Rumors continue to swirl in Washington (San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Lazurus and the Consumer Affairs site have detailed entries), about the possible appointment of industry lobbyist Michael Baroody to the vacant chairmanship of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). As far as we know, the Senate has not even received a nomination, so the notion of a stealth recess appointment of an industry lobbyist to a consumer job is insulting to that body. But then again, Bush's abject failure to make either a timely or consumer-oriented nomination is a demonstrable failure to the American people. Since the agency has had no chairman for six months, under its rules it no longer has a quorum to conduct business, including to impose penalties on wrongdoers. This week, Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) moved a bill through Senate Commerce to fix that problem, but it is not yet law. We don't have an official position on the non-nomination of Michael Baroody of the National Association of Manufacturers to chair the nation's consumer product agency, but we are certainly not impressed that the President thinks he can sneak an industry lobbyist in on Lincoln's Birthday. We can easily think of a half-dozen consumer advocates who could and should fill the job. Our previous blog on the departure of former Chairman Hal Stratton.