Report: Shelby Blocks All Obama Nominations In The Senate Over AL Earmarks

[jefferson_dem]

Report: Shelby Blocks All Obama Nominations In The Senate Over AL Earmarks
Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 4, 2010, 9:19PM



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's Dan Friedman and Megan Scully report, "Senate aides said a blanket hold represents a far more aggressive use of the power than is normal."

Shelby has been tight-lipped about the holds, offering only an unnamed spokesperson to reporters today to explain them. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid broke the news of the blanket hold this afternoon after Shelby announced it to him in a letter sent today. Reid aides told CongressDaily the hold extends to "all executive nominations on the Senate calendar."

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:

<SNIP>

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/report-shelby-blocks-all-obama-nominations-in-the-senate-over-al-earmarks.php

[beyurslf]

1. When is the next recess? Can't Pres Obama appoint them all diring the recess

and then tell Sen whoever that is to shut the F up and go home.

[Demeter]

2. Sauce for the Goose!

Pull a Bushite maneuver! I like it!

[SeattleGirl]

3. Fuck Shelby and fuck all the goddamned Republicans!

They don't give a flying fig about this country or it's people. Not. One. Fucking. Fig. All they care about is winning, or at least not letting the other guy win, and they don't care who they have to kick, slap, punch, or kill to get it done.

FUCK. THEM. ALL!!!

[jefferson_dem]

4. +1.

n/t

[beyurslf]

8. I kind of wish we had the same attitude sometimes--just cared about winning.

If they had 60 votes in the Senate and a majority in the House when Bush was Pres, do you think they would have failed to get anything they wanted? Hell, they got those damn tax cuts through with 50 votes and the VP. We need the attitude that we WON and will do whatever we damn well please.

[Blue_Tires]

5. I still don't understand how a goddamned 41-seat majority has such sway

You know deep down the GOP is hoping to lose more seats...They might run the fuckin' universe with 34 seats...

[Beaverhausen]

23. This isn't even 41- its 1 person

unfuckingbelievable

[HopeOverFear]

6. Unfuckingbelievable.

[Drunken Irishman]

7. Fucking obstructionist assholes.

[DJ13]

9. So if Obama gives him those programs as an addition to the deficit

Would Shelby shut up about deficit spending?

[Jennicut]

10. Nope. It is only okay when Rethugs do it.

[Nancy Waterman]

13. What about an aggressive ad campaign to shame him?

This is extortion. It is also crippling the government in a myriad of ways. Maybe the Dems can throw him off of all committees, ALL, until he behaves. There must be some really aggressive, crippling thing that can be done to him. This is outrageous. And this is why the country is falling apart: everyman for himself, the hell with everyone else.

[Jennicut]

14. Embarrass the fool but I doubt that he is embarrass-able.

[jillan]

11. Obama should call Shelby into his office asap.

And the Dems need to get out there and expose this on every news program.

[DrToast]

12. Obama looks forward to working with Shelby in a bipartisan manner in blocking his nominations. (nt)

[Nancy Waterman]

15. Rachel should cover this and expose Shelby

She does a terrific job on things like this.

[DrToast]

16. Especially after how damaging the Cornhusker Kickback was.

[Cha]

17. Extortionist is playing hardball...

what can be done to him instead of for him?

[Cha]

18. Who's unreccing this?!

[slay]

19. I'd like to know this too

I hope the mods pay attention to all the un-rec-er's cause I have a feeling there are many freeper lurkers whose sole purpose is to unrec big topics like this on progressive websites. :mad:

[Cha]

21. It's not fair to our board or Democracy..to have trolls

lurking and have a say in what gets rec'd. And, that's why I mention it ..so it doesn't go unnoticed.

How the freak could this be moderated?

[ChicagoSuz219]

20. They've now advanced from The Party of No...

...to The Party of Nothing.

Can't wait to hear the WH take on this.

[Make7]

22. This could be viewed as a tactical error for a party claiming not to be the "Party of No."

If all of the Congress Democrats don't shout about Republican obstructionism on every available media outlet, one might wonder whether or not they want to actually put a stop to it.
 

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[davidpdx]

25. Change all his earmarks to .01

Fuck him and fuck Alabama for electing the asshole.

[flpoljunkie]

26. Time to recess appoint all of the 70 who have been passed out of committee--next weekend!

[City Lights]

27. Hey Dick! Let your state pull itself up by its own bootstraps!

It's what you preach for the rest of America! Let it begin at home, Dickie! Put down the welfare teat!

:nuke:

Fucking asswipe!

[Armstead]

28. Can these people get any more hypocritical?

Budget hawks, cut government spending...blah,blah,blah...But not in MY district

[JoeyT]

29. Well, he does have a reason, if you can call it that.

Thanks to years of what passes for leadership from Republicans, the state is reeling from one financial crisis to the next like a punch drunk boxer praying we'll make it to the bell. He dare not suggest raising taxes: He spent too much time screaming about how evil they are, and the economy is too weak for it to do any good at this stage of the game anyway. The infrastructure is shot to shit and starting to seriously crumble as well. This is one of the major reasons it's going to be so hard for our economy to recover. All the union busting didn't help either. Pretty much the only way they're going to be able to do the major infrastructure overhauls the state needs to survive (Thriving isn't even on the horizon at this point.) is through government handouts and pork projects. Which would make me a little more sympathetic to his cause, if he weren't one of the very people that screwed it up in the first place.

In short: He's desperate. The state he and his friends "lead" is circling the drain, and the government teat he so hates is about the only chance it has of not being sucked down. Everyone, especially his supporters must be reminded of that at every turn. They can't be allowed to spin it away.

The upshot of this is that people are *finally* starting to come around and see that perhaps bending to the will and whim of corporate masters isn't advantageous for the host state. I think a strong anti-corporate push from the Democratic leadership would actually have a decent shot at turning the state blue. A nationwide series of infrastructure improvements would help too. (That would help us in every state.)

You see obstructionism, I see fear and desperation.

[rufus dog]

30. OP Title should be "Dick Shelby ...... n/t