As Democrats continue to sink in the polls, it’s important for conservatives to not let the precious few Republicans left in Congress off the hook for poor decisions and reckless actions. Case in point: Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has blocked seventy Obama administration appointees for federal jobs. Why did he do it? Did he have legitimate concerns about their credentials/experience/ideology? Uh, no. He did it to protect a $35 billion pet pork project in his home state. Seriously. Robert Costa writes:
Shelby’s “blanket hold” is part of a political effort to force presidential action on the Air Force refueling-tanker fight in Alabama. (A $35 billion contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman and Airbus last year to build tankers in Mobile, Ala., only to be voided after Boeing filed a bid protest.)
While these holds are within Senate rules they are rarely used. Yes,
Sen. Reid and then-
Sen. Obama have used them for similar reasons, but they are not tactics Republicans should be using to protect pork – especially not during a time of record debt and deficit spending.
Costa
reports that one Republican Senator aide stated, “if anyone thinks the issue of temporary holds on federal bureaucrats has political significance they need to take a trip outside the Beltway as soon as they can. Turns out people are more concerned with their own jobs.”
Uh, yes, that’s probably technically true. People are more concerned about their jobs then government pork spending. Yet it is also grossly cynical and ignores the justified anger spreading across the country at government’s waste and fiscal irresponsibility. It is wrong in substance and principle. It is also bad politics. Republican senators need to pressure Shelby to withdraw his objection to Obama’s federal appointees or face continuing political pressure from conservative groups like the Tea Parties sweeping across the country, especially in the South.
