Oink, Oink

[Political Waves]

Snow, snow, SNOW! Bah humbug.

 

But as tired as I am of it here in the Patch, my sympathies go out to you Right Coasters. Be careful this weekend! Now, as for pigs ...

During the Massachusetts special election, and punctuated during Obama's State of the Union, the American public learned something it didn't know -- that it takes 60 votes to pass a bill through the Senate. A Pew Poll found that only 26% of those questioned knew it took such a majority to break a filibuster threat, now used as a de facto tactic by the minority party. That includes the use of something called the "blanket hold." This is obstruction taken to an art form. According to the White House blog, "The Senate cast more votes to break filibusters last year than in the entire 1950s and '60s combined, making it nearly impossible to come to agreement on key legislation."

We now have an example of the blanket hold in the demands of Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, who is standing in the way of Obama's appointments until he gets billions in pork-barrel spending to fund his pet projects. According to Michael Keegan, president of People For The American Way, Shelby's hold "... effectively blocks votes on more than 70 executive branch nominees, including officials in the Army, Air Force, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and Department of State." Some 2000 appointments of ambassadors, federal judges, and regulatory and law enforcement officials must be signed off in the Senate.

Keegan's comment highlights the unyielding belligerence of the the GOP, who tout themselves the party most attuned to national security yet have shown no hesitation in leaving these necessary posts hanging for the first year of Obama's presidency. Indeed, Shelby is citing his pork spending as critical to security, as it involves military contracts dear to his state. The administration has taken the heat for being ineffective while the Republicans have obstructed not only his staffing requirements, but bill after bill designed to ease the burden of the average American.

The public has remained clueless about the inner workings of the Legislative Branch until recently and we can only hope that this dust-up with Shelby will open their eyes to a  process that is less legislative give and take than a gridlock that smells more like holding competent governance for ransom. This also points to the distressing ability of one legislator to hold progress at bay; we watched that play out during the summer with people like Olympia Snowe and Max Baucus effectively slowing healthcare negotiations to a crawl.

There's a movement afoot encouraging Harry Reid to call the Pub bluff and require them to act on their cloture threats -- it would be interesting to watch one of the Republican Senators on C-Span, standing in place for hours, reading from their Aunt Martha's collection of recopies or the like -- and give us a real civics lesson. I doubt they would be as sympathetic to the public eye as Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, especially since the bills being threatened are most often those that assist the little guy in this economic downturn. Perhaps such political pageantry would open a few minds.

Or not. The Righty blogs are of one mind in seeing Shelby's demands as a climate change for Republican dominance and a mighty blow against a 'socialist' agenda. The Senator from Alabama may be playing to this questionable sense of euphoria and we'll see more of this aggressive posture, as a new jobs stimulus is considered. The same players -- Snow and Baucus -- are mulling the particulars, which will now require more tax giveaways to corporations to get the reluctant GOP on board than were necessary before the Dems lost their supermajority.

Since the Congress is under fire to move quickly on so many important issues, it's unlikely Reid will approve a three-day filibuster but there's every possibility that Obama will consider recess appointments to staff the more vital positions. You may remember Bush using same to install John Bolton as controversial ambassador to the U.N.

In the 'all politics is local' category, I'd like to see the national press pick up some of the inner workings of this Alabama pork case, but that's unlikely. Shelby is a Foghorn Leghorn look-alike, thickly invested in the Military Industrial Complex. It's Alabama's judgeships that lead to darker corners, however. This snip touches on the problem:

Alabama Democrats have been alarmed for months because the Obama administration has allowed Shelby and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to block two highly regarded nominees--Michel Nicrosi and Joseph Van Heest--for the U.S. attorney position in Montgomery, Alabama. The delay means that Bush appointee Leura Canary, who oversaw the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, remains in office more than a year after Obama became president.

This story has threads that tangle all these players in the Bush/Rove attorney scandal that exposed the Department of Justice as a partisan leg of the the Republican party, resulting in the questionable prosecution of Democratic Governor Don Siegelman. You can remind yourself of the details here.

If the public wants a good look at the dysfunction of our system, Shelby is case in point. He's pretty arrogant for someone with questionable business alliances with the providers of his earmark proposals, but we're unlikely to get that far into to the issue thanks to a sleepy press. We make much ado in this nation about 'one person, one vote' but when we elect cartoon characters like this, we forget that under the right set of circumstances, they can bring the national good to a halt. Think that over, Massachusetts.

Jude

 

Shelby Blocks All Obama Nominations In The Senate Over AL Earmarks
Evan McMorris-Santoro, TPM
February 4, 2010
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/report-shelby-blocks-all-obama-nominations-in-the-senate-over-al-earmarks.php  

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has put an extraordinary "blanket hold" on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate, according to multiple reports this evening. 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." The magazine reported aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were the source of the news about Shelby's blanket hold.

The Mobile Press-Register picked up the story early this afternoon. The paper confirmed Reid's account of the hold, and reported that a Shelby spokesperson "did not immediately respond to phone and e-mail messages seeking confirmation of the senator's action or his reason for doing so."

Shelby has been tight-lipped about the holds, offering only an unnamed spokesperson to reporters today to explain them. Aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid broke the news of the blanket hold this afternoon. 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. The two programs Shelby wants to move forward or else:

- A $40 billion contract to build air-to-air refueling tankers. From CongressDaily:
"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." Federal Times offers more details on the tanker deal, and also confirms its connection to the hold.

- 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."

Though a Shelby spokesperson would not confirm that these programs were behind the blanket hold, the Senator expressed his frustration about the progress on both through a spokesperson to both CongressDaily and the Federal Times.

A San Diego State University professor and Congressional expert told the Mobile paper "he knew of no previous use of a blanket hold" in recent history.

Updates From TPM Coverage Today:

- Shelby confirmed the holds, and lashed out at Obama over the Alabama programs.

- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's office first doubted the story was true. Later, after Shelby confirmed it, McConnell's office refused to talk about the holds.

- White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called the Shelby holds "silliness" in this morning's gaggle with reporters.

- An interview Shelby gave to a TV station in Alabama earlier this week offers some more insight into why Shelby is holding up Obama's nominees -- he thinks the White House is biased against Alabama. ++


PFAW's Keegan Complains About Shelby's Hold: 'Obstruction' Reaches A 'New Low'
Jason Linkins, HuffPo
02- 5-10
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/05/pfaws-keegan-complains-ab_n_451231.html

So, Richard Shelby! As you may have heard, he is being what the kids on the street call "an intransigent dick." This is because he's placed a blanket hold on all of President Obama's nominations for no other reason than that he feels Obama hasn't shown sufficient respect to Alabama.

It is crazy that America cannot have judges or agency heads or, you know, a guy to head up the Transportation Safety Administration, just because the president didn't send flowers and wishes to Alabama, but that is basically what is happening.

Also? Remember that part of Obama's "Question Time" with the House GOP Caucus, when he said, "wasteful spending is usually spent somehow outside of your district," and quipped: "The spending in your district tends to seem pretty sensible." Well...

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. The two programs Shelby wants to move forward or else:

- A $40 billion contract to build air-to-air refueling tankers. From CongressDaily: "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." Federal Times offers more details on the tanker deal, and also confirms its connection to the hold.

- 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."

At any rate, now Michael Keegan, president of People For The American Way, has weighed in with complaints about Shelby:

"Senator Shelby's move is deeply cynical and an abuse of Senate procedure," said Michael B. Keegan, President of People For the American Way. "The American people deserve a functioning government, but Senator Shelby would rather hobble important agencies that keep us safe and provide important services than risk losing some pork barrel projects for his own state. Conservative commentators have slammed Democrats negotiating deals that pale in comparison to this. I hope they'll be aggressive in pointing out Senator Shelby's behavior, but I'm not holding my breath."

Senator Shelby is angry about the Pentagon's bidding process for air-to-air refueling tankers and funding for a research center to be built in his state. His hold effectively blocks votes on more than 70 executive branch nominees, including officials in the Army, Air Force, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and Department of State.

"To block votes on U.S. Attorneys, key positions in the armed forces, and nominees tasked with overseeing the disposal of radioactive waste in order to wring a few more dollars from the federal government in dangerously irresponsible," said Keegan. "Senator Shelby is doing an immense disservice to all Americans, including his own constituents. When voters voice their anger about the gridlock and partisanship in Washington, this is exactly what they're talking about."

Keegan went on to say that Shelby "better watch out" because "Carly Fiorina's sheep may want to have a few words with him." But there, I think he's just being trendy.


Need More Evidence the Senate Is Absurd? Look No Further
Katie Connolly, Newsweek
Friday, February 05, 2010 
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2010/02/05/need-more-evidence-the-senate-is-absurd-look-no-further.aspx

If somebody were looking for evidence of the absurd dysfunctionality of the U.S. Senate, they'd need look no further than the nominations process. In a body that actually valued effective governance this would be a straightforward process, where the head of state nominates individuals to largely noncontroversial posts, and the Senate, after a reasonable period of examining the candidates, approves or rejects them. But this is the U.S. Senate, and nothing is that simple.

While there are bound to be a few appointments that cause a stir—this is politics after all—a large majority have always been, and will continue to be, pretty safe. Sure there will be differing ideologies from administration to administration, but that's one of the perks of winning the presidency. Remember that whole "elections have consequences" thing?

Apparently Republicans don't, and nor do they have any interest in or respect for the effective delivery of government services, or so the news today would lead one to believe.

According to Sen. Harry Reid's office, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), utilizing a quirk of Senate procedure that allows an individual to halt a nominee's progression, has placed a blanket hold* on all pending nominations. Not just one or two folks that he has worries about. All 70 prospective appointees. And he's not doing it out of concerns over their suitability or qualifications. He's doing it to get some pork for his state. From Congress Daily:

--A spokesman for Shelby said the senator has placed holds on "several pending nominees due to unaddressed national security concerns," including frustrations with the Air Force's handling of the competition for an aerial refueling tanker. The spokesman did not respond to later requests for comment about the blanket hold. Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS, the European consortium behind Airbus, and Boeing Co. are vying for the high-stakes contract, potentially worth $40 billion. The 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.

So a Republican (remember, they're the party that's supposed to be anti government spending) is blocking all Senate nominations because he wants a European corporation to build some planes in his state? You can't make it up.

If that wasn't enough, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer noted yesterday that, after delaying her nomination for nine months, the Senate yesterday voted 96–0 to confirm presidential nominee Martha Johnson as GSA administrator. It's clear there was no significant material reason why Johnson, who also received unanimous approval in committee, should have been held up. The same has been true for several other nominees who, after long holds, received 70 ayes or more when the Senate finally voted.

After Scott Brown's win in Massachusetts, a favored Republican talking point was that his victory signaled a rejection of Washington and its murky ways of doing business.Yet with stunts like this, it's clear that Republicans are equally to blame for the perception of D.C. as rotten and broken. The problem for Democrats is that holding enormous majorities in Congress as well as the presidency means that D.C. is now seen as their town. For voters who don't closely follow the antics in D.C., it's hard to imagine that a Republican Party so weakened in terms of numbers could wield such power.

So far Democrats have done a poor job of calling the GOP out on these tactics. Preoccupied with fighting amongst themselves, they haven't unleashed a strong, unified message of GOP obstructionism. The president has become more forceful on this front recently, chastising the GOP in both his State of the Union and the meeting with GOP House leaders for not taking their responsibility to govern more seriously. But the message has been slow to take hold, and if Democrats aren't careful, Republicans could easily find their obstructionism rewarded in November.

* UPDATE:  In case you're unfamiliar with holds, Mr. Ezra Klein has put together a nice explanation here.  

** UPDATE 2: Citing a congressional scholar, Jonathan Chait says a blanket hold has never been used before. That news makes me wonder why Shelby feels so emboldened as to try now. Do Republicans view Democrats as so weakened and disorganized (and their own side so discipined) that the time is ripe for unprecedented procedural maneuvers? Perhaps he thinks voters don't consider the day to day workings of the Senate when casting their ballots. Whatever the answer, Shelby's move indicates that the GOP are feeling pretty empowered right now. ++

 

 

 

"I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington ... I'm asking you to believe in yours."
~ Barack Obama

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