Republican Sen. Josh Hawley grilled President Biden’s nominee to head the National Archives and Records Administration over her previous comments that implied Republicans might be stupid and Democrats might be intellectuals. Her name is Colleen Shogan and she defended herself, going against what Hawley suggested, saying some of the things she wrote were more of a “perception” and tries to defend her comments where she spoke poorly of Republican presidents, specifically the two-term presidents who served after World War II.
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Hawley said”You have talked in today’s hearings so far and in your pre-hearing Q&A about how much it’s important to be a non-partisan leader, correct? And so if you’re confirmed, you will attempt to stay politically neutral in your decision making, is that fair to say?”
He pointed to an article that she wrote, which appeared to have very partisan views, as reported by Daily Wire: “Hawley then brought up an article Shogan had written titled, “Anti-Intellectualism in the Modern Presidency: Republican Populism.” In the 2007 article, published by the American Political Science Association, Shogan wrote of Republican presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush, saying that their “leadership posturing place them on the explicitly anti-intellectual side of the spectrum.”
One of the most important statements Shogan made in her writing, which she defends and still claims she provides a non-partisan service, is the following: “Republicans tend to exhibit anti-intellectual qualities. Democrats coalesce on the intellectual tail of the continuum.” Hawley pointed that out and asked her one simple question: “So is your point that Republicans are stupid and Democrats are intellectual?”
Shogan was presenting herself as non-partisan and still defending her work, but didn’t seem to stand behind her own writing. Hawley believes she is ‘extreme partisan’ as much of her article disparaged Republicans. Shogan just kept repeating herself, saying she stands by her work and tries to suggest that she would be non-partisan, but it just does not seem believable.
Hawley warns of putting activists into government jobs as it causes Americans to lose trust when politically charged partisan hacks are working for the government. He wants to know how she can assure Americans that she will be truly non-partisan, but she once again says she stands by her record.
Joe Biden does not have a good history of nominating the best people and many of the people he’s nominated for tasks have been very bad at their job.
Photo: YouTube screencap
This story syndicated with licensed permission from Frank who writes for a funny news blog. Follow Frank on Facebook.
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