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Political Appointees

Posted on July 30, 2011 by admin — No Comments ↓
 

Leaders of Government Agencies who are Henhouse Foxes

Political appointees and hires who have dual roles or hidden agendas

Political leaders have a lot of power as far as the people they appoint to various positions of power in their administration.  Governors and presidents can appoint those who will be in charge of environmental regulation, agriculture, commerce, education, and energy.  These leaders, in turn will manage the priorities and direction of huge government departments.  In theory this is not a bad system, given that when citizens vote in a politician they are voting for her or his principles and ideals and one would assume that those standards should apply to all areas over which the leader will govern.  Unfortunately, however, agency appointments can often be rife with patronage, or, worse, appointments of people who have more extreme views than the public would accept if they were more aware.

For example, with regard to positions that require stewardship of environmental protection or open space preservation, yet seem to have a background, stated biases, and/or professional connections that conflict with the requirements for the position such as when Republican governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin appointed Cathy Stepp, whose qualification was that she co-owned a home construction business, to head the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  The reason this appointment is troublesome from a foxes in the henhouse perspective is that this position is responsible for natural resources management and environmental law.  There seems to be something concerning about putting someone whose core experience was development in charge of managing forests.

Other examples of political appointees seeming to have Foxes in the Henhouse type issues occur when campaign money is at stake, as is the case with anything surrounding Campaign Finance Reform.  We have to trust that what we hear about the candidates each election cycle is reasonably honest and fairly derived.  We also have to trust that there is some degree of disclosure of the agendas of those who are promoting the advertising for or against a candidate during an election season.  Finally, we have to be sure that campaign finance laws are adhered to so that each candidate gets a fair chance to be heard.  Unfortunately, there are some foxes in the henhouse situations lately that have prevented all of this including recent issues with the FEC.  
  
The Federal Election commission, or FEC, is the politically appointed body charged with overseeing spending by outside groups during election campaigns.  The job of the FEC got more challenging but also more vital after the Supreme Court’s ruled that corporations and unions could spend unlimited amounts on independent election activities close to election day.  The problem is that this committee, with three members appointed by republicans and three members appointed by democrats, has been experiencing partisan gridlock because in order for anything they rule to carry weight four members have to vote together.  The problem, as it relates to Foxes in the henhouse, is the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, is opposed to campaign finance laws and has therefore packed the republican side of the FEC with members who will vote against any attempts to regulate spending – yet regulating election spending is exactly what the FEC is charged with!  THis is a classic modern day political Foxes in the Henhouse situation!

These are just two examples that point out how political appointees can have serious dual roles or hidden agendas.  Here at Foxes in the Henhouse we will uncover these situations, and in addition those times when the appointees seem to have views or ideas that conflict with what the office they have been appointed to requires – once again, potential Foxes in the Henhouse!  News of this kind will appear on our Latest News page.

Political Appointees

Political Appointees: Secret Deals and Hidden Agendas

 

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