Cass Sunstein Nomination Blocked By Saxby Chambliss

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) has blocked Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein from heading the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs because of his position on animal rights.

in a 2004 book, Sunstein wrote: "I will suggest that animals should be permitted to bring suit, with human beings as their representatives, to prevent violations of current law."

Such blocks are becoming a trend. In an editorial this weekend, the New York Times reported that 21 Obama nominees for important posts are unconfirmed.

Most of the stranded nominees have long since had hearings and majority approval by Senate committees and meetings with lawmakers. None of the nominees have been tainted by scandal or had their core competence questioned. And yet, they remain unconfirmed -- one for more than three months and several others for more than a month -- mainly because of holds, often anonymous and unexplained, by Republican senators.

Holds are effectively a filibuster, requiring 60 votes to overcome. Used legitimately, they can buy time to clear up unanswered questions about a nominee's qualifications. But the current widespread holds of uncertain duration are obstructionism. Writing in the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, Norman Ornstein, a Congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said the mass delays are "damaging the fabric of governance."

Harold Koh was confirmed as Legal Adviser to the State Department last week after months of delay, when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid held a vote to close debate.

Dawn Johnsen, a nominee for assistant Attorney General, has been held up since March.

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Comments

[Coyletrane]

I've just got to go with Saxby on this one. I'm not sure that I want someone who thinks that animals have a right to file suit in court against humans (or other animals for that matter?) running the regulatory agency... Call it a trend, call it what you want. It does not take a genius to research court cases and make an opinion. Opinions are free, most of the time.

[discreeta]

perhaps there are some "character issues" heretofore left unementioned vis a vis Sunstein. There are those who would call into question hs credentials on moral grounds.

[JiminNC]

keeping score for 2010 - keep up the good work republisaurs

[OverIt]

Cass Sustein is brilliant. And I can only imagine the kind of genius baby that will be born of wife Samantha Power. But that statement is a rare level of loony/goofy.

[mjtaylor22]

And once again from the completely out of touch republican party
"Obstructionist Government"-and they are not even in power.
Just doing everything to keep progress from happening, so they can say
"I told ya so"
In the next series of elections.
They first stole control of our nation, then ran it into he ground, and now refuse to do anything to fix the mess they created.
Great Job RNC, Americans will remember you well. And keep voting your sorry behinds out of office.
some will for get that you the RNC stood against everything, even fixing your mess, but I will to and I will spread the word to all my fellow voters to not be fooled by the RNC, theirs is the party of exclusion, exclusion of 80% of Americans

[cariintexas]

The problem with republicans is that they all think they will never be held accountable for what they do. They act like they control their destiny and their time on earth is eternal. Well they will pay for each and everything they do, as will we all. They are without doubt prepared to do whatever it takes to bring this president down, and for this they think they will regain power.

[janpradder]

I read one of Sunstein's many books, Nudge, and it is brilliant.
The republican's do not want a democratic government, they want to rule unilaterally.
When a republican says they are patriots, it's a lie.

[constitutional 1]

Im pretty sure the fact that he views that personal freedom and choice are unnecessary for citizenship had more to do with his nomination being blocked. Not because he is Obama's personal freind and nomination.

[ThinkTavern]

and people wonder why it's taking Obama so long to get things done?

The GOP is the most divisive body I have ever seen in my life.
Just as bad as the klan if you ask me. They have a segregationist belief system when it comes to GOP and Dems. They think the 2 should not mix.

How unamerican the GOP is.

[pjcpa]

As bad as the clan, give me a break. It was the republicans that championed civil rights and the dems, like Al Gore, Sr. that blocked the issue. Look at history and it is hard for the dems to look themselves in the mirror and be proud of everything they have done.

[outmost1]

You know some of the words, perhaps now you should learn the story. Take the party affiliation out of the history and we have social conservatives in the south blocking advancement while social liberals in the north pushing for equality. The social conservatives were once democrats until it became obvious that they could no longer wield power in the party so they moved to the republican party. Despite the clash of ideologies, the two parties managed to cooperate on a lot of legislation.

In today's climate, the social conservative with the hardest ideologies have gained power in the republican party and are behaving like children who aren't getting their way. There is no politics (look up the word - you'd be amazed at what it really means) anymore, there is only a battle of ideologues and of the two sides, the social conservatives (republicans) are being the most obstructionist and exclusive.

[VSamuels]

You are infering that there was no shift in the make-up of thr republicans and democrats since the Civil Rights Movement, which is false. The fact that republicans then were a part of the coalition has little to do with the present reality that those like Barber in MS, Graham and Sanford in SC and others have merely morphed their racial rhetoric into Christian ideology. These primarily white men, indeed are no longer leading klan rallies in the backwoods, but they continue to give nods to Bob Jones University and the various Citizen Councils around the South.

They present the same ugly racist legacy of yesteryear, they just come at the situation from a different and often more presentable angle; but, when one looks at the results of what they REPRESENT, we find they stand for the same segregationist policies of their openly hatefilled predeccessors.

[ThinkTavern]

maybe true, but looks how things have changed. It's now the GOP who spews hatred at every turn. During the McCain/Palin campaign, they championed and encouraged racism. Not once did they say their followers were wrong to say Obama was a terr'ist or a Muslim, or anything else contrued by conservatives as negative. They let it fester. McCain did nothing when a man screamed 'kill him' in the crowd. Bachman is scared out of hermind of anyone who isn't lily-white. Come on. The GOP is taking us back to the days they supposedly got us out of. Nice

[peter777]

The Republicans have long since abandoned principles and have set up all kinds of obstructions. May they go down in defeat in the next election. The Dems need to get a super majority and use it to cut out this avenue of obstruction. The Blue Dog Democrats also need to get their act together with Obama and quit putting up road blocks themselves.

[nice2blucky]

Nice to be in fantasy land.

Democrats do not need a supermajority. They need representatives with ideas, character, and spine.

As for the Bule Dogs, they need to go in the Democratic Primary.

But don't delude yourself, the real problem in Washington today is the Democrats.

Republicans, in the same position during the Bush years, were a force to be reckoned with. And all with the horrible agenda and ideas to boot. But they pushed their things through.

While it is true that Republicans are consistently obstructing as a matter of strategy, without the acquiescence of Democrats -- unnecessary compromises, watering down legislation and calling it bipartisanship, and completely taking options off the table -- without Democratic pandering to the same financial forces that control Republicans, actual good legislation could be rammed through.

Please don't waste anyone's time talking about the need for a supermajority.

And Blue Dogs do not see themselves as needing to get their act together. It is their mission to do as they are doing. Democratic voters need to get rid of them in Primary Elections, before it's a choice between them or a Republican.

[KarateKid]

The poor babies of the Republican Party have become nothing but obstructionists, and they'll pay for it next election. Mark my words.

[CaptainVideo]

One of the things that the Democratic leadership needs to make a priority is to end anonymous holds. They need to make a major issue of the lack of transparency in the Senate that results from this and demand greater transparency by ending the holds.

[CaptainVideo]

Rush Limbough merely blurted out what the strategy of the Republican leadership in Congress is. They want Obama to fail. Therefore they obstruct, obstruct, and obstruct to make it difficult for the Obama administration to carry out its programs. Obama nominations are almost routinely opposed and obstructed with the use of holds. Similarly they would have opposed any nominee for the Supreme Court that Obama would have nominated.

They are following the same strategy with respect to Obama that they used against Clinton during his first two years. The successfully obstucted much of his program, so that at the end of his first two years, Clinton was largely discredited in the eyes of the voters. This permitted the Republicans to gain control of Congress, which they maintained for the remainder of his term. Since this was a very successful strategy against Clinton, one should not be surprised that they are trying to use it against Obama.

What the Obama administration needs to realize is that bipartisanship with people that want to destroy you is not possible. They need to start playing hardball. One of the things they should start doing immediately is to start making a big issue out of the Republican's obstrutionism in Congress. And they need to work agressively at peeling away the few remaining moderate Republicans in Congress from the Republican leadership, while twisting the arms of the corporate Democrats to stay with the program.

[nice2blucky]

This is the problem:

Democrats believe that their successes are due to their popularity. It is not.

Their successes are due to the unpopularity of Republicans, and rightly so.

However, in order that Democrats "get it," they will have to be shown the door by voters in Primary Elections.

Vote out all incumbents, and never vote Republican.

This way when they are processing their success and popularity, they will understand that they are not their because they are Democrats, and that they are their only because they are not Republicans.

And in order that they stay there -- in office -- they will legislate as Democrats should, as representatives of the people.

Then, when Republicans think they can get away with wielding power that they should not have, like buckling Democratic politicians by mere threat of filibustering , or thinking that procedural blocks will not be met with fierce opposition or come with a hefty price, they -- the Republicans -- will think twice, thrice, and maybe they will cower at the thought of standing against the greater interests of the people -- and their representatives.

Dare to dream fool Democrats.

Get rid of your incumbents as the road to real representation.

Get rid of the weak, pathetic, pitiful, lily-livered, spineless, gutless, clueless, cowardly, stumbling, bumbling, nitwitted, hair-brained, venal, say-anything, Republican­-infiltrat­or, corporate Democrats.

Get rid of them in the only election where there is choice -- THE PRIMARIES.

[nice2blucky]

This is the problem:

Democrats believe that their successes are due to their popularity. It is not.

Their successes are due to the unpopularity of Republicans, and rightly so.

However, in order that Democrats "get it," they will have to be shown the door by voters in Primary Elections.

Vote out all incumbents, and never vote Republican.

This way when they are processing their success and popularity, they will understand that they are not their because they are Democrats, and that they are their only because they are not Republicans.

And in order that they stay there -- in office -- they will legislate as Democrats should, as representatives of the people.

Then, when Republicans think they can get away with wielding power that they should not have, like buckling Democratic politicians by mere threat of philibustering , or thinking that procedural blocks will not be met with fierce opposition or come with a hefty price, they -- the Republicans -- will think twice, thrice, and maybe they will cowar at the thought of standing against the greater interests of the people -- and their representatives.

Dare to dream fool Democrats.

Get rid of your incumbents as the road to real representation.

Get rid of the weak, pathetic, pitiful, lily-livered, spineless, gutless, clueless, cowardly, stumbling, bumbling, nitwitted, hair-brained, venal, say-anything, Republican­-infiltrat­or, corporate Democrats.

Get rid of them in the only election where there is choice -- THE PRIMARIES.