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Cass Sunstein will speak today at AEI about the Obama administration’s deregulation agenda. NBC’s Chuck Todd tweeted this morning, “Who would have predicted this a year ago?”
Well, actually, FrumForum did, repeatedly and emphatically, back in September 2009. For example:
Sunstein’s willingness to work with those who might not agree with him has led to a remarkable amount of respect from his colleagues: “Cass Sunstein is one of the most respected and most cited legal scholars in the country – a brilliant, creative, and thoughtful man… I’m a moderate conservative… and of all the people [Obama] could appoint for the job, Sunstein is one of the very best,” remarked Eugene Volokh, UCLA Law Professor and founder of the popular law blog, The Volokh Conspiracy.
Deregulators have generally favored the Sunstein nomination. “His views on regulation consist of a hard-headed microeconomic cost-benefit analysis that would be considered very conservative,” explains Peter Van Doren, editor of the Cato Institute’s Regulation magazine, “he would strike non-academics as a very conservative, University of Chicago-type economist.”
Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and founder of the Overlawyered blog agrees: “Cass Sunstein, of all the people who have joined the Obama administration, is the one with the most goodwill amongst Federalist Society-types.”
Which may explain why Sunstein’s nomination has also been endorsed by conservative legal eminences like C. Boyden Gray, Eugene Scalia, and Ken Starr, as well as by the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Ted Olson, the former Bush Solicitor General, spoke highly of Cass Sunstein when reached for comment: “Cass is one of the most brilliant, creative and productive lawyers I have ever known, and a true gentleman. I respect him enormously.”
Further, in an editorial in February, the Wall Street Journal editorial page hailed the choice of Sunstein as a “promising sign” for the new Obama administration.
Cato’s van Doren told [FrumForum]: “Conservatives ought to applaud his appointment. It is the job of OIRA and the OMB to say no to stupid things, [and in this regard] they’re not likely to get a better appointment.
The Manhattan Institute’s Walter Olson seconds this pragmatic assessment. “If he were to have withdrawn his nomination the person who replaced him would be much more liberal,” he added.
One of the conservative experts on regulation who knows Sunstein best is past American Enterprise Institute President Christopher Demuth. In an email … DeMuth wrote in praise of the Sunstein selection: “[Sunstein] has publicly and privately supported the most high-profile conservative judicial nominees in recent years, and it is a shame that his appointment as President Obama’s regulatory chief has been delayed for so long.”
Why is the Right afraid of Sunstein? The first sentence of the quote sums it up perfectly:
“Sunstein’s willingness to work with those who might not agree with him has led to a remarkable amount of respect from his colleagues.”
Graychin, Sunnstein has a lot of very controversial (some would say bizarre) opinions. Very brilliant man (I have been reading him for years at TNR) but I can see how some people might think twice about him.
Yeah Frumplestiltskin, but those are mainly academic pinings. Most of them are taken out of context…
^+1
Come on – does anyone take most GOP opposition to Obama appointees seriously? To the GOP, anyone nominated by Obama already has 2 strikes on them when they walk to the plate, and the only question is whether the first pitch won’t be so ludicrously out of the strikezone that they can’t convince the public that it’s also strike.
In the case of Sunnstein, strike three was only a couple inches off the plate, and so the GOP rung him up.
Crackpots and dirtbags like Beck and Savage need some monster to rail at.
Saladdin, I absolutely agree. Goodwin Liu had far tamer writings though and he got strung up.
As I said I can see people thinking twice about him, but because of his ability should accept him. Sadly the Republican party has lost its mind, as Balcone said they will look for any excuse to say no, and sometimes no excuse at all.
USA: News, Views and Reviews: Sid Harth » My Sister Eileen: Sid Harth // May 26, 2011 at 5:59 pm
[...] the Right Still Afraid of Cass Sunstein?”–headline, FrumForum.com, [...]
News, Views and Reviews: Sid Harth » My Sister Eileen: Sid Harth // May 26, 2011 at 6:31 pm
[...] the Right Still Afraid of Cass Sunstein?”–headline, FrumForum.com, [...]
Ya know, in all honesty, I read what Sunstein wants to do regarding regulations and it makes a hellava lot of sense. I also read a couple of days ago an editorial in which the author, who had worked for Clinton and Obama, stated that he’d like to see the numerous cabinet departments folded down into seven, thereby enabling the reduction of departmental administration & increasing the number of field workers as well as reducing the conflict and confusion in the WH. It all makes sense.
We still have a government that functions under 19th and early 2oth Century structures when we’re living in a fast paced, interactive, interconnected 21st Century. Congress, of course, won’t like or want to change because the various committee chairmanships would necessarily decrease, thus numerous majority members would lose power and by extension donor funding. But from the standpoint of efficiency and effectiveness, cleaning up the reg system and government reporting makes too much sense in a highly competitive global environment.
I had no disagreement with the appointment of Mr. Sunstein mainly because of his work with Sen. McConnel on campaign finance legislation/litigation. My memory is fuzzy, but I think he helped put together a con law book with major excerpts from major Supreme Court cases. Very helpful in sorting out some of the issues that surround con law. The Obama administration could have done far worse when nominating him.
Headlines | The Daily Slog // May 27, 2011 at 5:49 am
[...] the Right Still Afraid of Cass Sunstein?”–headline, FrumForum.com, [...]