Daschle to Take Health Care Czar, HHS Position

by: Matt Stoller

Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:07

And here we go.

Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) has been offered the job of Health and Human Services secretary by President-elect Barack Obama and has accepted the job, according to a Democratic source close to Daschle.
Daschle, who served in the Senate until he lost his re-election bid in 2004, also is set to take on the position of "health care czar" in the Obama White House, ensuring that he does not get bigfooted on matters relating to health care policy, according to this source.

Leaving the merits of Daschle aside, isn't it weird that cabinet appointments are basically subordinate to White House staff positions? It's like, when did 'czar' become a laudable title? That's a Russian authoritarian title derived from the dictatorial name 'Caesar'. Go democracy!

Still, for my own bureaucratically OCD tendencies, I guess it's good that Daschle has finally reunited health care White House policy with the Cabinet department charged with leading health care policy.

Matt Stoller :: Daschle to Take Health Care Czar, HHS Position

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Daschle to Take Health Care Czar, HHS Position | 17 comments

yeah, that's weird (4.00 / 1)

In addition to being President and commander in chief, I think Obama should also take the position of Executive Czar.

by: tremayne @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:13:11 AM CST

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John Roberts should be Czar Of All Laws (0.00 / 0)

And David Petraeus should be the Czar of Iraq

by: TValley @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:45:56 AM CST

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Hmmm (0.00 / 0)

Maybe Czar czar? Czar of czars? Czar czar of czars? Executive czar in czarship of czars of the executive?

Conduct your own interview of Sarah Palin!

by: fwiffo @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:49:48 AM CST

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Czar of czars (4.00 / 1)

Done.

by: tremayne @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:52:49 AM CST

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He can drive around in his Czar Cars (4.00 / 1)

And appoint a Czar Car Czar to procure them.

by: TValley @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:29:20 PM CST

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So, czar semantics aside (0.00 / 0)

What's the word on Daschle's record on health care? Like labor, It's an issue that I don't get exercised about*, so my knowledge there is pretty thin.

* It's not that I don't think health care or labor are important issues. It's just that they compete for brain-space with dozens of issues that are more near and dear to me. They've sorta rolled off a crowded desk and fallen down out of reach between the filing cabinet and the wall, and I'm too busy to get out a yard stick or something to retrieve them.

Conduct your own interview of Sarah Palin!

by: fwiffo @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:33:32 AM CST

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I like it (4.00 / 1)

Daschle has been doing the conference circuit the last couple years on a variety of issues. I am impressed with what he's been saying.

He's a guy who will pay attention not only to the grandiose things that gets everybody excited- expanding insurance coverage- but also things that are important but not the subject of a human interest story. Things like cost controls provider-side.

Daschle is a person who will get into the unsexy stuff, and look for improvements from every actor, not just insurance companies.

In such a broken field, there's improvements to be made almost literally everywhere. It's not something you pass one law and leave alone forever; it'll take a person willing to get into obscure things that, while no one pays attention to them, make a big aggregate difference in overall costs.

by: Sauceman @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:56:21 AM CST

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Fantastic (4.00 / 1)

He's written a great book about it and written and thought extensively about not only what's good policy but also why previous attempts failed.

He's the best possible choice.

John McCain: Beacuse lobbyists should have more power

by: Populista @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:50:50 PM CST

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reproductive rights (0.00 / 0)

isn't Daschle anti-abortion? I mean in a mealy mouth Democratic sort of way?

by: AliceDem @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:15:41 PM CST

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hmmm, i'd like to know more about this.... (0.00 / 0)

as it definitely pertains to the post.

by: seabrook @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:26:49 PM CST

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His bill from 1997, very anti-choice. (4.00 / 1)

I don't know if he has changed his mind.

http://www.now.org/press/05-97...

"We believe the Daschle approach is unconstitutional, as is the Republican ban that denies a woman the right to an abortion to preserve her health -- a right that Roe v. Wade and other cases have consistently protected," Gandy said.

"Daschle's so-called compromise bill, as quoted in the New York Times, permits an exception to the ban for `a severely debilitating disease or impairment specifically caused by the pregnancy [emphasis added],' but makes no provision for a pre-existing, life- and health-threatening `debilitating disease or impairment' that is being exacerbated by the pregnancy. This could include kidney disease, severe hypertension and some cancers. Nor does the Daschle bill allow for an abortion in cases of severe fetal abnormality where it is unlikely the fetus would live long outside the womb, even with technological support.

"The physician certification requirement and the potential loss of a medical license in the Daschle language invites government scrutiny of private medical matters and threatens doctor-patient confidentiality. The intent of this and other abortion ban bills is to control women and to limit their ability to make critical reproductive decisions that affect their families, their health and their lives. These bills represent the ultimate in Congressional arrogance," Gandy charged'

by: floridagal @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:27:12 PM CST

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Like a whole host of others (4.00 / 1)

Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, Denny K, Gephardt, etc. He started out as staunchly anti-choice. Now he's fully pro-choice. I wouldn't worry about him doing anything fishy.

John McCain: Beacuse lobbyists should have more power

by: Populista @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:53:53 PM CST

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That's a relief (0.00 / 0)

The last thing we need is an anti-choicer in charge of Health and Human Services.

I'm curious. In another post, you mentioned reading Daschle's book. Did he reveal his opinions on single payer health care?

by: pacersfan @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 13:10:32 PM CST

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Change (0.00 / 0)

Change?

Looks like a crowd of old school Dems getting corralled by the new kid in town.

Change?

Remember Daeschle telling us we need "acceptance"
for Bush's "win"?

Change?

Where is the new blood?

Kissinger for Clinton!!!

by: marko7 @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:27:19 PM CST

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I'm clueless about Daschle (0.00 / 0)

What is his position on health-care? Is he for or against single-payer or somewhere in between?

by: Unbozo @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 13:18:11 PM CST

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no more czars (0.00 / 0)

we need a much change-ier term.

by: spectatus @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 13:22:33 PM CST

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some czarist history (4.00 / 1)

I think it came from Carter when he appointed an "energy czar" (made fun of in Doonesbury a lot), and is generally used to mean a cabinet-level official who doesn't actually run a government department. So not subordinate, but I'm not sure why there would be a health czar at all when we have HHS. It sounds more like HHS is too big and should be split up.

by: midnight rambler @ Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 14:37:16 PM CST

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Daschle to Take Health Care Czar, HHS Position | 17 comments