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Backgrounders

March 9, 2021 By Ann Clare Levy

Wendy Sherman – Deputy Secretary of State

POSITION: Deputy Secretary of State
Nominee: Wendy Ruth Sherman
Born: June 7, 1949, Baltimore, Md
Family: Spouse, Bruce Stokes. One child
Occupation: (2011-2015) Undersecretary of State for Public Affairs where she was “instrumental” in the questionable negotiations related to North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs (August 1997 to 2001) Counselor of the Department of State (April 1996 to July 1997) President and CEO of the scandal-ridden Fannie Mae Foundation; (1993 to 1996) Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs; (1991 to 1993) partner in the political and media consulting firm of Doak, Shrum, Harris and Sherman; (1988-1991) Director of EMILY’s List, the largest political action committee for pro-abortion Democratic women candidates.

She has been a Vice Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, Albright’s international strategic consulting firm, since the group’s formation in 2009. She advised Hillary Clinton during the 2008 presidential campaign, and she has served with Thomas Donilon as an agency review lead for the State Department in the Obama presidential transition. She also sits on the Atlantic Council’s Board of Directors.

On the issues: 

On Abortion: 

From Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla):

Sherman served as one of the first directors of EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest pro-abortion political action committee. Her time in leadership saw the organization grow significantly and expand abortion advocacy in national politics. . . Sherman’s abortion advocacy has extended well beyond our own borders. While serving in the Clinton administration’s State Department, she helped to advance efforts to advocate abortion access around the world. . . . Referring to a United Nations program on women, she wrote, “Our intent… was to support reproductive choice. As a matter of principle, we believe that abortion should be safe, legal and rare. We believe that women should be provided the means to prevent unwanted pregnancies.”

Her work in leftwing politics continued into the Obama administration. Afterward, Sherman beat the pro-abortion drum as a senior advisor for an international consulting company run by Democrats.

In a USA Today op-ed about the 2017 Women’s March – published a day before President Trump even took office – she made clear that there was no negotiating when it came to issues such as “reproductive rights,” warning, “[W]e are here; we will not relent; we will not give up.”

 

On Promoting Abortion as Foreign Policy:

Under President Obama, a State Department ‘action cable’ from Wendy Sherman to all overseas posts urged top officials to push the U.S. position. “The priority issues for the U.S. include assuring family planning and reproductive health services, improving the status of women, resource mobilization and access to safe abortion.”

In November 2020, publicly supported overturning Poland’s pro-life laws.

 

Scandal connections:

After her tenure at Fannie Mae, Senior executives at Fannie Mae manipulated accounting to collect millions of dollars in undeserved bonuses and to deceive investors, a federal report charged. The government-sponsored mortgage company was fined $400 million.  Because of regulations the report only went back three years so it is unknown how long the practice was occurring.

Wendy Sherman is considered “instrumental” in the Iran Nuclear deal under President Barack Obama which was criticized by both the left and the right.  An op-ed in The Atlantic called it “less an arms-control agreement than cover for American inaction” which gae a clear path for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.

Filed Under: Backgrounders

February 22, 2021 By Ann Clare Levy

Kristen Clarke – U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights

POSITION: United States Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
NOMINEE:   Kristen Clarke
Occupation: (2000-2006) trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division; (2006-2011) NAACP Legal Defense Fund; (2011-2015) Director of the Civil Rights bureau of then-Attorney General of New York, Eric Schneiderman; (2015-Present) president and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Education: B.A. Harvard University (1997), J.D. Columbia Law School (2000)

 

On Roe v. Wade

On February 12, 2020 Kristen Clarke testified in favor of the radical Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA).  The legislation would codify Roe v. Wade and seeks to eliminate all S. 1696 would wipe out 20-week laws.(laws designed to advance women’s health and protect unborn children from pain), protect the practice of discrimination abortions based on sex and disability, make it harder if not practically impossible for states to stop off-label uses of abortion drugs, make it harder if not practically impossible for states to stop the practice of telemedicine abortions and require that a physician be physically present, wipe out state ultrasound information requirements and waiting periods and could trump state and federal conscience laws that protect pro-life doctors and hospitals.

 

On Abortion-Giant Planned Parenthood/Taxpayer Funding of Abortion and State’s Rights

Kristen Clarke signed onto an amicus brief demanding federal taxpayer funding for the billion dollar abortion-giant Planned Parenthood, citing that such bans on taxpayer funding for abortion and abortionists are racist for it makes it difficult for women of color to get abortions.  On page 30, the amicus says that birth is dangerous for black women and abortion is safer (emphasis added.)

Black women, for example, are more likely to lack adequate access to contraceptives and other reproductive services compared to women of other races with similar incomes. Black women also suffer from dramatically worse outcomes in maternal health—a grim reality that holds true for Black women across the income and educational spectrum. While abortion is very safe in America, pregnancy and childbirth pose severe risks, particularly for Black women.

 

On Questionable Connections

At the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Kristen Clarke worked with the questionable Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) – who were named as inspiration for the 2012 shooting at Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., which led to the first conviction under Washington, D.C.’s 2002 Anti-Terrorism Act.  After being named by Joe Biden the SPLC tweeted (and Kristen Clarke retweeted):

We also welcome the nomination of our talented friend & ally @KristenClarkeJD @LawyersComm to be Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. Under your leadership we can restore #VotingRights protections and effectively confront hate & #WhiteSupremacy.

Filed Under: Backgrounders

February 22, 2021 By Ann Clare Levy

Susan Rise – Director of White House Office of Domestic Policy

POSITION: Director of White House Office of Domestic Policy  
NOMINEE:  Susan Rice
Born: November 17, 1964, Washington, D.C.
Family: Ian Cameron, Spouse.  Two children
Occupation: American diplomat, policy advisor, and former public official who served as the 27th United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013 and as the 24th United States national security advisor from 2013 to 2017.
Education: D.Phil. (1990), M.Phil. (1988), Oxford University; B.A., Stanford University, 1986

 

On Roe v. Wade

Susan Rice opposed the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and contemplated a run against Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) over fears Justice Kavanaugh would overturn Roe v. Wade

 

On Promoting Abortion

After being nominated for Ambassador to the United Nations by President Barack Obama the abortion-giant Planned Parenthood praised Ambassador Rice as someone who will actively promote abortion “around the world.”

 

On Forcing Countries to Accept Abortion

Susan Rice joined abortion allies in condemning a “U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights” for fear it would affect the role of abortion as a “human right.” As U.N. Ambassador, Susan Rice tweeted she saw abortion as a “human right” that deserves U.S. Government protections

 

On Genocide

“At an interagency teleconference in late April, Susan Rice, a rising star on the NSC who worked under Richard Clarke, stunned a few of the officials present when she asked, ‘If we use the word ‘genocide’ and are seen as doing nothing, what will be the effect on the November [congressional] election?’ Lieutenant Colonel Tony Marley remembers the incredulity of his colleagues at the State Department. ‘We could believe that people would wonder that,’ he says, ‘but not that they would actually voice it.’ Rice does not recall the incident but concedes, ‘If I said it, it was completely inappropriate, as well as irrelevant.’” Power, Samantha. “Bystanders to Genocide.” The Atlantic September 2001. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200109/power-genocide

 

On the First Amendment

Susan Rice wrote an op-ed in support of the liberal view of “campaign finance reform” as exemplified in the “For the People Act of 2019.”  In its attempts to “level the field” the legislation in fact would make it nearly impossible for the pro-life grassroots to interact with Congress, requiring onerous reporting if you wish to contact your elected official through a pro-life group.  In addition the legislation would force exposure of donors to targeting of violence.  The bill also includes the public funding of elections, forcing citizens to fund the campaigns of candidates with whom they disagree.

 

On Using Government Resources Targeting Political Campaigns

A three-year-old interview clip of former National Security Adviser Susan Rice resurfaced Tuesday after the declassified email she sent to herself on the final day of the Obama administration was released. It suggests Rice has lied about her knowledge about the Obama administration’s surveillance of President Trump’s transition team.

The clip comes from an April 2017 appearance on “PBS NewsHour.” Rice was asked about the then-breaking revelations about members of President Trump’s transition team having been surveilled before he took office.

In 2016 Susan Rice was implicated in publicly exposing Trump intelligence officials, an abuse of her authority.  She then lied when she was asked in a 2017 PBS interview whether she knew that Flynn and others “may have been caught up in surveillance of foreign individuals and their identities may have been disclosed.” Rice responded, “I know nothing about this.”

 

Other Controversies

Susan Rice came under fire for giving false or misleading statements to the press immediately after the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi which led to the death of the U.S. Ambassador.

Filed Under: Backgrounders

February 22, 2021 By Ann Clare Levy

Andrea Palm – HHS Deputy Secretary of Health

POSITION: HHS Deputy Secretary of Health
NOMINEE: Andrea Palm
BIRTHDATE: 1973
EDUCATION: Cornell University (BS), Washington University (MSW)
FAMILY: Spouse: Dan Utech
EXPERIENCE: (January 2019 – Present) Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers nominated Andrea Palm to serve as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Her nomination stalled in the Wisconsin Legislature, with members citing Palms decision to name a former abortion-giant Planned Parenthood lobbyist as her deputy; (2009 – 2016) appointed deputy assistant United States Secretary of Health and Human Services for Legislation by President Barack Obama. Since the role of Assistant Secretary for Legislation was vacant, she served as Acting Assistant Secretary during that time. Palm then served as a policy advisor to the United States Domestic Policy Council at the White House. She rejoined the Department of Health and Human Services to serve as an advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health and Chief of Staff of the HHS. Health policy advisor to then-U.S. Senator, Hillary Clinton. Legislative assistant for California Congressman Bob Matsui.

 

Health background

Andrea Palm has no health care education or experience prior to joining HHS and had no connections to Wisconsin prior to being named Secretary of Health there.  This lack of health care experience is on par with the HHS Secretary nominee Xavier Becerra

 

On Abortion-Giant Planned Parenthood

In 2019, Andrea Palm named a former lobbyist, Nicole Safar, for abortion-giant Planned Parenthood to be her assistant deputy secretary.  The billion-dollar Planned Parenthood’s agenda in Wisconsin includes repealing Wisconsin laws requiring that only doctors, not qualified advanced practice nurses, perform abortions; women seeking medicine that causes abortions see the same doctor on two separate visits; and doctors be physically present when dispensing abortion-causing drugs.

Nicole Safar, an attorney, supervised Planned Parenthood’s legal team and oversaw two successful lawsuits challenging state laws limiting access to abortions, according to her online biography on the Department of Health Services website.

 

On Abortion as an “Essential Service”

31 Wisconsin Republican state lawmakers sent a letter to Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Andrea Palm demanding her immediate action to “ensure a halt to the operation of abortion facilities in Wisconsin for the duration of the declared public health emergency.” The letter states that “abortion clinics are continuing to operate in Wisconsin, needlessly exposing people to the potential to contract COVID-19 and using precious medical resources that are needed elsewhere to save Wisconsinites. It is deeply disturbing to find out that many lower risk businesses have been shuttered while you have given Wisconsin’s abortion clinics special dispensation to remain in operation.”

Andrea Palm refused to comply.

 

On COVID Response (With thanks to the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy)

On Overreaching Her Authority

Before Governor Evers’ Safer at Home order expired it was discovered that Governor Evers did not have the authority to issue the order for more than 60 days without the legislature’s approval. Andrea Palm falsely claimed that she did. She issued Emergency Order #31 to close the state indefinitely. The legislature sued her and won.

She had planned to keep the state closed until a vaccine was discovered until the state Supreme Court stepped in.

 

And Conscience Rights

In 2020 Andrea Palm was sued for continuing to close and restrict religious gatherings

 

Spreading Fear

Early in the pandemic, Andrea Palm predicted a 4,800 percent increase in deaths over a two-week period unless she and the governor’s stay-at-home order is followed.  This prediction imploded.

Throughout the crisis, Andrea Palm has caused confusion and seemed to not understand the data on the pandemic.  At one point, she claimed she never told lawmakers the lockdowns would last six months, but then immediately said that the lockdowns would probably last six months.

In October 2020 Andrea Palm claimed the hospitals were overwhelmed however after being confronted with an empty overflow center she backtracked her remarks.

 

On Elections during COVID

Andrea Palm advised the governor to delay the Spring Election, which the state Supreme Court blocked.

 

On Vaccine Distribution

In January 2021, the CDC reported Wisconsin ranked 40th in the nation in its vaccine rollout. Half of the doses provided to Wisconsin had not yet been administered, and DHS still hadn’t completed its priority lists for who could be vaccinated and when

 

On Management Style

Under her leadership, three top DHS officials quit during the public health emergency.

Filed Under: Backgrounders

February 22, 2021 By Ann Clare Levy

Rachel Levine – U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health

POSTION: U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health
NOMINEE: Rachel Levine (born Richard Levine)
BIRTHDATE: Born 1957
EDUCATION: Harvard University (BS), Tulane University (MD)
FAMILY: Two children from a previous marriage
EXPERIENCE: Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Health

On Late Term Abortions

Dr. Levine opposed legislation in Pennsylvania that included a 20-week limit and a ban on dismemberment abortions.  Their statement against the bill misleads on what the bill actually does and spoke in favor of the abortion procedures as “appropriate medical care.”  The bill was eventually passed however it was vetoed by Governor Tom Wolf (D).

 

On Abortion-Giant Planned Parenthood

As Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Levine designated abortion facilities such as abortion-giant Planned Parenthood as “essential” services – while declaring other elected surgical procedures were not.   Dr. Levine also recommended that all school sports be banned — a proposal that was not followed by the state’s athletic association. There were no adverse consequences of kids playing sports — which likely saved lives, as states that banned sports have had multiple press reports of student-athlete suicides.

Following Dr. Levine’s nomination the main source of abortions in the United States praised the nomination as they look forward to working together.

 

On COVID Response

Pennsylvania State Senator Judy Ward, chair of the Senate Committee on Aging and Youth, released a statement listing the failures of Dr. Levine’s tenure as Secretary of Health, including her COVID response.

 

On Nursing Home Deaths

According to the New York Times, six of the 10 nursing homes with the most COVID-19 deaths in the nation were in Pennsylvania – a direct result of Secretary Levine’s policy to order nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients. Representatives of the nursing home industry have sued the Commonwealth, saying that the state under this administration illegally withheld $150 million in federal funding, diverting the money into other human services programs.

Secretary Levine moved their own mother out of a nursing home during COVID’s rise, while continuing to uphold a policy that placed COVID positive seniors back into nursing homes. More on that here.

 

On Vaccine Distribution

Under Secretary Levine, Pennsylvania ranks as one of the lowest states in the northeast in terms of percentage of population to receive the first vaccine doses. According to Fortune magazine, about 2.7 out of every 100 Pennsylvania residents have been vaccinated, putting the Commonwealth behind more than 30 other states. The leading state, West Virginia, has vaccinated about 5.8 of every 100 residents.

 

On Avoiding COVID

Secretary Levine’s recommendations included advise on what to do in “large gatherings” involving sex – including relying instead on pornography.

 

On Opioid and Drug Crisis

From Sen. Judy Ward’s press release, on the rise of drug overdose deaths under Secretary Levine: “The state counted 2,352 overdose deaths through June 30, an increase of 11.7% from 2,105 in the same period a year earlier.”

 

 

Filed Under: Backgrounders

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