Quote:
Originally Posted by waynet
Bucco,I'll give you one example. Senator Shelby of Alabama announced he would block 70 administration nominees. In the past senators have blocked individuals for a period of time but one senator blocking 70 is unheard of.He is using what is called the HOLDING TOOL. It is legal to do he's just the first to take it to this extreme. I will not go into the reasons for his actions,let me just say like all 100 of them he loves to pork barrell.
During the Bush presidency,3 of his nominations waited more than 3 months. For Obama that number is 46 and 9 more have waited twice that long.
The scary part is that some of the blocked nominees are in our national security agencies.
To me this is what I mean by allowing the majority to govern. When appointments are being held up for no reason other than to hold them up thats not the minority position.
And I haven't even got to the fillibuster stuff yet.
As for calling the repubs clowns if the shoe fits wear it. I just don't see calling Obama a king and then saying he is accomplishing nothing.Don't Kings have unlimited power? Shouldn't he be able to do anything he wants?Shouldn't he be able to get rid of Shelby and all opposition?
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Perhaps you missed this news.....
"Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., had blocked more than 80 presidential nominations now before the Senate, but tonight he relented, saying he had simply been trying "to get the White House's attention" on two important national security issues related to his state.
Shelby had blocked the nominations by using a procedural tactic called a "hold," which allows individual senators to block votes on presidential nominations. But Shelby's spokesman, John Graffeo, says he will drop "most" of his holds.
Graffeo told ABC News that the purpose of placing the holds were to "get the White House's attention on two issues that are critical to our national security -- the Air Force's aerial refueling tanker acquisition and the FBI's Terrorist Device Analytical Center (TEDAC)." Both issues were unrelated to the nominations, and the latter regarded the Obama administration's decision not to move an FBI lab to Shelby's home state of Alabama.
"With that accomplished, Shelby has decided to release his holds on all but a few nominees directly related to the Air Force tanker acquisition until the new Request for Proposal is issued," Graffeo said. "
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/se...ory?id=9782098
I do not defend his actions nor commend them because to me, it is NOT an example of the point you are trying to make. WHY DO YOU NOT VISIT THE STIMULUS BILL OR THE HEALTH CARE NEGOTIATIONS THUS FAR in order to discuss
THIS ADMINSTRATION AND THIS CONGRESS'S ATTEMPTS AT BIPARTISAN SHIP !
Which by the way was a cornerstone of the campaign !!!