The Democratic Party is blasting U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry's war against czars.

"McHenry's hypocrisy is astounding," said Joanne Peters, a regional press secretary for the Democratic National Committee. "Most telling of the credibility of these attacks is that they come from the same Republican party that didn't utter a peep about the 47 documented czars in the Bush administration."

In 2006, McHenry met with President George W. Bush's drug czar, the DNC notes. Bush's czars included a Katrina czar and a food safety czar.

Counting official "czars" is an inexact science because "czar" is not always part of the job formal job title. Some who have been called "czar" are subject to Senate confirmation, which is what McHenry said he is seeking for President Barack Obama's czars. A Washington Post story said that presidents as far back as Calvin Coolidge gave special powers to officials to handle disasters.

Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed a host of special advisers to coordinate policy to combat the Great Depression. Richard M. Nixon named a drug czar and an energy czar, and George W. Bush named czars to coordinate policy efforts on a range of issues. By one count, Bush had 36 czar positions filled by 46 people during his eight years as president.