How many of Obama's 30 "czars" can you name?

[dixiegrrrrl]

Our President has chosen 32 "czar" positions.
2 of them remain un-headed for now: (Iran and Cyber-security czars)

How many of the following 30 can you name?
( and can anyone explain why none of his cabinet can do these jobs? )

1. Aids Czar
2. Bank Bailout Czar
3. Compensation
4. U.S. Border
5. Car
6. Climate
7. Drug
8. Economic
9. Energy
10.Fatih based
11. Great Lakes
12. Green Jobs
13. Guantanamo Closure
14. Health Reform
15, Infotech
16. intelligence
17. Middle East
18. Non-Proliferation
19. Pay
20. Persian Gulf-southEast Asia
21. Regulatory
22. Science-Weather
23. Stimulus -Accounting
24. Sudan
25. TARP
25. Technology
26. Terrorism
27. Urban
28. War
29. Weapons
30. WMD & Terrorism

[ccharles000]

1. wow

[Oregone]

2. He also needs a Race Relations Czar and a Beer Czar

And they could probably share the same office

He could also eliminate more than half the Czars (mine included) with a Mary Jane Czar, who makes us light up until we work it all out.

[FSogol]

3. Thanks for spreading RW talking points.

:shrug:

[brendan120678]

5. The OP has a point...

What's the use of having all these Czars? What is their function?

Isn't that what the cabinet and other federal agencies are responsible for?

And some of them look to be quite overlapping, judging from their names.
For instance:
2. Bank Bailout Czar
3. Compensation
8. Economic
19. Pay
21. Regulatory
23. Stimulus -Accounting
25. TARP

[hugo_from_TN]

6. The purpose of the Czars is to concentrate power in the executive branch

by skirting congressional oversight. Or was that a rhetorical question?

[S_E_Fudd]

11. And what power is it concentrating?

It neither grants powers to the executive that it does not already have, nor does it prevent congress from exercising its oversight role.

What it does do is make sure the President has the benefit of focused effort on various areas of policy so he can make the most informed decisions possible...

I see nothing wrong with it...

[DevonRex]

14. WTF?

:eyes:

[FSogol]

7. What is the point of assigning an expert to look at a problem or issue?

Really? Really?

And after 8 years of Bush, you all are worried about an Executive power grab by Obama?

I think you all watch too much tv.

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. Exactly. The "czar" idea was used in past Admins too, including Carter's.

The IMPORTANT point is these Czars have been put in charge of the 30, soon to be 32, key issues,
and few voters seem to know anything about them, what they do.
This is a DEMOCRATIC talking point.
So if you want to be aware of our President and current events, is it not important to know who the key people are front running the key issues of today??
And why about 5 millin bucks a year is being paid for all of these postions?

Hint: Neel KashKari is a czar. Can anyone name which of the postions?

[billyoc]

4. Technically, shouldn't the Iran Czar be a Shah?

:shrug:

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. LOL

[Renew Deal]

8. The "car czar" has left the job after it's successful completion.

:shrug: As far as the rest. I want names.

[FSogol]

10. You won't get names. It is just more RW bs. n/t

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. I posted because I was curious if anyone was aware of the czars.

Keeping track of what our President is doing is RW bullshit?????

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. Here's your names:

1. Aids Czar..............................Jeffrey Crowkey
2. Bank Bailout Czar...................Neel KashKari
3. Compensation........................Kenneth Feinberg
4. U.S. Border............................Alan Bersin
5. Car.......................................Steve Rattner
6. Climate.................................Todd Stern
7. Drug.....................................Gil Kerilikowske
8. Economic...............................Paul Volker
9. Energy...................................Carol Browner
10.Fatih based.......................... Joshua Dubois
11. Great Lakes..........................Cameron Davis

Want more?

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. Not a complete list, and hardly a RW talking point.

AIDS Czar: Not sure
Bank Bailout Czar: Herb Allison
Compensation Czar: Kenneth Feinberg
U.S. Border Czar: Alan Bersin
Car Czar: Was Steven Rattner, now ?
Climate Czar: Todd Stern
Drug Czar: Gil Kerlikowske
Economic Czar: Vacant
Energy Czar: Carol M. Browner
Faith Based Czar: Joshua DuBois
Great Lakes Czar: Cameron Davis
Green Jobs Czar: Van Jones
Guantanamo Czar: Daniel Fried
Health Reform Czar: Nancy-Anne DeParle
Infotech Czar: David Blumenthal
Intelligence Czar: Not Sure, maybe vacant
Middle East Czar: George Mitchell
Non-Proliferation: Gary Samore
Persian Gulf Czar: Dennis Ross
Regulatory Czar: Cass Sunstein
Science Czar: John Holdren
Stimulus Czar: Earl Devaney
Sudan Czar: Scott Gration
Tarp Czar: Elizabeth Warren
Technology Czar: Vivek Kundra
Terrorism Czar: John Brennan
Urban Czar: Adolfo Carrion Jr.
Weapons Czar: Gary Samore, but I think this is the same as the Non-Proliferation Czar position.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. A few corrections, if you don't mind...

due to the confusing nature of the list, and the fact, as someone upthread pointed out,
some of the functions are quite similar, or could be.

Herb Allison is TARP Czar
KashKari is the Bailout Czar, and I really do not understand the difference between the 2, either.

Car Czar is/was Rattner, somone said that postion was done, I do not know if it is still being paid/open.
Economic is Volker
Infotech...was announced not long ago, I heard it was Vivek Kundra
Intelligence Czar: Dennis Blair

Technology Czar: Aneesh Chopra
Terrorism Czar: John Brennan
Urban Czar: Adolfo Carrion Jr.
Weapons Czar: Ashton Carter

Gary Samore, is the Non-Proliferation Czar position. ( WMD & Terrorism)

Very good tho, cherokeeprogressive.
I had to wander the webs for a bit to find them.

See, Cabinet Postions have to be cleared by Congress.
Czars..I don't think so.

[FSogol]

20. 1. Does the WH refer to them as Czars? No, the RW does to criticize the administration.

2. When hasn't an administration brought in experts? The complexity of these problems requires experts.

[brendan120678]

23. What does the WH call them if not Czars? (nt)

[midnight]

17. I had no idea we had 30 czars. So they are experts in that field?

Not sure I understand the purpose, but a very good question. We should all be this informed.

[uponit7771]

18. He needs a "Failed DU Post" Czar big time!!

[depakid]

21. I nominate you

[Phx_Dem]

24. LOL!

[DevonRex]

25. Tag, you're it!

[camera obscura]

22. Volcker, Sunstein, Jones, Brennan, Carrion, Blair, Holbrooke

7/30. Well, not great, but hopefully not bad either.

[cherokeeprogressive]

26. Here's what that noted right wing tool, Senator Robert Byrd has to say about the issue...

Call them whatever the hell you want. I've heard President Obama use the word czar with my own damn ears.

Read some of Senator Byrd's thoughts on the issue:

" ...too often, I have seen these lines of authority and responsibility become tangled and blurred, sometimes purposely, to shield information and to obscure the decision-making process."

"...the rapid and easy accumulation of power by White House staff can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials."

"As presidential assistants and advisers, these White House staffers are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to cabinet officials, and to virtually anyone but the president. They rarely testify before congressional committees, and often shield the information and decision-making process behind the assertion of executive privilege. In too many instances, White House staff have been allowed to inhibit openness and transparency, and reduce accountability..."

"A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency."

"As you develop your White House organization, I hope you will favorably consider the following: that assertions of executive privilege will be made only by the President, or with the President's specific approval; that senior White House personnel will be limited from exercising authority over any person, any program, and any funding within the statutory responsibility of a Senate-confirmed department or agency head; that the President will be responsible for resolving any disagreement between a Senate-confirmed agency or department head and White House staff; and that the lines of authority and responsibility in the Administration will be transparent and open to the American public..."

Those words can be found at the infamous repository of right wing talking points, The Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/25/dem-senator-byrd-obama-in_n_169822.html

Here's the actual letter Senator Byrd sent President Obama, being the right wing tool that he is.

http://www.eenews.net/public/25/9865/features/documents/2009/02/25/document_gw_02.pdf

It seems as though "The Conscience of the Senate" had the same concerns we are voicing over the czar issue at least six months ago. I feel like I'm in pretty good company, as are many of the other posters on this thread, including the OP.

[Thothmes]

27. IMO we should not refer to them as Czars

I think Commissar is a more appropriate title.

[ipaint]

28. Czar- emperor, king, monarch, supreme leader.

The title is ridiculous.