Obama Pal An Animal Enabler?
Reg czar Cass Sunstein's job held up
Obama pal and former University of Chicago law professor Cass Sunstein has had his confirmation as the administration's new regulatory czar put on hold by a Republican senator who thinks he loves animals just a bit too much.
"Cass Sunstein's views on litigating on behalf of animals has raised concerns for Sen. John Cornyn, who placed a hold on the nominee until he gets a chance to hear his views one-on-one," Fox News reports.
"Sen. Cornyn finds numerous aspects of Mr. Sunstein's record troubling, specifically the fact that he wants to establish legal 'rights' for livestock, wildlife and pets, which would enable animals to file lawsuits in American courts," a Cornyn spokesman said in a statement to Fox.
Sunstein has been awaiting confirmation for his appointment to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which will have sweeping influence across vast sectors of the American economy.
"[The regulatory czar] is charged with coordinating the alphabet soup of federal agencies, including the EPA, Energy Department, and OSHA," the New Republic notes in "Should Environmentalists Fear Cass Sunstein?" "Among top officials, this is the most important position that Americans know nothing about. All major regulations - from rules on clean air to airline safety - will pass Sunstein's desk."
Another Republican senator, Saxby Chambliss, lifted his hold on Sunstein after a personal conversation which apparently persuaded him that Sunstein wasn't a threat to the American way of life.
Sunstein, however, is also a controversial choice - as any nominee would be given the job - among some environmental, labor and Internet advocates. He once proposed that websites be required to link to opposing views, for example, though he later recognized that as a terrible idea.
A Tribune story about Sunstein's appointment said he made liberals nervous - not just about him, but about the president. The Tribune story carried this passage:
"Obama will go to deregulation - it’s a prediction - in many domains,” Sunstein once said.
Deregulation? Didn’t that just sink the financial-services industry?
"His basic line of defense is disclosure,” Sunstein said.
If that means handing consumers a ream of fine print, mortgage fraudsters will love it.
"He’s a fan of cost-benefit analysis,” Sunstein assured the group.
Good luck calculating the value of a laborer’s life, or an IQ point lost to pollution exposure.
Sunstein went on to tell conservatives there that Obama “will be able to do some stuff, I think, that President Bush didn’t have the commitment or the sustained support to do.”
The managing editor of the Cato Institute's Regulation magazine told Fox that "Sunstein really doesn't fit readily, politically or ideologically, in any box. This is going to be a very interesting nomination to watch on Capitol Hill. He's going to be getting some shots from the right and from the left. You are never going to make anyone who is a stakeholder in these debates happy."
Steve Rhodes is the proprietor of The Beachwood Reporter, a Chicago-centric news and culture review.
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Posted Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 8:44 AM CST
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