Bush bypasses Senate in Pentagon hires

[Newsjock]

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/13549954.htm

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Wednesday bypassed the Senate to install former Navy Secretary Gordon R. England as deputy secretary of defense, and he used a similar maneuver to name a new Pentagon spokesman.

In a highly unusual arrangement, England had been serving as both Navy secretary and acting deputy defense secretary since Paul Wolfowitz left the No. 2 Pentagon post last May to become head of the World Bank. England's nomination for the deputy secretary position had stalled in the Senate.

... Bush also used this maneuver Wednesday to name Dorrance Smith, a former ABC News producer, as assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. That job has gone unfilled since Victoria Clarke quit the post in June 2003. Lawrence Di Rita, an aide close to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, was the interim spokesman.

more

[tridim]

1. "..So long as I'm the dictator" n/t

[CatholicEdHead]

2. He sees no use for the other branches except as a rubber stamp

And if there is any chance they would raise questions, he just bypasses them all together.

[rox63]

3. So how many recess appointments has he done?

I bet it's a whole lot more than any other president.

[onenote]

5. in fact, he's not that far ahead of the recent norm

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2021198&mesg_id=2021214

[onenote]

4. recess appointments -- everybody does it

Not defending the practice, but its nothing new. Clinton made 140 recess appointments during his two terms, about the same rate as Bush I (77 in four years). Reagan probably was the undisputed recess appointment champ, making over 240 in eight years. Chimpy is on a pace that appears to be somewhat ahead of his dad and Clinton, but behind Reagan: around 110 or so in 5 years.

onenote

[Up2Late]

6. OH BROTHER! Check out the reasons for the Senate Holds (2 by R's!)

<http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/13549954.htm>

...Bush had nominated England to be Rumsfeld's top deputy last April. Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Trent Lott, R-Miss., had placed holds on the appointment, preventing the Senate from considering it. At issue were shipbuilding concerns and conflict-of-interest questions surrounding pensions England holds from defense companies.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., had held up Smith's nomination in a dispute over a newspaper opinion article in which he accused U.S. television networks of helping terrorists through their partnerships with Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera. England resigned as Navy secretary on Dec. 29.

Bush indicated several weeks ago that he would use a recess appointment to install England as deputy secretary of defense. He used that maneuver to fill a number of senior Pentagon posts in 2005, including Eric Edelman as undersecretary of defense for policy. Before joining the Bush administration in 2001, England was an executive at General Dynamics Corp.

[rodeodance]

7. He is another business executive!! what does he know about defense?

.......Before joining the Bush administration in 2001, England was an executive at General Dynamics Corp.

[lovuian]

8. He's got to get his Military yes men lined up!!!

but its to no avail...

[cosmicdot]

9. no mention that Dorrance Smith was Bremer's 'media advisor'

"...former media adviser to Coalition Provisional Authority Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, was nominated September 22, 2005, by President George W. Bush as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Smith would replace Victoria Clarke who resigned June 20, 2003." ... he's a "White House Loyalist" and a "Republican National Convention planner..."

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dorrance_Smith

C.R.O.N.Y.I.S.M.

of course, Victoria Clarke is still with the Pentagon, but on the Defense Policy Board; and, is
likely doing all she can with spying as 'Senior Advisor for Communications and Government Affairs" ... wonder how much time she sits at a desk in Philadelphia headquarters?

thank goodness, General Dynamics now has extra insider help with contracts :sarcasm:

General Dynamics Board of Directors and its sphere of influence
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Nicholas D. Chabraja, Director since 1994.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since June 1, 1997. Vice Chairman from December 1996 to May 1997. Executive Vice President from March 1994 to December 1996. Senior Vice President and General Counsel from January 1993 to March 1994. Director of Ceridian Corporation.

James S. Crown, Director since 1987.
President of Henry Crown and Company (diversified investments) since 2002. Vice President of Henry Crown and Company from 1985 to 2002. Director of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Sara Lee Corporation.

Lester Crown, Director since 1974.
Chairman of Henry Crown and Company (diversified investments) since 2002. President of Henry Crown and Company from 1973 to 2002. Director of Maytag Corporation.

William P. Fricks, Director since 2003.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. from 1997 to 2001. Chief Executive Officer and President of Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. from 1995 to 1996.

Charles H. Goodman, Director since 1991.
Vice Chairman of Henry Crown and Company (diversified investments) since 2002. Vice President of Henry Crown and Company from 1973 to 2002.

Jay L. Johnson, Director since 2003.
Executive Vice President of Dominion Resources, Inc. (electric and gas services) and President and Chief Executive Officer of Dominion Delivery since December 2002. Senior Vice President of Dominion Energy, Inc. from 2000 to 2002. Retired Admiral, U.S. Navy. Chief of Naval Operations of the Navy from 1996 to 2000.

George A. Joulwan, Director since 1998.
Retired General, U.S. Army. Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, from 1993 to 1997. Commander-in-Chief, Southern Command from 1992 to 1993. President of One Team, Inc. (consulting) since 1999. Adjunct Professor, at the National Defense University since 2000. Olin Professor, National Security, at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point from 1998 to 2000.

Paul G. Kaminski, Director since 1997.
Under Secretary of U.S. Department of Defense for Acquisition and Technology from 1994 to 1997. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Technovation, Inc. (consulting) since 1997. Senior Partner of Global Technology Partners, LLC (investment banking) since 1998. Director of Anteon International Corporation.

John M. Keane, Director since 2004.
Retired General, U.S. Army. Vice Chief of Staff of the Army from 1999 to 2003. President of GSI, LLC (consulting) since January 2004. Member of the Department of Defense Policy Board. Director of MetLife, Inc.

Deborah J. Lucas, Director since 2005.
Donald C. Clark Household International Distinguished Professor of Finance at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management since 1996. Co-editor of the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking since 2005. Chief Economist at the Congressional Budget Office from 2000 to 2001. Director of Anthracite Capital, Inc., since 2005.

Lester L. Lyles, Director since 2003.
Retired General, U.S. Air Force. Commander of the Air Force Materiel Command from 2000 to 2003. Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force from 1999 to 2000. Director of MTC Technologies, Inc. and DPL Inc.

Carl E. Mundy, Jr., Director since 1998.
Retired General, U.S. Marine Corps. Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1991 to 1995. President and Chief Executive Officer of the World USO from 1996 to 2000. Member of the Advisory Committee to the Comptroller General of the United States since 2001. Chairman of the Marine Corps University Foundation since 1995. Director of Schering-Plough Corporation.

Robert Walmsley, Director in 2004.
Retired Vice Admiral, Royal Navy. Chief of Defence Procurement for the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence from 1996 to 2003. Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley & Co. Limited (investment banking) since February 2004. Director of British Energy Group plc. and EDO Corporation.

http://www.generaldynamics.com/ir/board_of_directors_6-05.htm

[Moderator]

10. Kick

:kick:

[tuvor]

11. Bush defies Congress in filling defense, foreign policy posts

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush has defied Congress again by placing a slew of controversial political allies in key national security and foreign policy posts, circumventing the requisite approval process in the Senate.

Bush resorted to the same recess appointment procedure he used in August to install John Bolton as US ambassador to the United Nations, despite Capitol Hill's strong opposition to the nominee.

On Wednesday, the bureaucratic maneuver was used to fill key vacancies in the Defense, State and
Homeland Security Departments with officials whose approval by the Senate was in doubt.

The White House said Bush had appointed Gordon England, a former Navy secretary, to the post of deputy secretary of defense left vacant by Paul Wolfowitz, a leading architect of the Iraq war, who resigned the second-highest Pentagon job last year to become president of the World Bank.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/usbushiraqpolitics

[pinniped]

12. * is more insane than the most insane Roman emperor.

What is congrass going to do about it?

Not a thing.

[ixion]

13. worst. president. ever.

and he continually proves that day-in, day-out. :cry:

[HereSince1628]

14. Ever more overt exertion of authoritarian control

The dictatorship is stepping into the open and it seems to meet no effective opposition.

[Tesla]

15. Every time Congress leaves , he hires everyone from his old

water boy,(during his cheer leading days), as Head of the Dept of Reconstructing the Dams in NO and his Nanny in the Domestic Affairs Dept.:sarcasm:

[IndianaGreen]

16. Our dictator rules by decree

If the Democrats don't like it, they should impeach the sob and then prosecute him for war crimes and abuses of power.

Outside of John Conyers, I don't hear many Democrats calling for impeachment. This is why Bush can rule by decree and gets away with it.

[realFedUp]

20. Georgie likes to play during recesses.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/4/18405/39395

thirdparty diary:

Bush today made the following recess appointments. (Full list at the end of the diary.)

The most immediately interesting and terrifying name is that of Julie Myers, the second of two similarly named cronies picked by Bush for important national positions in the wake of Katrina and Michael Brown.

Myers' nomination at the time was so odious as to elicit this reaction from noted obstructionist Democrat Michelle Malkin:


Oh, give me a ^*&%$# break and a half! This nomination is a monumental political and policy blunder in the wake of the Michael Brown/FEMA fiasco. And I can tell you that contrary to the Miss Mary Sunshine White House spokeswoman's comments, rank-and-file DHS employees and immigration enforcement officials are absolutely livid about Myers' nomination.

[Moderator]

17. kick

[TechBear_Seattle]

18. Bush defies Congress in filling defense, foreign policy posts

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush has defied Congress again by placing a slew of controversial political allies in key national security and foreign policy posts, circumventing the requisite approval process in the Senate.

Bush resorted to the same recess appointment procedure he used in August to install John Bolton as US ambassador to the United Nations, despite Capitol Hill's strong opposition to the nominee.

On Wednesday, the bureaucratic maneuver was used to fill key vacancies in the Defense, State and Homeland Security Departments with officials whose approval by the Senate was in doubt.

The article continues at http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060105/ts_afp/usbushiraqpolitics_060105072741

The arrogance of this jackass is beyond belief.

[rodeodance]

19. defied congress----do the Repugs care?--No, they are there to uphold

the WH!!!!! damn.

[OKNancy]

21. kick

[orleans]

22. "Bush Defies Congress" (Recess Appointments include Chertoff's Staffs Wife

Bush Defies Congress, Makes Series of Recess Appointments


"Meanwhile Washington President Bush defied Congress on Wednesday and made a series of controversial recess appointments. Bush tapped former Navy Secretary and defense contractor Gordon England to become deputy defense secretary to fill the post once held by Paul Wolfowitz. He also appointed Dorrance Smith to become the Pentagon's chief spokesman assistant secretary for public affairs. In April Smith wrote a controversial article for the Wall Street Journal in which he claimed there is an ongoing relationship between al Qaeda, al-Jazeera and U.S. tv networks. He wrote "This partnership is a powerful tool for the terrorists in the war in Iraq." Bush also appointed Julie Myers to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau at the Department of Homeland Security. She is the niece of former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Richard Myers and the wife of the chief of staff to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff."

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/05/1454235

[Atman]

23. One big happy incestual family

God, I'm gonna be sick.

Again.

[daleanime]

24. Congress?

"We don't need no stinking Congress."

[Canuckistanian]

25. That "checks and balances" thingie is so quaint

So pre-911, don't you know.

[DemoTex]

27. Like the Geneva Conventions.

Quaint. And so in-your-face.

[daleanime]

29. I hear that...

Bushie Boy must get on his knees and weep tears of joy every night for having been given that excuse.:banghead:

[HockeyMom]

26. Supression of the Free Press

Hello, Germany 1930s. That was one of the first things they did back then according to two people I knew who fled the Nazis.

[NVMojo]

28. corrupt dirty mudder fuckers ...From Bush on down!

[C_U_L8R]

30. No better way to ring in the new year

than to appoint a few cronies.
Even better if they're corrupt cronies.
Trifecta is they're corrupt "christian" cronies