[See here for more.]
Besides showing Orin Hatch to be a liar, Rachel Maddow tonight (as usual, useful with the news updates) mentioned Bush's latest "recess" appointments. I have spoken about the abuse of something that originally was surely meant for the long breaks of the early Congress, not the brief breaks like the one current one. The most blatant involving appellate judges and the U.N. ambassador. The prosecutor scandal only reaffirms these things fit into a wider pattern.
The focus is on a particularly odious use of the practice:
President Bush named Republican fundraiser Sam Fox as U.S. ambassador to Belgium on Wednesday, using a maneuver that allowed him to bypass Congress where Democrats had derailed Fox's nomination. Democrats had denounced Fox for his 2004 donation to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The group's TV ads, which claimed that Sen. John Kerry exaggerated his military record in Vietnam, were viewed as a major factor in the Massachusetts Democrat losing the election.
As a reply to that blog link noted: "Belgium itself is small. But it is the seat of several important international organizations, including, ehm, the EU and, I believe, NATO. It is not just a ceremonial post for a corrupt partisan supporter." Bush had withdrew the nomination when it was clear that the Senate Democrats would not vote for the guy, but hey, as some seem to think, doesn't he have the "right" to pick whomever he wants? This supposedly translates into some obligation to confirm them as well. In fact, there were four recess appointments announced, three problematic.
The NYT story noted that Carol Waller Pope, of the District of Columbia, selected to be a Member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority was supported by Democrats and unions -- there a need for a Democrat. But, there was Andrew G. Biggs, of New York, to be Deputy Commissioner of Social Security, a champion of privatization. And, Susan E. Dudley, of Virginia, to be Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, not having too much support from Democrats and others on that side of the aisle.
The confirmation process gives Congress a shot to deal with cronyism, bad choices, and at the very least a chance to interact with the nominees, and bring out certain concerns. Balanced government mixed with politics in all its glory. The way the system should work. Installing controversial nominations is how Bush wants it to work.