Thread: JANET NAPOLITANO UNDER PRESSURE TO RESIGN

Updated January 01, 2010
Democrats Join Calls for Napolitano to Step Down Following Failed Attack

FOXNews.com

Democrats have joined the ranks of those calling for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to step down following the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight a week ago.



Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano
Some Democrats have joined in calling for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to step down following the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight a week ago.

Though the CIA and an agency under the Director of National Intelligence have been under particular scrutiny in the preliminary review of possible missteps, Napolitano so far has taken the most heat from lawmakers. Not only does her department oversee the Transportation Security Administration, but her initial claim Sunday that "the system worked" was widely ridiculed and interpreted by critics as a sign that she's in over her head.

Some Republicans, who've taken issue with her in the past for calling terrorist acts "man-caused disasters" and other remarks, started calling for her ouster in the spring. The failed bombing on Christmas Day revived those calls.

Now Democrats have joined the chorus.

New Jersey State Senate President Richard Codey, a Democrat, wrote a letter to Napolitano this week calling on her to step down. He said Napolitano, an attorney and former Arizona governor, does not have the experience for the post she is in.

"We should have someone who doesn't need to go in there and learn about terrorism, learn about security," Codey told Fox News. "How close were these 300 people on this plane from losing their lives because homeland security broke down? Boy, it was really close."

The Department of Homeland Security was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and has grown into one of the largest Cabinet departments in the federal government. Charged with keeping the nation safe from terrorist attacks and responding to natural disasters, it covers the TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a slew of other agencies.

Codey said a candidate "well-versed" in intelligence should step into the job.

Democratic strategist Dan Gerstein also said Napolitano's response to the incident should be the last straw.

"I tend to think she will be pushed out in the next couple of months," Gerstein, a former adviser to Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said.

For now, the administration says it has absolute confidence in Napolitano. She is an active part of the internal review and on Thursday took additional steps to improve security at international airports.

She announced that she's sending senior officials abroad to meet with leaders from international airports to review security measures. Napolitano said she is "fully committed to making whatever changes are necessary to protect the safety of the traveling public."

Napolitano on Monday also clarified that she didn't believe "the system worked" in the run-up to the attempted bombing, which failed because the explosive mixture used did not properly detonate. Napolitano said she was merely referring to the inter-agency cooperation in the aftermath of the attempt.

To Republicans who have lambasted the administration in recent days over its response, the White House accuses critics of playing political games.

"Unfortunately too many are engaged in the typical Washington game of pointing fingers and making political hay, instead of working together to find solutions to make our country safer," Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer wrote on the White House blog.

Republicans, though, have not held back.

Republican Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., said Napolitano does not have the experience for the job, and her remarks only prove that she doesn't take the terrorist threat as seriously as she should.

"She's not doing her job," Burton told Fox News.

Former New York Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato also said Napolitano should resign.

But other Democrats are urging lawmakers not to jump to conclusions when the internal review is only now getting underway.

Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., said that if it turns out the secretary dropped the ball then members of Congress will ask for her resignation.

"I'm not at that point yet," he said.

Is it true she has no law enforcement background, yet she's Nobama's head of Homeland Security?

Janet Napolitano
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Janet Napolitano



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3rd United States Secretary of Homeland Security
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 21, 2009
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Michael Chertoff

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21st Governor of Arizona
In office
January 6, 2003 – January 21, 2009
Preceded by Jane Dee Hull
Succeeded by Jan Brewer

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23rd Arizona Attorney General
In office
1999 – 2002
Governor Jane Dee Hull
Preceded by Grant Woods
Succeeded by Terry Goddard

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US Attorney for the District of Arizona
In office
1993 – 1998
President Bill Clinton

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Born November 29, 1957 (1957-11-29) (age 52)
New York City, New York
Political party Democratic
Alma mater University of Virginia School of Law (JD)
Santa Clara University (BA)
Occupation Attorney
Religion Methodist

Janet Napolitano (born November 29, 1957) is the third United States Secretary of Homeland Security. She assumed the job on January 21, 2009, and is the first woman to serve in that office. An American politician from the Democratic Party, Napolitano was serving as governor of the state of Arizona when designated by then-President-elect Barack Obama to be his Secretary of Homeland Security. She was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in one day after Obama's inauguration. Prior to the governorship, she served as Arizona Attorney General from 1999 to 2002.

Napolitano was first elected governor in 2002, and was re-elected in 2006. She was Arizona's third female governor, and the first woman to win re-election. Napolitano was succeeded by Arizona's Secretary of State, Jan Brewer, who became Arizona's fourth female governor and third consecutive female governor.

Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Political career
2.1 Governor
2.2 Secretary of Homeland Security
2.2.1 Right-wing extremism memo controversy
2.2.2 "The system worked" Controversy
3 Personal life
4 Electoral history
5 See also
6 References
7 External links


Early life
Janet Napolitano was born on November 29, 1957 in New York City, the daughter of Jane Marie (née Winer) and Leonard Michael Napolitano, who was the Dean of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.[1] She is of Italian heritage[2] and is a Methodist.[3] She was the oldest of three children; she has a younger brother (Leonard Jr.) and a sister (Nancy). She was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she graduated from Sandia High School in Albuquerque in 1975 and was voted Most Likely to Succeed. She graduated from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, where she won a Truman Scholarship, and was valedictorian. She then received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school she served as a law clerk for Judge Mary M. Schroeder of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and then joined Schroeder's former firm, the Phoenix law firm Lewis and Roca.[4]

Political career
In 1991, while a partner with the private Phoenix law firm Lewis and Roca LLP, Napolitano served as an attorney for Anita Hill.[4][5] Anita Hill testified in the U.S. Senate that then U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her ten years earlier when she was his subordinate at the federal EEOC.[6]

In 1993, Napolitano was appointed by President Bill Clinton as United States Attorney for the District of Arizona.[4] As U.S. Attorney, she was involved in the investigation of Michael Fortier of Kingman, Arizona, in connection to the Oklahoma City bombing. She ran for and won the position of Arizona Attorney General in 1998. Her tenure focused on consumer protection issues and improving general law enforcement.

While still serving as attorney general, she spoke at the 2000 Democratic National Convention just three weeks after having a mastectomy. Napolitano recalls that the pain was so unbearable that she couldn't stand up. "Work and family helped me focus on other things while I battled the cancer," says Napolitano. "I am very grateful for all the support I had from family, friends and Arizonans." [7]

Governor
She narrowly won the Arizona gubernatorial election of 2002 with 46 percent of the vote, succeeding Republican Jane Dee Hull and defeating her Republican opponent, former congressman Matt Salmon, who received 45 percent of the vote. She was Arizona's third female governor and the first woman in the United States to be elected governor to succeed another elected female governor.[8] She spoke at the 2004 Democratic Convention[9] after some initially considered her to be a possible running mate for presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election but Kerry selected Sen. John Edwards instead. In November 2005, Time magazine named her one of the five best governors in the U.S.[10]


Napolitano speaks during the second day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.As Governor, Napolitano set records for total number of vetoes issued. In 2005, she set a single session record of 58 vetoes, breaking Jane Dee Hull's 2001 record of 28.[11][12] This was followed in June 2006, less than four years into her term, when she issued her 115th veto and set the all-time record for vetoes by an Arizona governor. The previous record of 114 vetoes was set by Bruce Babbitt during his nine years in office.[12][13] By the time she left office, the governor had issued 180 vetoes.[14]

In November 2006, Napolitano won the gubernatorial election of 2006, defeating the Republican challenger, Len Munsil, by a nearly 2–1 ratio and becoming the first woman to be re-elected to that office. Arizona's constitution provides a two-consecutive-term term limit for its governors[15], meaning Napolitano would have been barred from seeking a third term in office in 2010.

In January 2006, she won the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. She was a member of the Democratic Governors Association Executive Committee. Furthermore, she has also served previously as Chair of the Western Governors Association, and the National Governors Association. She served as NGA Chair from 2006 to 2007,[16] and was the first female governor and first governor of Arizona ever to serve in that position.

Secretary of Homeland Security
In February 2006, Napolitano was named by The White House Project as one of "8 in '08", a group of eight female politicians who could possibly run for president in 2008.[17] On January 11, 2008, Napolitano endorsed then Illinois Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee for president.[18] On November 5, 2008, Napolitano was named to the advisory board of the Obama-Biden Transition Project.[19] On December 1, 2008, Barack Obama introduced Napolitano as his nominee for United States Secretary of Homeland Security.[20][21] On January 20, 2009, Napolitano was confirmed, becoming the first woman appointed Secretary in the relatively new department. Secretary of State Jan Brewer became the governor of Arizona, as the state does not have a lieutenant governor.


Napolitano announcing a border security task force.In March 2009, Napolitano told the German news site "Spiegel Online" that while she presumes there is always a threat from terrorism: "I referred to 'man-caused' disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur."[22] In April 2009 Napolitano, trying to defend her plans to thicken US-Canadian border security, claimed incorrectly that September 11 attack perpetrators entered the United States from Canada. Her comments provoked an angry response from the Canadian ambassador, media, and public.[23]

In response to criticism, she later said, "Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it's been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there."[24]

Right-wing extremism memo controversy
Napolitano was the subject of controversy after a Department of Homeland Security threat assessment report initiated during the administration of George W. Bush, entitled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,"[25] was made public in April 2009. The report suggested several factors, including the election of the first black or mixed race President in the person of Barack Obama, perceived future gun control measures, illegal immigration, the economic downturn beginning in 2008, and disgruntled military veterans' possible vulnerability to recruitment efforts by extremist groups as potential risk factors regarding rightwing extremism recruitment.[26]

On April 16, 2009, the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative Christian public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed suit against DHS on behalf of radio talk show host and political commentator Michael Savage, executive director of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform Gregg Cunningham, and Iraqi War Marine veteran Kevin Murray.[27][28] Savage stated that the document "encourages law enforcement officers throughout the nation to target and report citizens to federal officials as suspicious rightwing extremists and potential terrorists because of their political beliefs."[29]

Napolitano made multiple apologies for any offense veterans groups had taken at the reference to veterans in the assessment, and promised to meet with those groups to discuss the issue.[25] The Department of Homeland Security admitted a "breakdown in an internal process" by ignoring objections by the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to an unnamed portion of the document.[30]

While the American Legion reportedly criticized the assessment, Glen M. Gardner Jr., the national commander of the 2.2 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars, defended it generally, saying it "should have been worded differently" but served a vital purpose. "A government that does not assess internal and external security threats would be negligent of a critical public responsibility," he said in a statement.[31]

"The system worked" Controversy
Sec. Napolitano received a great deal of criticism in the media and blogosphere [32] for stating in an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley that, "the system worked" with regard to an attempted terrorist attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 approaching Detroit, Michigan on Christmas Day 2009. She later went on NBC's Today Show with host Matt Lauer and appeared to change her view to reflect that the security system had indeed failed. Politicians such as Michigan gubernatorial candidate Pete Hoekstra and former Presidential candidate Senator John McCain have called for Napolitano to resign.[33][34] By 30 Dec, Obama made admissions that systemic problems had allowed explosive chemicals to be smuggled onto the airline and stated that quick action would be required to protect citizens from such acts.

Personal life
Napolitano is an avid basketball fan and regularly plays tennis.[35] Whitewater rafting and hiking are some of Napolitano's hobbies. She has hiked in Arizona's Superstition mountains and New Mexico's Sandia mountains and has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and the Himalayas. [36] Napolitano survived breast cancer that was discovered in 1998.

Electoral history
Arizona Gubernatorial Election 2002
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Janet Napolitano 499,284 46.2 +0.9
Republican Matt Salmon 478,935 45.3
Independent Richard Mahoney 84,947 6.9
Libertarian Barry Hess 20,356 1.7
Democratic gain from Republican Swing
Arizona Gubernatorial Election 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Janet Napolitano (Incumbent) 959,830 62.6 +16.4
Republican Len Munsil 543,528 35.4
Libertarian Barry Hess 30,268 2.0
Democratic hold Swing

An "insider" reported that Janet Napolitano was specifically picked by the open borders orgs and Obama admin to offer visas expediently to everyone with no background checks and to further not enforce any U.S. immigration laws... so Janet is doing her job as requested by Obama and the open borders groups

Okay, so she's an attorney with no law enforcement background. So she knows how to sue people. Wow, that comes in handy in providing security to an entire freaking nation!! Boy, Barry sure makes some good choices. A lawyer to provide security and a tax cheat to head the IRS. Nice. My eight year old could make better choices than that!!

Not only should she resign, she never should have been appointed at all!!

For now, the administration says it has absolute confidence in Napolitano. She is an active part of the internal review and on Thursday took additional steps to improve security at international airports.

Of course this administration has absolute confidence in her! She's obama's lap dog, appointed to promote his open border agenda and amnesty for illegal invaders. It was never about keeping Americans safe with this appointment.

This woman is not only a disgrace, but a man-made disaster whose ignorance and incompetence is endangering the lives of every American. She needs to go now!

Originally Posted by NoBueno

This woman is not only a disgrace, but a man-made disaster . . .

Good one!!