Attention media! Lerner is a civil servant!

The media are saying that they can not understand why Lois Lerner was not "fired."  I will try to explain to them the difference between their status and hers.

- They are solely the employees of some news organization.  Their employment is subject only to the will of their employer and the terms of their contract.

- Lerner is a civil servant.  Since the good old days of Chester A. Arthur, most federal civilian employees are careerists protected by law from arbitrary firing by political appointees.  Without that protection the manning of the federal government would "turn-over" completely every time the White House was gained by a different party.  That is what happened before Garfield was shot by a disappointed office seeker.  In this system, as in the armed forces, personal status as a member resides in the individual, not in the particular job that he/she holds at a given time.

Lerner has been removed from the particular job that she held.  She can only be removed from the civil service through regulations and laws that apply to her grade in the federal civil service. 

If you are in the media, try to get that staight.  pl

 

 

Comments

[Edward Amame]

The junior US Senator for KY also called for her firing.

[Walrus]

For those who are interested, some idea of the extent of the propaganda campaigns waged in Europe can be gained here:

http://www.e-ir.info/2012/08/16/u-s-propaganda-and-the-cultural-cold-war/

[William R. Cumming]

When I departed from what is now the Office of the Chief Counsel of IRS on July 1, 1974, IRS had only two political appointees. The Commissioner and the Chief Counsel. All others were Civil Servants and 26 were so-called supergrades--GS16-18!

[scott s.]

My understanding is that Lerner is in the SES. I was thinking that SES have stricter performance requirements than your run-of-the-mill GS/GM. That being said my experience (and I also have a family member who lived with us who is an Employee Relations Specialist for agency HQ) is that adverse actions are complex and not to be initiated haphazardly, unless you want to spend your life in the MSPB/EEO appeals process.

[John Minnerath]

One of my Dads last assignments before he retired was as Chief Finance Officer for 5th Army. He had a large number of Civil Service people working in his office.
One was the worst sort of dead wood. Wouldn't do anything and knew less.
When he tried to fire her he found out how impossible it was.
He ended up being investigated and she remained, collecting a huge settlement for "pain and suffering" yadayada.

[Tigershark]

In addition to the media, our (less than) august politicians should get it straight, too.

Too much to ask for, I know.

[William R. Cumming]

Few non=career SES positions in the US government have publically available position descriptions. Often career SES do have them!

[Alba Etie]

This 'scandal" with the IRS could underscore how specious the Citizen's United ruling really was - in that it allows the Koch Brothers, Soros & other gazillionaires cover to attempt to buy our elections. Corporations are not People & Karl Rove was not doing 'social welfare work ' with the laundered money from Adelson's Mau Cau casinos .

[Dr K]

I'm sure there is plenty of "dead wood" in the military.

[Tyler]

When's the line too far for the Left? I'm seriously curious here: When Obama declares himself king?

If that does happen, expect the cultural marxist left to tell us how a republic government is just 'a bunch of dead white guys' and how noble kingship traces its way back to historic roots. Rachel Maddow, the NYT, Slate, and the rest of the left's media mouthpieces will tell us how much more Obama can get done now that he doesn't have to deal with the "congress of No". Morning Joe's crew will speaking glowingly about how much more class having royalty will bring to America.

[Grimgrin]

Yes. Everyone would behave in a way that proves you are exactly right and justified in everything you think about them. That is exactly what would happen if your inane fantasy ever came to pass.

[John Minnerath]

There is and it can be removed. People in the military are not like a tenured professor. Or elected shyster politicians.

[William Fitzgerald]

Pat Lang,

We live in a time when an officer's "enlistment" is up, supposedly accomplished authors and journalists (and editors) don't know the difference between "jerry built" and "jury rigged", and There's such a thing as the 11th Armored Cavalry "Division". Thus, it is probably a bit much to ezpect the media or Senator Paul to be aware of the existence of civil service regulations.

WPFIII

[Tyler]

I understand its hard for autists to 'get' sarcasm and hyperbole, especially on the internet.

[Dr K]

How so?

[turcopolier]

DR K

You must live on some unknown planet. The US military is a highly structured profession in which the rank structure is steeply pyramidal. In other words there are much fewer people in each successively higher grade. Promotion is competitive by national level boards who examine the records of all officers in a given year group to construct an "order of merit" list. The number of available positions are then applied to the list. those above the cut-off point are promoted and those below are "passed over." Two pass overs results in elimination from the service. As a further problem for "white boys" a number of EEO quotas are applied to the draft promotion list. This results in people who were above the promotion line suddenly being below the line. The process is secret and there is no appeal. Does that answer your question? pl

[turcopolier]

DR K

Additionally service on active duty is limited by law to a certain age in each grade and the ages are low. pl

[Twit]

Is that Thomas More? I would suggest that Lerner is perhaps more like King Henry's other ill fated servant, Thomas Cromwell, who simply just outlived his usefulness. But of course neither More nor Cromwell benefited from civil service protections.

Off topic, a new BBC show on T. Cromwell that argues that he laid the foundation of the modern British state. Not sure if I completely agree, but interesting take nonetheless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCdFGvirSTI

[Fred]

If the translation's correct Spielberg said: "The cultural exception is the best way to preserve the diversity of cinema." Thus we get an ever repeating homogenized series of films of ''cultural exception" as a way to preserve cinema. No wonder the studios have to rely more and more on hi-tech flash-bang blockbusters to make money.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/q2mpmbk

Someday the Left will honor a movie made about straight teenagers in love. But at least the French know how to take an appealing photo.

[Dr K]

So "white boys" don't like being passed over. They believe they are entitled. Sounds like tea party sour grapes.

[turcopolier]

Dr K

Maybe if you had served for fifteen or twenty years years and had then been passed over for someone who would not have been promoted on the basis of merit you might be filled with "sour grapes" as well. BTW that did not happen to me. I am very white and made full colonel, was selected for brigade command and was sent to the war college resident course. pl

[Tyler]

Yes yes why should white men who do the heavy lifting be upset when they get passed over for substandard officers in the name of 'diversity'.

Are you inane? Or just out of touch with reality?

[John Minnerath]

Don't know who Dr K is, it sounds like he's carrying a big chip around on his shoulder.
Maybe he couldn't make the cut?

[steve]

@William R. Cumming--

My wife was an attorney at the District Counsel's office in Houston during the 70s and 80s during the Texas go-go years of tax shelters, oil tycoons, and S&L fraud. At that time, the only person in her office on the SES pay scale was the district counsel himself. The long-termers were GS-15s and most attorneys were 12s, 13s, and 14s.

Although far more than in the private sector, I recall however, that the attorneys did not have the same civil service protection as, for example, paralegals, and other support staff. One lawyer I know of there started off as a paralegal and eventually landed an attorney position--though with some minor reservations due to giving up some of the job security.

[Fred]

So qualified people should be passed over if their skin is the wrong color. That is quite racist of you Dr. K.