Radically pro-abortion Dawn Johnsen to be confirmed

Dawn Johnsen, Obama's pick to head up the crucially important Office of Legal Counsel, cleared her first hurdle for confirmation yesterday. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved her in a 12-7 vote along party lines. Now all Johnsen needs is an up-or-down Senate vote and she's in.

Johnsen is a bona fide pro-abortion radical and has no business working in our government. In a 1989 abortion court case, Johnsen argued, "Statutes that curtail abortion choice are disturbingly suggestive of involuntary servitude, prohibited by the Thirteenth Amendment, in that forced pregnancy requires a woman to provide continuous physical service to the fetus in order to further the state’s asserted interest." She later compared pregnancy to the government "conscripting" a woman's body. In other words, abortion must be kept legal because a woman carrying her baby to term is the same as slavery. (I'm sure Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are out in the streets right now protesting her offensive idiocy. Right?)

Johnsen is also a supporter of the Freedom of Choice Act, which would obliterate every state-level anti-abortion law in America, from parental notification to partial birth abortion bans. She previously worked for the National Abortion Rights Action League and, of course, the ACLU.

Johnsen's charge, the Office of Legal Counsel, has been described by Newsweek as "the most important government office you've never heard of." The OLC acts as a small court for the executive branch, ruling whether or not their actions are legal and constitutional. During the Bush administration, the OLC had to sign off on everything from waterboarding to warrantless wiretapping. Johnsen, the nutty abortion-obsessed lawyer, will have final say over every major executive decision Barack Obama makes.

Why are they called czars?

Todd Stern is the climate czar. John Holdren is the science czar. Ron Bloom and Ed Montgomery are both car czars. The term "czar" is familiar to almost everyone thanks to Barack Obama. Most of these people have actual titles, and yet they're called czars.

Czars are Obama appointees, most of whom have not faced Senate confirmation. It is the Senate's constitutional responsibility to advise and consent on the president's nominees. But as has been previously reported on Obama Watch News, these nominees have often faced stiff resistance in the Senate because of their radicalism. For example, Obama's nominee to head up the TSA, Errol Southers, is stuck in limbo because he has previously said that climate change is a greater threat to the United States than terrorism, among other radical statements. Obama's nominee for the OLC, Dawn Johnsen, still faces resistance because she has equated pregnancy to bondage.

The solution? Give policymaking power to staff who haven't been confirmed by the Senate. Like the czars of old, these bureaucrats wield great power. Barack Obama's pay czar Kenneth Feinberg has the authority to determine the salaries of American executives -- and even "claw back" money that's already been paid. And like the czars of old, these bureaucrats are completely unaccountable.

Obama's radical OLC nominee will clear the Senate

A serious and very unfortunate victory for Barack Obama was announced today. Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.) indicated that after meeting with Dawn Johnsen, Obama's radical nominee to head up the Office of Legal Council, he will support her confirmation. With Republican senator Richard Lugar also in Johnsen's camp, this should clear her path through the Senate entirely.

The left-wing blogosphere is thrilled with this development, and they should be. Dawn Johnsen is a bona fide left-wing radical. She is vehemently pro-abortion and has argued that forcing a woman to carry a fetus to term is the equivalent of slavery. The Office of Legal Counsel is a crucial branch that essentially determines the law for the entire executive branch. With Specter giving in, that power will shortly be in Johnsen's hands.

Notes:

1. The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) assists the Attorney General of the United States in his function as legal adviser to the President and all the executive branch agencies. The OLC drafts legal opinions of the Attorney General and also provides its own written opinions and oral advice in response to requests from the Counsel to the President, the agencies of the executive branch, and offices within the Department of Justice. Such requests typically deal with legal issues of particular complexity and importance or about which two or more agencies are in disagreement. The Office is also responsible for providing legal advice to the executive branch on all constitutional questions and reviewing pending legislation for constitutionality. The decisions of the Office are binding on all executive agencies.

2. Dawn Johnsen worked for the American Civil Liberties Union as a staff counsel fellow on a one-year fellowship from 1987 until 1988, and then worked for the National Abortion & Reproductive Rights Action League (currently NARAL Pro-Choice America) from 1988 until 1993. From 1993 to 1998, Johnsen worked in the Office of Legal Counsel in the Clinton Administration. She was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General from 1993 until 1996, and served as Acting Assistant Attorney General heading the OLC from 1997 until 1998.

Obama won't give up on radical pro-abortion nominee

Barack Obama has thrown many embattled political nominees under the bus, but not when there's a radical pro-abortion lawyer at stake. Today, Obama renominated his pick for the Office of Legal Council, Dawn Johnsen -- despite the fact that Johnsen is a legal zealot with frightening views on the issue of abortion.

Johnsen is one of the legal minds behind the Freedom of Choice Act, a proposed bill that would swing a wrecking ball at all state and local abortion restrictions in the nation, making abortion on demand the law of the land. In a 1989 abortion court case, Johnsen argued, "Statutes that curtail abortion choice are disturbingly suggestive of involuntary servitude, prohibited by the Thirteenth Amendment, in that forced pregnancy requires a woman to provide continuous physical service to the fetus in order to further the state’s asserted interest." She later compared pregnancy to the government "conscripting" a woman's body. In other words, being pro-life is the same as being pro-slavery. When questioned by Sen. Arlen Specter about these nutty statements, she lied to Congress, denying having ever made them.

Unsurprisingly, Johnsen cut her legal teeth at the National Abortion Rights Action League, and earlier at the ACLU.

There are plenty of radical judges and lawyers out there, but Johnsen has been nominated to head up the Office of Legal Counsel, the most important government agency no one's ever heard of. The OLC acts as a mini-Supreme Court for the executive branch. If the president wants to do something constitutionally questionable, he must first receive OLC approval.

Which makes Johnsen the perfect legal rubber stamper for Barack Obama's radical agenda.