http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/10/14/910368/-GOP-Takeover:-The-loonies-have-a-planby Jed Lewison
They are insane:
Republicans plan January takedowns of Obama’s ‘czars’
Republicans will have President Barack Obama’s czars and his use of regulatory powers to circumvent congressional inaction on issues such as cap and trade in GOP crosshairs if the party takes control in January.
Since taking office, Obama has named 33 czars without Senate confirmation and congressional oversight, and together they hold power over everything from the environment and bank bailouts to the auto industry. The president’s practice of naming czars has garnered criticism from members of his own party, such as the late West Virginia Democrat Sen. Robert Byrd, who called it unconstitutional.
“When the Republicans are in charge, you will see the oversight subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee active on a whole host of fronts,” said Rep. Fred Upton, Michigan Republican, who would chair the subcommittee if the Republicans take control of Congress. “How are these funded? So whether it be the authorizing committees and appropriations committees in terms of deleting the funds for those, I think you could go after it in one of two different ways.So what's so crazy about the GOP plan? Well, the basic problem is that it's rooted in Glenn Beck's delusional conspiracy theory that our nation has been overtaken by a secret cabal that aims to impose a a Fascist-Communist dictatorship on the United States of America.
What Beck (and now Republicans) call "czars" are really just presidential aides and advisers, many of whom have been confirmed by the Senate. There's nothing new about them and they've existed since the founding of the Republic. In fact, far from being a threat to our democracy, these are people who are working to preserve our Constitution and strengthen our nation. They are serving us and they are accountable to us -- not the other way around.
But Republicans know they need to scare the shit out of their base to win this election, so they've decided to sell Beck's conspiracy theory to the electorate. The problem with that cynical political strategy is that they can't just sell the conspiracy -- they've also go to to promise to do something about it. And so they are now running up and down the country vowing to eliminate a threat which doesn't exist.
They are so desperate for power that they've allowed the loonies to take over the party. It's not that I've ever been a fan of the GOP, but this is worse than it's ever been, at least in my lifetime. They've collectively lost their minds.