Sen. Shelby Cites ‘National Security’ on Senate Holds
05 February 2010 12:53 pm by Taylor Marsh
Here’s the beginning of Shelby’s statement, with the rest at TPM:
Sen. Shelby has placed holds on several pending nominees due to unaddressed national security concerns. …
Everything else is just defensive posturing to back up the unprecedented Republican stall by Shelby’s blanket hold, pretty much a Senate first. The move freezes everything in place on Obama’s nominations, calling attention to Shelby’s actions which he’s trying to hide behind “national security.”
It’s the pick up from the Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab skirmish, revolving around Miranda rights being read to him, which seems to be the foundation of a broader election 2010 GOP talking point that started with Scott Brown’s stunning upset in Massachusetts. Sen. Collins was made a fool when she tried to fly the GOP talking points, with the Obama White House ready to aim and fire, with a direct hit:
On Wednesday, Gibbs issued a five-point memo rebutting a series of Republican criticisms. He wrote that senior members of the intelligence community knew that Abdulmutallab was going to be indicted in civilian court and approved of the decision. He also noted that Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen convicted in 2007 of supporting terrorism, was granted the right to counsel even when he was held as an “enemy combatant” during the Bush administration. “Abdulmutallab has not been offered anything,” Gibbs wrote. – Criticism of Obama on national security likely to remain big issue
Anyway, procedural guru David Waldman explains “holds” in detail.
Evidently, Sen. Shelby is betting that no one will call him on his “national security” veil. I wouldn’t bet on it, as it was Reid’s people who dropped the dime in the first place. But Shelby’s going for it, via his spokesperson:
Shelby’s move comes as Northrop Grumman Corp. is threatening to pull out of the tanker contest on the grounds that the draft bid package is skewed in favor of rival Boeing Co. Should Northrop win the high-stakes competition, Mobile could gain up to 1,500 jobs.
The Defense Department “must recognize” that the package “needs to be significantly and substantively changed,” Graffeo said in the statement. He also charged the administration with holding back money to build an FBI center to analyze terrorist explosive devices.
“If this administration were as worried about hunting down terrorists as it is about the confirmation of low-level political nominations, America would be a safer place,” Graffeo said. …
The part in bold is the framing that tells what’s really going on.
It takes 60 votes to break the hold, otherwise Obama’s federal nominees get frozen out.
Seems fitting as the “snowpocalypse” hits DC, with the government shutting down completely this afternoon. As I tweeted earlier, the meteorologists around the Beltway are awesome. They said it would snow starting at around 10 a.m. this morning and as if hitting an on switch, at around that time it began to snow and it doesn’t look like there’s any letting up.
Just wish they could predict when Shelby’s hardball will turn back on him, as Republicans stopping Democrats from doing any of the people’s business has now hit a tipping point. The Alabama senator betting that tweaking Obama on national security is a good bet no matter what.
With the back drop of the Tea Party convention, as well as the elections that turned Democrats out of Massachusetts and other states, I wonder if people are going to be upset that Republicans have stopped Dems from doing anything. People aren’t very happy with the way Pres. Obama and the Democratic Congress are handling things, so Shelby’s move may actually be praised in some quarters, especially since he’s cloaking it behind national security. Because up is down right now, with the political peanut gallery very content to stop Democrats in their tracks.
How the Democratic leadership handles this and how fast is key.
Obama shouldn’t take any crap from Republicans on national security. They’re all talk and torture, pork and preen. Besides, by this time in Bush’s presidency we’d already been hit, and that came after warnings were ignored. Someone needs to make Shelby eat this.
I sure hope Obama loses his “cool” soon and starts fighting these goons.They are perfectly happy to try a scare the people and let the whole country go down. In fact it suits their long term purposes.
Something needs to be done about these stupid Senate rules. The Senate is starting to look anti american.
There’s all kinds of talk about doing something about the filibuster in the next Congress. It depends on the make-up of it, I believe.
Obama isn’t usually into jumping into Senate skirmishes, not his style. But raising the temp on Shelby is a good thing. That’s why he made sure to cloak it in “national security,” to give people pause. Frankly, Shelby’s a prick, always has been.
Hmmmmm…..retard, prick…..high brow conversation around here today.
See you later.
Lake Lady says:
05 February 2010 at 1:11 pm
Hope all you want LL, Obama is NEVER going to lose his cool. Worse, he’s painting himself deeper into a corner because every single day he keeps calling for more and more civility. Rodney King to the 5000 power by now. No one fears him, so these people even people within his own party trample on him with impunity.
In addition, there are no surrogates who call these people out. What the hell Tim Kaine does I have no idea. If someone said or did anything about Bush, it was like touching a hornet’s nest — Repugs came from all sides to attack the culprit. No so Obama, he’s on his own. Why doesn’t Durbin, Reid, Dodd, protect other Democrats. The Republican party has changed. McCain is NOT the same John McCain who ran against Bush.
Stupidly, the Democrats believe in collegiality; while the Repugs seem themselves as gang members. Naively, Dodd might be tighter with say Shelby and would protect him from a Franken. Shelby on the other hand would never do the same for Dodd. The Repugs are single minded. The Dems are naive.
Also, instead of constantly begging for cooperation, which the Dems will NEVER get. Indeed, the more they beg the stronger it makes the Repugs look and feel; I think the Dems should begin to think of ways to punish the SOB’s. When they feel pain then they will talk.
In other words, stop begging, bitching, whining, and complaining, and fight back.
Ah the terror porn…
Just the optic of Susan Collins out there gamely trying to put a straight face on ridiculous, easily refutable talking points (and failing miserably) shows you that the Republicans intend to make national security a factor in the 2010 elections. Collins, hardly a war hawk, proves they are all in. It might be a good idea though to stick with a true believer in the future, like Lindsay Graham.
Shelby’s hold should be manna from heaven for the Democrats. its a perfect example of republican obstructionism, coupled with a petty earmark (hilarious given that his colleague Mr. DeMint is calling for an end to all earmarks) request. I’d like to believe that Democratic senators will fill up the airwaves condemning Mr. Shelby and demanding that holds on this administration appointments be stopped. I would counter that the real national Security issue here is that Republicans stonewalling is making us less safe.
As to whether or not the public is for slowing down the Democrats, I think the opposite is true. I think most people want to see this President and this congress succeed, and their main problem is that they aren’t aware of the mendacious, and oftentimes petty impediments the opposition party puts in place. hopefully this will be a teachable moment
Mark Warner just called the Senate …The Twilight Zone!
Doesn’t bother me Taylor I think Shelby’s a prick too!
Retarded was what was said. It’s a word, get over it… or not, could care less. Shelby *is* a prick. Tough if someone doesn’t like it. The substance remains for those not easily distracted with political correctness and lifted pinky manners.
Yep, Warner and Webb are very different eggs than the Shelby crew, LL.
Good one, GaBuck, and right on, as it is “terror porn.” Collins was creamed by Maddow.
… instead of constantly begging for cooperation, which the Dems will NEVER get.
AMEN, Ramsgate.
GaBuck says:
05 February 2010 at 1:35 pm
“Shelby’s hold should be manna from heaven for the Democrats. its a perfect example of republican obstructionism, coupled with a petty earmark (hilarious given that his colleague Mr. DeMint is calling for an end to all earmarks) request. I’d like to believe that Democratic senators will fill up the airwaves condemning Mr. Shelby and demanding that holds on this administration appointments be stopped. I would counter that the real national Security issue here is that Republicans stonewalling is making us less safe.”
You raise very good points, but after watching this play out for some time now I think the situation has become quite . . . well . . . tricky.
Republican obstructionism plays VERY WELL with the Republican base. The more vocal Dems are about it, the more we enhance Republican fortunes and the more impotent we appear to the INDEPENDENTS we are hoping to attract.
You are correct, I think when you say that most people want the President and the congress to succeed, and most don’t know of Republican lies, and Republican obstruction. We on the extremes know.
So, why parade it? Why not just deal with our own problems? Just think we could even be as dirty as they are and no one would even know or care.
I think people are interested in results. All they want us to do is to get things done.
I can guarantee you that if a Democratic Senator had tried to pull a stunt like Shelby’s there would be a line of Republican Senators on news shows denouncing the move as un-American because he was holding up giving the President the tools he need to fight the war on terror.
Granted, democrats are not good at Terror-porn and you are certainly right that nothing fires up their base like some good ol sticking it to Obama. That being said, hypocrisy is hypocrisy, and if independents can’t see that then there isn’t much hope anyway.
GaBuck says:
05 February 2010 at 2:24 pm
“I can guarantee you that if a Democratic Senator had tried to pull a stunt like Shelby’s there would be a line of Republican Senators on news shows denouncing the move as un-American because he was holding up giving the President the tools he need to fight the war on terror.”
Absolutely. Agreed 100%. Just wrote a post on that very subject. The Dems just don’t seem to have the infrastructure or the know-how to do something as simple as this.
As for hypocrisy, well that’s one thing the Repugs don’t every worry about, and it doesn’t seem to bother them if the Independents care.
My point is that there is nothing wrong with calling them out, but it would be a lot more effective to do less talking and more acting.
Lets go back to Shelby for a sec: Want Shelby to release those holds? There has to be some weapon in the Majority leader’s arsenal that can be deployed to have Shelby by the short and curlies before he knew what was happening. Instead of treating him as my good friend from Alabama, do an LBJ on him. Instead of this “reaching across the aisle” BS move his office (I don’t know). Start playing hardball, make his life miserable.
I think we talk too much. And act too little.
Look. Obama is done now. He’s become a joke. Everyone walks over him and laughs while he begs them not to do it.
taylor gibbs went after shelby in today breifing. so did pfieffer. perhaps an update is in order? dems need to rattle the cages on this anywhere they can. the sneate is paralyzed and endangers the govt and its ability to function.
Here is something we can do…..
http://ssomail.charter.net/do/mail/message/view?msgId=INBOXDELIM47048&l=en-US&v=ssomail
texan4hillary says:
05 February 2010 at 3:06 pm
You know, t4h, Gibbs saying it’s “silliness” is hardly anything that moves Republicans. Whining that this is what’s wrong with this town isn’t exactly a talking point WITH TEETH. If something with bite comes out of the White House post it. Otherwise, I’m not impressed.
Outrageous maneuver by Shelby! He’s desperately trying to shore up his own state’s reliance on defense spending!
So sayeth Dylan Ratigan. Dylan’s right.
Taylor Marsh says:
05 February 2010 at 4:04 pm
Isn’t it amazing just how hapless they are at this stuff?
No kidding, Ramsg
Do any of them have any passion about anything?
I can’t believe Dylan still has a job but I am grateful that he does.
LL– Tried your “Here is something we can do” link, but no joy. Just goes to the main site. If it’s useful, I’d like to do it.