Bush Plans to Sidestep Senate (Recess Appt. Pipes!)

Reuters ^ | August 12, 2003 | Adam Entous (Reuters)

[EllaMinnow]

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - Over objections from some Muslim American groups, President Bush is expected to sidestep Congress and appoint a Middle East scholar who has been derided by critics as anti-Muslim to a federally funded think tank, congressional sources said on Tuesday.

Bush's recess appointment of Daniel Pipes could spark a backlash from some Muslim Americans and Democrats in Congress, who oppose his nomination to serve on the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace, which was created by Congress to promote peaceful solutions to world conflicts.

Bush has sought to improve relations with the Muslim American community since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Pipe's nomination has been stalled for months in the Senate, where key Democrats objected to his controversial statements and writings defending racial and religious profiling and suggestions that mosques in America should be targets of police surveillance.

Bush has stood by his nominee and, according to sources, plans to issue a recess appointment as early as this week. In so doing, Pipes would bypass the Senate confirmation process and could serve on the institute's board through next year.

Bush has used recess appointments in the past to appoint some of his most controversial nominees.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Bush to withdraw the nomination after he was quoted by an online news service as comparing "Islamic people" to "Nazis."

Pipes aroused criticism when he launched an organization that collects complaints against professors and academic institutions deemed to be biased in favor of Islam, Muslims and Palestinians.

Supporters of Pipes say he is a respected scholar who was one of the few to warn before the Sept. 11 attacks of the threat posed by Islamic extremists.

"What he has said comes from a wealth of study and knowledge and understanding," said Shoshana Bryen, director of special projects at the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.

[EllaMinnow]

I did a search and didn't see this posted yet.

[anniegetyourgun]

Excellent.

[frmrda]

Beat me by a second. I've asked the moderator to pull it.

Great news.

[bmwcyle]

I hope Bush has the balls that the Senate has lost.

[dwilli]

Maybe he does but they need to get bigger to make an impression.

[squidly]

Dubya needs to keep this trend going with some recess judicial appointments.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Now will he have the cojones to do a recess appointment of a few of the federal judges?

[cpdiii]

Under Janet Reno, Christians and Gun Advocates were targeted for investigation. Even though there was not a record of law breaking in these groups. The Dems said nothing about this.

Today some of the Mosques and "muslim charity organizations" are known supporters of terror against our country. The names of the hijackers on 9/11 were not Smith, Jones, William, David etc. Everyone of them had Muslim names.

What the hell is the problem with targeting them???

[kesg]

Dubya needs to keep this trend going with some recess judicial appointments.

My thought exactly.

[mhking]

Now if he could just do the same on the judicial appointments....

[EllaMinnow]

I hope this is just the start of a deluge of recess appointments.
When does the recess end? The day after Labor Day?

[VRWCmember]

I didn't get a chance to see your reply to me because the thread was pulled (duplicate). The article claims that W has used this tactic previously for some of his "controversial" appointments. I don't recall any recess appointments. He should go ahead and recess appoint all of the 6 in question, along with Judge Bork. He should specifically state in Judge Bork's recess appointment that the appointment will remain in force until all the backlogged judicial appointments are given a vote in the full senate.

[johnb838]

WE WANT BORK! WE WANT BORK! WE WANT BORK! WE WANT BORK!

[headsonpikes]

"Now if he could just do the same on the judicial appointments...."

As they say in hockey, "If you can't beat 'em in the alley, you can't beat 'em on the rink!"

Go W go!

[kesg]

WE WANT BORK! WE WANT BORK! WE WANT BORK! WE WANT BORK!

I'll settle for Kenneth Starr.

[veronica]

Awesome. :))

[KarlInOhio]

Can he recess appoint Bill Clinton as a low level federal judge, just so he can be impeached again? I would love to be able to say "twice impeached Bill Clinton".

[veronica]

One for the good guys...

[B Knotts]

Cool! Pipes is controversial only because he is not afraid to speak the truth.

[Cyber Liberty]

I like the way you think.