Well, I celebrated too soon. I admit it. In a previous Reflection, I celebrated the fact that Obama had withdrawn radical labor lawyer Craig Becker — a guy who is upfront about his view that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) can simply alter labor law without congressional approval — from consideration for appointment to the NLRB. It was clear that there were insufficient votes for Becker, with all the Republican and even two Democratic senators opposed.
Ah, but the ever more autocratic Obama pulled a new trick: he installed Becker and 14 other controversial candidates for public jobs as “recess appointments,” mean- ing they don’t have to face congressional scrutiny. Recess appointees can serve for more than a year.
Now, recess appointments are nothing new; other presidents have used them. But when George W. Bush used that mechanism to appoint John Bolton as Ambassador to the United Nations, a certain senator denounced Bush’s appointment of “damaged goods” and said that Bolton would “have no credibility” in his post.
Yes, you guessed it — that senator would be Obama. I guess you could say he changed his mind again.
