The Leaderless ATF

Dennis Henigan published a very interesting article for The Huffington Post in which he describes the lack of action on the part of the president. One of the key failings is the fact that the ATF has gone without leadership for some time.

As the Brady Center points out in its new report, Leadership Vacuum, the ATF vacancy is particularly conspicuous, since 83% of the appointments that require Senate approval have been confirmed or nominated since President Obama took office. The Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Administration has been nominated and confirmed, but no one has even been nominated for the job of running the agency responsible for fighting gun trafficking.

This is a serious matter. In the words of James Pasco, a former ATF Assistant Director, "I am absolutely confident that because of the lack of a confirmed director, crimes are being committed and innocent people are dying." How can the Administration continue to maintain it has a policy to fight gun violence by improving enforcement of current law, when it has been willing to allow the federal gun enforcement agency to remain leaderless? How can it say that it is "doing all that we can" -- as Secretary of State Clinton claimed -- to curb the arming of Mexican cartels with guns trafficked from American gun shops?

This certainly doesn't sound like something that can be blamed on the fact that Obama has a lot on his plate, what with the wars and Health Care and all. This sounds like a purposeful omission, ensuring the wishes of the NRA are achieved. Could their lobbying and influence be that strong?

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