Bloggers across the Blogosphere -- left, right and center -- are teeing off on the Bush administration's nomination of Julie Myers to be the head of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As I reported on
Sep 18 Senator Voinovich (R-OH) questioned whether she was qualified. Since my report Voinovich has lost his mind and
actually decided to support this unqualified nomination. Myers is the niece of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard B. Myers and she married Michael Chertoff's current chief of staff, John F. Wood, on Saturday.
She is woefully under-qualified in my opinion. I'm pretty furious that the Bush administration would take this position, which is suppose to be the head immigration enforcement person in the country, and treat it so lightly as to nominate such an under-qualified person. Is there no one else in America that is more qualified and able to do the job better than Myers?
Here's Julie Myers bio at the Department of Commerce.
Furious reaction from around the Blogosphere.
Michelle Malkin
This nomination is a monumental political and policy blunder in the wake of the Michael Brown/FEMA fiasco. And I can tell you that contrary to the Miss Mary Sunshine White House spokeswoman's comments, rank-and-file DHS employees and immigration enforcement officials are absolutely livid about Myers' nomination.
...
Everything was supposed to change after 9/11. No more business as usual, blah blah blah. But when it comes to immigration enforcement and border security, Bush keeps installing clueless cronies.
Captain's Quarters
And get this -- for an HR specialist, she appears oddly ignorant of nepotism issues. She just married Michael Chertoff's chief of staff, the same Michael Chertoff to whom she will report, presumably through her new husband. Add in that her uncle, General Richard Myers, is just finishing up his tour as chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and we have all the makings of an episode of All In The Family. What we don't have are the ingredients for a professional and focused approach on immigration enforcement.
The Corner NRO
I don't at all get this attitude among many on the right that our sworn duty is to back anything President Bush and the GOP choose to do. We are conservatives before we are Republicans, are we not?
...
Moreover, I'm absolutely with Michelle Malkin on this outrageous Bush cronyism regarding the new Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief over at the Department of Homeland Security. I find it impossible to believe that this administration or their GOP Congressional enablers care about enforcing the immigration laws of this country. And I find it impossible to believe that this doesn't matter. A lot.
Ankle Biting Pundits
Since national security is the one issue - an in a post 9/11 world my opinion is that it is the most important issue - in which people trust the Republican party, the immigration policies now in effect are threatening that advantage.
Right We Are
President George W. Bush is trying to appoint some feather-weight crony to head the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), thereby demonstrating that the White House a) doesn't care about the charges of crony-appointments and b) doesn't care one wit about border control and immigration-law enforcement.
Debbie Schlussel
I and friends of mine, who are Homeland Security agents both inside and outside ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), have voiced concern and dismay over the President's nomination of Julie L. Myers, a 36-year-old lawyer (and confidant of another inept Homeland Security lawyer, Michael Chertoff), to become the new DHS Assistant Secretary over ICE.
Publius Pundit
Why is he doing this to us? He’s appointing incompetent cronies left and right. Who am I talking about? Not some corrupt Chicago machine pol or some New Orleans lowlife political vermin, but George Bush himself!
PoliBlog
Given the fact that former FEMA Director Michael Brown had serious resume problems, and the fact that a high-level ex-OMB official is now in federal custody, one has to wonder about the wisdom of the following ...
Brain Shaving's
Holy freakin' cannolis! Rescind that nomination now, Mr. President, and deliver a swift kick in the rump to whoever advised you to choose Julie Myers.
A Knights Blog
My question: At what point, exactly, did she carry a gun? At what point did she actually slap the cuffs on a suspect? At what point did she get shot at? For those who think those things are irrelevant to a manager of a large bureaucracy, I say: have another Mai Tai. It is not irrelevant to law enforcement officers, who like to know that their supervisors know the dangers and challenges they face. In fact, in that culture, credibility depends on experience.
