I Didn’t Elect President Shelby
WTF!?!? Is Senator Richard Shelby out to prove that the Senate is completely dysfunctional and that Republicans are full of sh*t? Sen. Shelby has placed a blanket hold on ALL of Obama’s nominations:
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has put an extraordinary “blanket hold” on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate, CongressDaily (sub. req.) reports. The hold means no nominations can move forward unless Senate Democrats can secure a 60-member cloture vote to break it, or until Shelby lifts the hold.
“While holds are frequent,” CongressDaily reports, “Senate aides said a blanket hold represents a far more aggressive use of the power than is normal.”
…
According to the report, Shelby is holding Obama’s nominees hostage until a pair of lucrative programs that would send billions in taxpayer dollars to his home state get back on track. CongressDaily laid out the programs Shelby wants to move forward or else:
– A $40 billion contract to build air-to-air refueling tankers. From the report: “Northrop/EADS team would build the planes in Mobile, Ala., but has threatened to pull out of the competition unless the Air Force makes changes to a draft request for proposals.”
– An improvised explosive device testing lab for the FBI. From CongressDaily: “[Shelby] is frustrated that the Obama administration won’t build” the center, which Shelby earmarked $45 million for in 2008. The center is due to be based “at the Army’s Redstone Arsenal.”
Earmarks are for other people’s districts.
Tags: Richard Shelby, Senate Reform
I hope Dems are taking notes on the new rules.
How far back do you have to go to find an example of a Senate hold or filibuster EVER being successfully used by a Democrat for Democratic advantage?
Dems have lots of experience being the minority so there should be plenty of examples.
let’s not forget that in 2004, it was the Democrats who BEGAN the unprecedented act of filibustering judicial nominees, including Miguel Estrada, Priscilla Owen, Charles W. Pickering, Carolyn Kuhl, David W. McKeague, Henry Saad, Richard Allen Griffin, William H. Pryor, William Gerry Myers III and Janice Rogers Brown.
Yes, many years after Republicans began appointing ideologues rather than respected jurists to the job-for-life federal bench. Face it, Liz, most GOP strategies are geared with the realization that the Republican Party is at a numerical disadvantage. Therefore, many of those strategies have the effect of appearing anti-democracy (small D), in some cases because they are.
Mr. Obama made use of that power when he was in the Senate. He was one of several senators in 2007 to put a hold on Hans A. von Spakovsky, whom Mr. Bush nominated to serve on the Federal Election Commission.
And, according to news reports, Mr. Obama in late 2005 also put a hold on all Environmental Protection Agency nominees.
Wash Times 2/3/10
And lizard, why did Obama oppose Spakovsky?
Here’s why.
Putting Bush and EPA together is laughable.
To answer your question: No. Shelby is out to show, once again, that Obomba is wussy.
because Obama is unwilling to break constitutional law and dictate? yeah what a wimp.
I said “wussy” not “wimp”. Wussys get beaten up by wimps. And show me where Senatorial “holds” are in the Constitution or just shut up with your nonsense.
you’re the one who wants Obama to take dictatorial powers and force an equal branch of government to bend to his will.
As I said, just shut up with your nonsense. I am not in the mood today.
Hah! that’s all i have to say to that, troll. you opened the door by flying your “off the bandwagon because all my needs weren’t met in under a year” flag.
btw, “Shut up” is SUCH a great argument, DINOs like Carper use it. so ya go that goin for ya
a.price, as I said, show me where Senatorial “holds” are in the Constitution or just shut up with your nonsense. Since you obviously can’t do the former, please go and do the latter. Go put some more imaginary clothes on your Obomba doll. I understand that he comes accessorized with a white flag.
Country first!
Shelby has a hold on all nominees because he wants a defense contract to be awarded to foreign company Airbus over domestic company Boeing.
*yawn*
I find this interesting – the post, not the oh-so predictable back and forth nonsense – because the Republican leadership is still quiet on Shelby’s stunt. Don’t get me wrong, the GOP is all for obstruction, but this sort of act lends itself to be easily understood by most voters. A hold on one or two nominees can be “justified,” but a hold on everyone?
This just begs for attention, and I’m not sure it’s the sort of attention Republicans are necessarily looking for. It kinda goes against their latest argument that they have ideas, they want to govern, but nobody lets them, they’re just the little minority party. This is a big move.
actually aNONE, (cute, huh?) first of all. Show me where they are NOT unconstitutional. you know DAMN well that if the roles were reversed, and a republican president had his nomination up, you would be thanking your statue of Grumpy Dwarf that the senate was able to do it’s job. You would also be decrying tyranny if that president was trying to exert his power to overide the senate . I dont like it either , but what i really hate is double standards and “it’s ok when WE do it” mentality.
i agree the republican No machine is abhorrent…. but it has to be dealt with in a way that when the pendulum swings back the other way, they cant say “well you did it!!!”
That is why you cant stand obama isn’t it aNone? you are incapable of thinking more than 3 moves ahead.
I saw this tweet earlier:
emptywheel
Shelby’s hold on all Obama’s nominations? He’s trying to force AF to award huge contract to Airbus rather than Boeing. http://bit.ly/aAeSeQ
What I don’t get is how a hold can hold for some people and not for others. There were several bi-partisan holds on Ben Bernanke’s renomination to the Fed. and the vote went forward anyway under Reid’s discretion. Supposedly, the GOP has held many of the Obama position nominees for over half a year now. So, what, Shelby’s ridiculous action is holding the holds that have been held? What is going on?
Does the average voter either understand or know what Senator Shelby has done? I agree it is outrageous to have a blanket hold.
Is it naive of me to ask the Democratic leadership to hold the cloture vote so that we all can see if the Senate Republicans will really vote as one block on everything? Would they all support Shelby on this issue if put to the test? Do I completely misunderstand the politics of it?
I think lizard and anonone are the same person. At least similar disfunctionalities. As to lizard, who hauled out the discreted saw, “the Democrats … BEGAN the unprecedented act of filibustering judicial nominees, …,” tell that to Abe Fortas:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2005/05/20/owen_and_ethics/
Nancy,
You have to have 60 votes to lift the hold. That’s why Republicans wanted to rush Brown’s swearing in and why Shelby waited until yesterday to place the hold. Unless they either figure out a way to change the rules or can convince at least one Republican to vote against the hold, it will stay in place.
What a lot of people are recommending is that Obama do a blanket recess appointment, which is something which Bush also abused. However, I’m not sure what Obama is supposed to do when Republicans are united in being the party of no.
HH,
We have to educate the public but I think it’s an easy story – Shelby is holding up the Senate because he wants earmarks.
Ugh… no recess appointments. Instead use the hold to embarrass them daily. Every WH press event should start off with “Senate Held Hostage: Day 24” or whatever.
And it goes without saying: use the extra time to vet the damn nominees so Repubs don’t have a leg to stand on.
The only way Dems could screw this up is by failing to loudly point out GOP obstructionism. Or by nominating somebody with skeletons in his closet.
I take it back – there are lots of ways Dems could screw this up.
If there turns out be one nominee with an overdue library book – Repubs will cast themselves as heroes for blocking them all. They will be wrong of course, but that won’t prevent the narrative from taking hold.
I agree anon, that if the Democrats play it right it could be like the government shutdown of the Gingrich era.
Do I hear nuclear option anyone?
I wonder if this isn’t worth a Reagan-like prime time address from the Oval. Highlighting that fact that one man is holding up the business of the American people so he can get his earmark approved. An earmark that tilts a RFP towards a vendor. An effort — the tilting — that if done by a Contracting Officer for other reasons is a criminal federal offense. And an effort that runs right in the face of the “reduce spending” crowd. Senator Shelby ought to be working at killing these spending programs, not in steering them to his state.
That’s right, John, it is dysfunctional to be a Democrat that actually expected Obomba to fight, unlike the many “functional” people here like you, apparently, who are happy to parade under a white flag.
Oooooo a “Reagan-like prime time address”. That’ll teach ’em, fer sure. Now it is time for the Dems to bring out the ghost of Ronald. How’s that healthcare battle going, cassandra_m?
And here you are, proving John’s point about dysfunctionalities. Both you and lizard indulge in the same tone deafness (generously) in acknowledging other people’s arguments and in just hauling off to whatever argument you want to have — bypassing utterly the conversation at hand. With the same remarkable lack of self awareness that people no longer listen to what you have to say since you’ll never be a good faith interlocutor.
I’m in favor of putting a blanket hold on all Republican earmarks.
President LIEberman. President Nelson. Now President Shelby. Never President Obama. And all cassandra_m has got is wishes for another shallow speech of pretty words from her dear leader at the Surrender to Conservatives Rally.
And I acknowledge your arguments and lack thereof, ‘k?
“I’m in favor of putting a blanket hold on all Republican earmarks.”
but but President Obama promised “no more earmarks!” so how can there be any Republican earmarks to blanket hold?????
I know, I know, campaign promises are for the little people, sophisticated nuanced progressives understand they mean nothing and are just a tool for getting votes.
It was half a joke. You can’t literally put a hold on an earmark; you have to find some other strategy to make your point.
And I acknowledge your arguments and lack thereof, ‘k?
Actually, you almost never acknowledge that you are even speaking to another person — you just use them as a venue for whatever your talking points or jihad of the day may be. You are much like your best pal TPN that way.
But thanks for playing!
I am in favor of just blowing up the Senate. Not literally, but if Harry Reid was a real man with courage and leadership he would pull the Dem caucus together, and get 51 votes together for a new operating resolution ban all earmarks (all amendments must be to the substance of the legislation), holds, and filibusters. Screw tradition. The GOP already has.
Blowing up the Senate works for me. Since the GOP is insisting on it, we might as well adopt parliamentary rules. A simple majority gets you the ability to enact your agenda and you have to face voters on what you have or have not done.
Ummm…Shelby is a Republican, lizard. He’s mad because he wants an earmark for Alabama so he can send American jobs to France.
Yeah. That’s never gonna happen.
Steve Benen (via dKos) calls all the GOP positions A Target Rich Environment for Dems.
Repubs have crawled out onto the limb all by themselves. Who has a saw?
Obomba has told everybody to put their saws away, call the fire department, surround the tree with trampolines and pillows, get ladders out, and then give them milk, cookies and a parade when they come down.
Meanwhile, the repubs are laughing as they piss on everyone under the tree.
The DNC has released a commercial, what do you think?
I guess I think it’s a start but where’s the mention of pork? of sending American jobs to France? I guess they went with the national security angle.
Good ad. It gives people like Chris Coons. a bit of a messsage foothold.
NY Magazine calls Shelby’s ransom effort for his earmarks the Cotton State Cockblock.
On Twitter, I saw “dickhold.” ROFL.