A NATIONWIDE PUBLIC INTEREST RELIGIOUS CIVIL LIBERTIES LAW FIRM 1055 Maitland Center Cmns. 1015 Fifteenth St. N.W. 100 Mountain View Road Second Floor Suite 1100 Suite 2775 Maitland, Florida 32751 Washington, DC 20005 Lynchburg, Virginia 24502 Tel: 800•671•1776 Tel: 202•289•1776 Tel: 434•592•7000 Fax: 407•875•0770 Fax: 202•216•9656 Fax: 434•592•7700 www.LC.org [email protected] Mathew D. Staver Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel Dean and Professor of Law, Liberty University School of Law1 OBAMA’S APPOINTEES AND NOMINEES • Rahm Emanuel 2 o Appointed: Chief of Staff – January, 2009. o Illustrating Emanuel's penchant for exploiting unfortunate situations for political gain, he remarked, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.”3 o Emanuel served on the board of scandal-plagued quasi-governmental mortgage giant Freddie Mac. While on the board, the SEC charged that organization with 4 accounting fraud. 5 Rated 100% by NARAL, indicating a pro-choice voting record. (Dec 2003) o 6 Voted yes on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005) o 7 Voted no on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005) o 8 Voted no on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004) o 9 o Rated 100% by the HRC, indicating a pro-gay-rights stance. (Dec 2006) o Voted no on constitutionally defining marriage as one-man-one-woman. (Jul 2006)10 1 This document is intended to inform the public about the appointees and nominees of President Barack Obama. The pattern of appointments and nominations reveals a President who relentlessly pursues a very radical ideological agenda where ideology plays the most significant roll in his decisions rather than experience or expertise. For their work on this document, I would like to acknowledge Mandi D. Campbell, J.D. (Liberty University School of Law), Legal Director of the Liberty Center for Law and Policy; Kristin Kilgore, J.D. (Liberty University School of Law), Richard Mast, 3L, Liberty University School of Law, and Edwin Kiesel, 2L, Liberty University School of Law. 2 Whitehouse.gov, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, THE WHITE HOUSE, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/staff/rahm-emanuel (last accessed January 16, 2010). 3 Jason Lewis, COLUMN: Dealing with Massachusetts’s fiscal crisis, WICKED LOCAL WINCHESTER, May 18, 2009, available at http://www.wickedlocal.com/stoneham/homepage/x2023747103/Lewis-Dealing-with- the-fiscal-crisis-in-MA 4 Eugene C. Buie, We Must Handle This Crisis, THE DAILY NEWS RECORD, May 11, 2009, available at http://www.dnronline.com/details.php?AID=37707&CHID=32 5Ontheissues.org, Rahm Emanuel on the Issues, ON THE ISSUES, available at http://www.ontheissues.org. 6 Id. 7 Id. 8 Id. 9 Id. 1 11 o Voted no on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004) Rated 94% by the NAACP, indicating a pro-affirmative-action stance. (Dec o 12 2006) 13 o Rated 8% by the Christian Coalition: an anti-family voting record. (Dec 2003) Upon being angered by poll numbers that a pollster sent him, Rahm Emanuel o 14 mailed a dead fish to the pollster. • David Axelrod Appointed: Senior Advisor to the President of the United States – January, o 15 2009. 16 Was Obama’s chief strategist in the 2008 Presidential Election. o 17 Strategy is to market personality instead of issues or policies. o 18 Consistently worked on campaigns of far left liberals. o 19 o Was asked by Obama to read the drafts of his book, “The Audacity of Hope”. o Consulted for several successful campaigns such as: . Eliot Spitzer in New York's gubernatorial election.20 . Deval Patrick in Massachusetts's gubernatorial election.21 o Operates ASK Public Strategies, “which discreetly plots strategy and advertising campaigns for corporate clients to tilt public opinion their way.”22 • Valerie Jarrett Appointed: Senior Advisor and Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs and o 23 Public Engagement – May, 2009. 24 o No Washington experience. 10 Id. 11 Id. 12 Id. 13 Id. 14 CNN.com, Obama Picks Chief of Staff; Palin Pushes Back, CNN, Nov. 6, 2008, available at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0811/06/ec.01.html 15 Whorunsgov.com, David Axelrod, WHO RUNS GOVERNMENT, January 13, 2010, available at http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/David_Axelrod 16 Kenneth T. Walsh, Obama Strategist: Final Weeks Will Be Negative as McCain Slips in Polls, US NEWS, Oct. 9, 2008, available at http://www.usnews.com/news/campaign-2008/articles/2008/10/09/obama- strategist-final-weeks-will-be-negative-as-mccain-slips-in-polls.html 17 Traditionalvalues.org, Who Is David Axelrod – Obama’s Political Advisor?, THE TRADITIONAL VALUES COALITION, March 5, 2008, available at http://www.traditionalvalues.org/read/3275/who-is-david- axelrod--obamas-political-advisor/ 18 Id. 19 Janny Scott, The Long Run; The Story of Obama, Written by Obama, THE NEW YORK TIMES, May 18, 2008, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/us/politics/18memoirs.html?_r=1 20Jewishvirtuallibrary.org, David Axelrod, JEWISH VIRTUAL LIBRARY, available at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/David_Axelrod.html (last accessed January 16, 2010). 21 Id. 22 Howard Wolinsky, The Secret Side of David Axelrod, BUSINESSWEEK, Nov. 23, 2008, available at http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/mar2008/db20080314_121054.htm 23 WH Release: Office of Public Liaison is now Office of Public Engagement, FOX NEWS, May 11, 2009, available at http://whitehouse.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/05/11/wh-release-office-of-public-liason-is-now-office-of- public-engagement/ 24 Jodi Kantor, The New Team - Valerie Jarrett, THE NEW YORK TIMES, Nov. 5, 2008, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06jarrett.html 2 o Most likely the person closest to Obama who has benefited the most from the sub- prime mortgage crises. o She is the CEO of the Habitat Company, which has been accused of mismanaging some of Chicago’s public housing projects, allowing them to deteriorate even more than they had under government supervision.25 o White House ethics prohibits appointees from dealing with matters “substantially related” to previous employers or clients—Jarrett received special ethics waiver that would allow her to work for the 2016 Chicago Olympics even though she had worked for them before.26 Upon releasing CIA memos detailing harsh interrogation methods, “Jarrett said o 27 the president would not prosecute officials who were just following orders.” 28 o Possible long shot chance for Supreme Court nominee. • David Ogden 29 o Appointed: Deputy Attorney General. o Supports: abortion on demand, child pornography, and the homosexual agenda, including homosexuals serving openly in the military.30 o In one of his legal briefs for the abortion industry, Ogden wrongly claimed that women who have abortions experience no significant mental health effects from it. Planned Parenthood v. Casey: . Abortion rarely causes or exacerbates psychological or emotional problems. When women do experience regret, depression, or guilt, such feelings are mild and diminish rapidly without adversely affecting general functioning. The few women who do experience negative psychological responses after abortion appear to be those with preexisting emotional problems ....31 . In sum, it is grossly misleading to tell a woman that abortion imposes possible detrimental psychological effects when the risks are negligible in most cases, when the evidence shows that she is more likely to experience feelings of relief and happiness, and when child-birth and child-rearing or adoption may pose concomitant (if not greater) risks or adverse 32 psychological effects .... 25 M.J. Stephey & Claire Suddath, Valerie Jarrett, TIME, Nov. 11, 2008, available at http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1858012,00.html 26 Steven Rhodes, Jarrett Gets Olympic Ethics Waive, CHICAGO NEWS, May 12, 2009, available at icago.com/news/local-beat/Waiving-Olympic-Ethics.html 27 Brent Lang, Jarrett Discusses Automakers, Torture, And Michelle, CBS NEWS, April 29, 2009, available at http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/politics/politicalhotsheet/main503544.shtml?contributor=45434&start=10 28 Stuart Taylor Jr., 12 Points To Consider In Replacing Souter, NATIONAL JOURNAL, May 1, 2009, available at http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/no_20090501_6870.php 29 Steven Groves, Deputy Attorney General Nominee David Ogden: Questions on Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION, February 2, 2009, available at http://www.heritage.org/research/legalissues/wm2258.cfm 30 Research Brief on David W. Ogden, Nominee for Deputy Attorney General, FIDELIS, February 3, 2009, available at http://www.scribd.com/full/11607068?access_key=key-18yr2u50t8o0sz54rbrl 31 Kathryn Jean Lopez, Elections Matter — And So Do Confirmation Hearings, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE, Jan. 30, 2009, available at http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDVhMThjYWRiMmQzMDlkNTI2YTQ5YmUzNWM2OGViOWQ= 32 Id. 3 o 1982-1983: Served as Law Clerk to Associate Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun – the Justice who claimed to have discovered the “right” to abortion in the Constitution. Blackmun wrote the Roe v. Wade decision that has resulted in the killing of millions of unborn babies since 1973.33 o Opposes parental notification laws on abortion, stating, “‘there is no qualitative or quantitative difference” between 14-year-olds and adults with regard to the “ability to think of options and consequences” in “treatment-related 34 decisions.’” Argued that women should receive federal funding to abort their kids. Rust v. o 35 Sullivan 36 o Supported physician-assisted suicide. Gonzalez v. Oregon o Filed briefs against the Children’s Internet Protection Act and the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act (both designed to protect children from internet pornography).37 o Represented Playboy, Penthouse, and librarians who wanted unrestricted access to pornography on library computers. United States v. American Library Association.38 Defended the right of Stephen A.