Who's running the TSA? No one, thanks to Sen. Jim DeMint

[kpete]

Source: McClatchy

Who's running the TSA? No one, thanks to Sen. Jim DeMint
Margaret Talev | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — An attempt to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration — if there were one.

The post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has held up President Barack Obama's nominee in opposition to the prospect of TSA workers joining a labor union.

As al Qaida claimed responsibility Monday for the thwarted attack and President Barack Obama made a public statement about it, Democrats urged DeMint to drop his objection and allow quick confirmation of nominee Erroll Southers, a counterterrorism expert, when the Senate reconvenes in three weeks.

Obama, speaking from Hawaii, where he and his family are vacationing, told Americans, "We will not rest until we find all who were involved and hold them accountable."

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/81356.html

[Turbineguy]

1. Luckily the terrorists

have help from the GOP.

[Hawkeye-X]

2. Remove ALL obstruction from the GOP, including filibuster

and invoke the nuclear option now.

That way, a PROGRESSIVE legislation can be accomplished without the help of GOP or Conservatards.

Hawkeye-X

[elocs]

22. Yes, I think this is a good idea since Democrats will hold power forever.

I mean there is really no chance of the Republicans ever gaining control of the Senate again so why no invoke the nuclear option and dump the filibuster? I mean we never have to worry about the GOP again anyways.

[24601]

33. And just how would you have felt if the filabuster had been eliminated in 2002?

Would you have been satisfied with the republican agenda, unchecked by a democrat minority in the Senate on the basis that it's what the majority wants?

What I'm waiting for is a President, any President, that puts some truth into claims that he wants legislation to be bipartisan - by vetoing any bill that doesn't have at least 10% of the opposition party's votes in Congress.

[jillan]

3. It would be really nice if the Dems were all over the msm with this little tidbit.

They want to play politics with this? Go right ahead :evilgrin:

[brentspeak]

4. DNC needs to run a bunch of ads in S.C. about this n/t

[truthisfreedom]

5. SC, here we come.

DeMint is toast.

[Versailles]

6. PLEASE!

The few of us Dems who live down here in psycho land would love to be able to get DeMint out...and if we can manage to get rid of the philanderer Sanford and the moron Graham I wouldn't complain! :)

[WriteDown]

7. Hmm, side with DeMint or the TSA.....

That's 6 of one, half dozen of another.

[Retrograde]

13. With a new, competent administrator TSA could improve

DeMint, on the other hand....

Actually, even a halfway decent administrator would be a giant step forward for the TSA. Anything's got to be better than what we inherited from the previous administration.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

15. Erroll Southers has abused his authority in every position he has ever held

He would be more of the same or even worse,

[Kweli4Real]

17. How about a link, a story, an anecdote ...

anything other than a "he's a bad, bad man." Thanks.

[wordpix]

30. based on what? your word for it?

[happygoluckytoyou]

8. i guess the obama excuse machine will rest with demint.... people could die but we got our scapegoat

sorry folks.... i'm pro OBAMA but failure to act is just that---- and a person to blame is only that

HEADLINES..... hundreds die but obama says not his fault because of GOP....

JACKASS BUSH WOULD NOT DO THAT.... as big an ass as he was, and as stoopid as he is, SHIT DIDNT STAND IN HIS WAY

---- but congress
---- but the blue dogs
---- but the gop
---- where's my mama

[groundloop]

12. What "excuse machine" - I haven't heard any 'excuses' at all

I've heard President Obama say that we need to improve screening, and that coordination between different countries needs to get better.

As someone else said in a different thread, it's nice to have adults running things now.

[AusDem]

18. what on god's earth are you talking about?

this is why posting while intoxicated sounds good, but doesn't work.

[Loudmxr]

9. Wanna see defeat in 2010? Just shut up about people like DeMint.

[bertman]

10. Great campaign tool against DeMint, for sure, but really, not having a chief administrator

is no excuse for lax security. TSA is a bureaucracy with high-ranking career chiefs who should have the bureau running smoothly. That's their job.

[Wizard777]

20. While the cat's away the mice will play. I guess we don't need Pilots either.

Because just like TSA the planes have an autopilot. The planes can literally fly themselves. But Autopilot is no way to run a commercial flight or the agency securing it.

[bertman]

25. That is a GROSS exaggeration, Wizard777. If you have ever been in a bureaucracy you know that

it's the folks a rung or two down who keep the show running on an even keel while the "Top" administrators are going to Cabinet meetings and doing the stuff that figureheads do.

Every department in the federal government has turnover at the top--sometimes two or three times during an administration. Yet those departments continue to do what they are supposed to do despite the lack of a titular head.

[Wizard777]

27. Not really it's a good analogy. You have even explained how the auto pilot works.

So obviously you get it even if you have yet to realize that you do. That front line is the autopilot. They will keep going with or without a captain at the helm until they run out of resources and it all comes crashing down. Just like an airplanes autopilot. There are things that front line can't do just like a planes autopilot. They can't take off on or land ventures. But once you get a venture up and moving they will keep it going.

[bertman]

28. Your analogy of one airplane on autopilot compared to a bureaucracy of thousands of

workers, supervisors, administrators, and one titular head is ludicrous. The head of the TSA is not the one who procures the funding and supplies the resources. The head of TSA is a figurehead bureaucrat who goes to meetings and signs papers. The work of getting funds, supplying resources, setting agendas, etc., etc. is done by other folks who are career professionals and are paid well to do their jobs. The "captain" of TSA is just another political patronage recipient who is being rewarded for supporting the party. If we're lucky, he/she is also someone who might be somewhat acquainted with the work of the organization and doesn't create problems by way of a hidden agenda or a personality that pisses the rest of the group off.

Take Kathleen Sebelius for example. Her qualifications include being a good Democratic politician and being a good Democratic politician. She has no background in Health or Human Services. She was a governor and she's been a good Democrat, and she's a woman who the party leaders know will not jeopardize her upward mobility by doing anything counter to the desires of the current administration. Do you think that the HHS Dept could run without her? Damn straight, Skippy. And it would do just fine. But she is there to make sure that the department does what the administration wants it to do. She can change its course--slowly usually--but basically she's a pencil pusher who is being rewarded for past service. The department already has its mission statement, its funding sources, its regulations, its administrators, etc. If Sebelius resigned tomorrow, President Obama could appoint another Secretary (pending Senate approval) and the departments wouldn't miss a beat.

[jillan]

11. Rachel is reporting on this during her show. Love that lady!

[Downwinder]

14. Does DeMint only fly on non-union airlines? n/t

[AusDem]

16. THIS is what needs to be shouted by Democrats

on every media outlet available. The "pure" DuhMint is blocking effective management of the TSA due to political reasons, and endangering American lives.

Spread the word

[Wizard777]

19. So TSA is somewhat of a Headless Horseman.

[SpiralHawk]

21. DeMint - Typical Republicon wanting America to FAIL

Why do Republicons want to keep America from being secure?

[SomeGuyInEagan]

23. DeMint = Douche bag (of the douche bagggiest variety)

[murdoch]

24. The Republicans don't care about protecting the USA

In fact, attacks on the USA help them. There are 300 million Americans, and a few dead every year will scare enough people to support the so-called Patriot Act at home and wars abroad.

This is a perfect example of that attitude.

[24601]

26. Pure BS - Somebody is always running things. In the case of

TSA, it means that a qualified career Senior Executive Service answers to the Department Secretary. Hmmm, a career employee verses a political hack or campaign contributor? I'll take the SES career employee 10 out of 10 days. With the career employees you are far less likely to get "Heck of a Job Brownie" (Bush on FEMA) or "The System Worked" (Nepolatino on the Christmas Bombing attempt).

If we were REALLY serious about reform, there would be 90% fewer political appointees. Keep your political cronies for Secretary, Deputy Secretary and Under Secretaries but everyone in every department below Under Secretary (Assistant Sectaries and lower) would be career.

[Vidar]

29. Excellent argument.

[24601]

31. Thanks - and if it was so compelling, where is the President's

Appointment that would put a political in place through the end of this Congress? - plenty of time to overcome a senatorial hold.

[mstinamotorcity]

32. Senator DeMint

is demented as f--k. Needs to get out of the Senate seat and onto the couch of a mental health professional.He might can get a discount if he takes a few friends along like Bachmann,Inhofe,J.Sessions,Foxx,Rove,Beck,Limbaugh,Dubya,Shooter,hell i take that back its enough of them where his visit should be free. Thats the republicon way.

[24601]

34. Looking at this a few days later, it's not the TSA, currently being

by a career employee that was screwed-up. Rather it appears to be either the CIA, ODNI/NCTC or State Department that failed to act properly - and they all have political appointees in charge without a career in those fields.