerlikowskeEconomic czar, Larry SummersEconomic czar number two, Paul VolckerEducation czar, Arne DuncanEnergy czar, Carol BrownerFood czar, Michael Taylor [a former Monsanto executive, or, the fox in charge of the henhouse]Government performance czar, Jeffrey ZientsGreat Lakes czar, Cameron DavisGreen jobs czar, Van Jones [who has a communist background]Guantanamo closure czar, Daniel FriedHealth czar, Nancy-Ann DeParleInfotech czar, Vivek Kundra [Shoplifted four shirts, worth $33.50 each, from J.C. Penney in 1996 (source). His last day in DC government was March 4 but on March 12 the FBI raided his office and arrested two staffers.]Intelligence czar, Dennis Blair [Director of National Intelligence, a Senate confirmed position. He is a retired United States Navy four-star admiral]Latin-American czar, Arturo Valenzuela (nominee) [although this post is referred to as a czar, he is nominatied to be Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and so is subject to Senate confirmation. Voting on his confirmation was delayed to clarify his position on Honduras. Watch WaPo's Head Count to track status of confirmation.]Mideast peace czar, George MitchellMideast policy czar, Dennis RossPay czar, Kenneth FeinbergRegulatory czar, Cass SunsteinReligion czar, aka God czar Joshua DuBoisSafe schools czar, Kevin Jennings [appointed to be Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, a newly created post (that does not require Senate confirmation); openly gay founder of an organization dedicated to promoting pro-homosexual clubs and curricula in public schools]Science czar, John HoldrenStimulus oversight czar, Earl DevaneySudan czar, J. Scott GrationTARP czar, Elizabeth Warren [chair of the [Congressional Oversight Panel for the Trouble Assets Relief Program; note that Herb Allison is frequently called the TARP czar]Technology czar, Aneesh ChopraTrade czar, Ron KirkUrban affairs czar, Adolfo CarrionWar czar, Douglas Lute [retained from Bush administration, married to Jane Holl Lute, currently a Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security]Water czar, David J. Hayes [a Deputy Interior Secretary and therefore subject to Senate oversight]Weapons czar, Ashton Carter [actually Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and so subject to Senate confirmation]Weapons of mass destruction czar,