Healthcare

The Trusted Czars

We’ve come full circle from 2009, a time when Republicans decried the president’s appointment of Czars as some kind of Marxist conspiracy even though former President Bush began the tradition.

The Washington Post reports that Republican congressman have written letters to the president asking him to appoint a Czar to deal with Ebola.

Sen. Jerry Moran (Kan.) and Rep. Frank Wolf (Va.) suggested in a letter that “well-respected former administration officials with a background in public health and international diplomacy” would be the appropriate choice to manage the crisis. [...]

Wolf told the Loop in a telephone interview that the government’s response to Ebola needs a public face who is trusted by both the American people and global leaders.

I guess this means we can trust the Czars. They aren’t sleeper agents or nefarious saboteurs after all.

Snark aside, I don’t believe appointing an Ebola Czar is necessary and it could make the situation worse by focusing the issue on a singular person. The CDC, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Health and Human Service are capable of handling the situation. We don’t need yet another bureaucracy.