…huh. He wouldn’t have been my first choice, but as Amie points out, he’s good on some key issues. He’s also not so good on others – women’s health in particular. He’s voted “yes” on banning so-called “partial-birth” abortions twice, and only has a 50% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America. His record on public health is better; he’s consistently favored more federal funding for health care. He opposed funding abstinence-only education, and his record on battling the HIV/ AIDS crisis is solid.
I guess I’m just not seeing why he’s particularly suited for this position. But Ezra points out that he’s in this position precisely because he’s a guy whose expertise lays in pushing measures through the Senate, which signals that Obama is taking comprehensive health care reform seriously — and that he learned the lessons of the Clinton years (that is, having intelligent and well-versed people in charge of creating policy is only half the battle).
Obama has also tagged 14 attorneys to serve on his justice and civil rights team. If you can’t get that link because of the password, here’s the relevant portion:
Choices include:
Thomas Perez, who will serve as committee chairman. A consumer rights and civil
rights attorney appointed in 2007 as secretary of the Maryland Department of
Labor, Licensing and Regulation, he spent the bulk of his career as a federal
prosecutor in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. As deputy assistant
attorney general for civil rights from 1988 to 1995, he supervised high-profile
civil rights prosecutions of white supremacists and hate crimes in Texas.Members of the Department of Justice Review team are:
Dawn Johnsen, a constitutional law professor at Indiana University School of Law —
Bloomington. She served as acting assistant attorney general at the Office of
Legal Counsel (1997-97), and as deputy assistant attorney general (1993-1996).
Prior to that, she was legal director for NARAL (1988-1993). She clerked for Judge
Richard Cudahy of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.David William Ogden, co-chairman of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr’s
government and regulatory litigation group, specializing in high-stakes litigation
and advice involving governmental entities and regulatory programs, including
international legal issues. Ogden served as assistant attorney general for the
Justice Department’s Civil Division (1999-2001), chief of staff and counselor to
Attorney General Janet Reno (1997-99), deputy general counsel at the U.S.
Department of Defense (1994-95) and associate deputy attorney general (1995-97).
He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun (1982-83) and U.S. District
Judge Abraham D. Sofaer (S.D.N.Y. 1981-82).Tom Perelli, managing partner of the Washington office of Chicago-based Jenner &
Block and a member of the firm’s management committee. Prior to returning to
Jenner in 2001, Perelli served as deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil
Division from 1999 to 2001, with responsibility over the Federal Programs Branch
and partial responsibility for the Tobacco Litigation Team; from 1997-99, he
served as counsel to the attorney general.Alejandro Mayorkas, a partner in the Los Angeles office of O’Melveny & Myers.
Mayorkas represents corporations and businesses in government enforcement and
civil cases throughout the country. He served as the U.S. attorney for the Central
District of California from 1998 to 2001.Theodore M. Shaw, professor of professional practice at Columbia Law School. He is
also of counsel to Fulbright & Jaworski. Prior to joining Columbia, he was an
attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He served as assistant counsel and
director of the Education Docket, western regional director, associate
director-counsel, and director-counsel and president. Shaw started his legal
career as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of
Justice (1979-1982).Leading the team on the Commission on Civil Rights is:
Aderson Bellegarde Francois, who works as an associate professor of law and
director of the civil rights clinic at Howard University School of Law. Prior to
joining Howard, he served as the associate director of the lawyering program at
New York University School of law. He also clerked for the late A. Leon
Higginbotham Jr. of the 3d Circuit and served as a special assistant at the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights.Cruz Reynoso, a former California Supreme Court justice. He was named the first
Latino to serve on the state’s high court and currently serves as deputy director
of the California Fair Employment Practices Commission. Reynoso and two other
justices were ousted by voters in a controversial 1986 election over the court’s
votes on death penalties. After leaving the court, he joined the faculty of the
University of California at Los Angeles School of Law. He has also been a director
of the California Rural Legal Assistance and served as vice-chairman of the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights.Working on the Election Assistance Commission Review team is:
Spencer Overton, a law professor at George Washington University Law School. He
specializes in the law of democracy. Overton’s book Stealing Democracy: The New
Politics of Voter Suppression was published by in 2006. He has also served as a
member of the Jimmy Carter-James Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform, the
Commission on Presidential Nomination Timing and Scheduling, and the Election
Assistance Commission’s Board of Advisors. Prior to joining the university, he
practiced law at Debevoise & Plimpton and clerked for 6th Circuit Judge Damon J.
Keith.Working on the Federal Election Commission Review team is:
Robert Lenhard, who served as chairman of the Federal Election Commission in 2007
and vice chairman of the agency in 2006. He is currently a member of
Washington-based Covington & Burling’s election and political law practice group.
Prior to joining the FEC, he served as associate general counsel for the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, providing legal advice on the
political process at the federal, state and local levels.The Legal Services Corporation Review team will include:
Alan W. Houseman, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy. He
has long been a leader of the national efforts to preserve and strengthen the
federal Legal Services program. He has also been involved in a variety of
capacities with the American Bar Association. Houseman has been an adjunct
professor at Georgetown University Law Center and has previously taught at Wayne
State University Law School.LaVeeda Battle, who has practiced law for 30 years. She served in a sub-cabinet
level appointment by former Governor George Wallace, as director and general
counsel of the staff responsible for advocating for consumers in gas, electric and
telephone rate cases before the Alabama Public Service Commission. She was one of
the first administrative law judges in the Birmingham, Ala., office of the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission. Battle was managing attorney of the Bessemer
office of Birmingham Area Legal Services. Battle served in the Clinton
administration on the Board of Directors of Legal Services Corporation for 10
years.Examining the National Council on Disability/Access Board Review will be:
Kareem Dale, managing partner of The Dale Law Group and adjunct professor at
Northwestern University School of Law. Prior to founding The Dale Law Group, Dale
spent eight years in the litigation department of a major law firm, where his
practice focused on products liability, personal injury, mass tort litigation,
contract disputes and other general commercial litigation.Marilyn Golden, policy analyst at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
(DREDF), who has been closely involved with the Americans With Disabilities Act
throughout all the stages of its proposal and passage. As an ADA trainer, she has
directed and led numerous in-depth programs on the ADA, which have given thousands
of people comprehensive knowledge on how to make this law a reality. She is the
principal author of the DREDF publication The ADA, an Implementation Guide (the
“Bluebook”).
It looks like a great team, with strong civil rights resumes all around — and resumes that define “civil rights” broadly enough to include issues like disability rights, voting rights, fair employment practices, indigent legal defense, and reproductive rights. This list certainly puts to shame the Bush administration legal hirings, which tapped grads from barely-accredited law schools run by televangelists in an effort to ensure ideological purity over solid practice. So I don’t want to complain about this list. I really, really don’t. Every person listed deserves to be on it; every member of that team will undoubtedly bring important experiences and viewpoints to the table, and the Obama camp has selected a highly talented group of individuals.
But I have to put it out there: Three women in a team of 14?
To quote T. Gunn, I’m concerned about this.
More nominations here.
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I had that exact same moment. I was doing the “boob count”, as it were, while I read the list. 3 of 14. That’s depressing.
The more things change…
What is the ratio m:f that are partners at big law firms, judges, law professors etc? The ratio of the Obama administration should be the same as that, approximately, since that is the pool to draw from (presumably).
Looking here … well it doesn’t seem like Obama is that far off. 17% or so females could be an industry average.
I’m not saying that the average is good.
But at this point the group could be somewhat representative of different high-profile law careers, which is a good thing. Does anyone have some numbers to look at this? It would be interesting.
Nonskanse, in order for your theory to be accurate, you must assume that there is no merit to purposely seeking out members of underrepresented groups to appoint. I don’t. There is always more than one person who can do a job well, and I see great merit in using this fact to create greater diversity in the administration. I hope that Obama does as well.
Let me clarify — I hope that Obama will see the merit going forward with other appointments, since what we know so far indicates that he hasn’t.
I don’t know. I was interviewed by three DOJ Civil Rights attorneys and two U.S. attorneys and all but one of them were female. Three were women of color and all of them were excellent. So there’s pools for attorneys, particularly in civil rights and women’s health and reproductive issues.
Alejandro Mayorkas, I had to cough up a hairball when I saw that name. He was the head U.S. Attorney in my region. Not very impressive but that’s my personal experience.
Some really strong attorneys though on his team. I’m hoping this is good news for the Civil Rights Divison of the DOJ and that there will be much more focus in this area than there has been in the past (cough) eight years.
I’m also frowny over the lack of women, but I am thrilled over the inclusion of people with disabilities through Marilyn Golden. I’m not familiar with her because my work has been primarily in Canada, but knowing that there’s at least a place at the table for PWD makes my webbed toes tingle.
I’m not thrilled with the lack of females or minorities represented, but I do think that we have to remember that Obama is relatively inexperienced and seems to be choosing people who are. Unfortunately, at this point in history, a lot of women and minorities haven’t been given the chance to have such lengthy experience. While that in and of itself is a good argument to give them a chance, the state of our nation is also a good argument to pick someone who’s been around for awhile. I think we need to go a little easy on Obama as he’s navigating some pretty treacherous territory right now.
The people Obama selects are typical. Change was just a word and lie that a lot of people fell for.
I could not be more thrilled to see Marilyn’s name on that list – I worked with her at DREDF for two years, and she is a rockstar (although not technically an attorney, so if she’s in the list of fourteen the count’s off).
And Justice Reynoso! Another amazing person who has done so much good work. I can’t speak to the rest, but these two choices make me very, very happy.
Tom Daschle now on CNN: “Obama is wrong”
watch interview: http://www.ma.my/iny3vn/
very surprised!
I’m guessing this is only the first of the “consensus” type appointments we’ll see in the days ahead. Clearly, in terms of sexual and reproductive health issues, it won’t be quite the battle it has been for the past eight years. But if you were wondering if we could sit back and just enjoy the next four, I think this is a good indication that people who support sexual justice need to continue speaking out.
Rev. Debra Haffner
http://debrahaffner.blogspot.com
Cara,
At lower levels of law and high-profile public careers, the female population is much higher. I think that the number of female associates at law firms, for example, is fairly good. But the number of partners as much less.
I’m not denying the merit of purposely seeking out groups that are underrepresented in the higher levels of law and public service, which would probably help increase the points of view in the administration. However, I’m wondering if the Obama administration members are being chosen to be representitive of the field they’re drawn from, and if that is a bad thing. (one being good does not make the other bad)
It could be a smart move politically for votes to hire appropriate ratios from the available pools instead of appropriate ratios from the population as a whole. Unfortunate, yes.
A poster at OpenLeft mentioned Daschle’s reproductive rights record. She said he started out as anti-choice, but he is now completely pro-choice. I think his pro-choice views are expressed in his book on healthcare.
As far as women in the Obama administration, I find it all so confusing. Of course, there is a gender imbalance on the justice team. But I can’t quite get a handle on exactly how many people, let alone women, have been appointed (as opposed to rumored ) to the administration as a whole. It’s also difficult because every appointment isn’t listed on the Change.gov website. Nevertheless, I sent a message to Change.gov about female appointees.
I see the overly male justice team, but then I read about lots of great women being apponted. I’m new to this place, so forgive me if this has already been answered (or just point me to a link!):
Jill (and others), do you think having every administrative team/department be gender balanced is “better” than having the entire administration be gender balanced? If the administration ends up 50% female (although certain teams, like justice, are overwhelmingly male) is that problematic? I understand why we need more women in justice. And I want to see women handling every aspect of policy, from national security to women’s health. But, is one instance of gender parity inherently more “equal”? If the justice team were 70% female and the arts funding team were 70% male, would that be bad? It’s something I’ve been pondering.
In a great bit of news, Melody Barnes has been tapped to head the Domestic Policy Council. She seems pretty awesome.
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