Fri May 10, 2013 at 08:54 AM PDT
attribution: Harperdrewart/Dreamstime.com
The most effective way Republicans have found to make their political
argument that government is bad is to actually break it, to keep it from
functioning. And they've had remarkable success, from slashing budgets
in previous budget fights to the sequester. They're also doing it with
the filibuster and other delaying tactics, like
boycotting confirmation hearings. And they're, of course, doing the Chamber of Commerce's and Wall Street's and Big Oil's bidding by
focusing their efforts in particular on those agencies that regulate big business.
Obama’s choices to lead the Labor Department and the
Environmental Protection Agency have been delayed by feuds over their
past positions and the policies of departments they aspire to lead. His
nominee to lead the Energy Department had been stalled, though an
agreement was reached late yesterday for a confirmation vote. [...]
“The confirmation process is increasingly turning into a hostage
situation,” said Ross Baker, a political science professor atRutgers
University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.[...]
Senate Republican leaders say the criticism is unfounded, and that
the recent holdups are part of a careful examination of nominees whose
records raise important questions.
“We’ve processed a lot of nominations, but some of the nominees the
president has put up are really problematic,” said Senator John Cornyn
of Texas, the second-ranking Republican leader. “Congress has a role to
play, in terms of advice and consent. They need to relax a bit and let
the Senate do its job.”
That's just a lie from Cornyn, proven by the flat-out refusal of the
entire Republican Senate caucus to allow a vote on Richard Cordray,
which they freely admit isn't because of a problem with the nominee, but
because they want to nullify the law that created his agency, the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Senate Republicans are
spitting on their constitutional role of advice and consent. In doing
so, they're not just breaking the Senate, they're breaking the
government, all three branches of it.
Originally posted to Joan McCarter on Fri May 10, 2013 at 08:54 AM PDT.
Also republished by
Daily Kos.
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