Nelson Complicates Obama's Plans To Demonize GOP As Obstructionists

Sen. Ben Nelson's pledge to filibuster the nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board does not help the Obama administration's efforts to make political hay out of Republican obstructionism.

The Nebraska Democrat said in a statement Monday evening that he would join what will likely be a united Republican caucus in voting against cloture on the Becker nomination. It couldn't have come at a less opportune time for Democrats.

That's not just because the Senate considers Becker's nomination today - a leadership aide confirmed that a vote would take place despite the high probability that he won't be confirmed. It's also because in the past few days the president and his team have ratcheted up their campaign to paint the Republicans as the ones holding up legislative business and mundane appointees.

News over the weekend that Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) had placed a blanket hold on more than 70 Obama nominees, hoping to get two pet projects passed through Congress, breathed a bit of political life into a White House needing a narrative change.

"Let's be clear: Sen. Shelby is preventing qualified nominees who will help protect the American people from being confirmed," Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer wrote on the White House blog. "He's not alone, though. This is just the latest example of this kind opposition for opposition's sake that the President talked about earlier this week."

On Monday, a senior administration official confirmed to the Huffington Post that the White House was going to make the gratuitous use of the filibuster a "big issue" in the weeks ahead. "The basic point is that the GOP is using the filibuster not just to block things it disagrees with but to grind the senate to halt period even on the non controversial stuff," said the aide.

Nelson's move takes some of the sting out of the charge, granting Republican leadership the chance to point to members of Obama's own party who want to slow down the president's agenda. The filibusters are now bipartisan.

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In coming out against cloture, the Nebraska Democrat insisted that he is saving the administration from itself. Becker, Nelson said, "would pursue a personal agenda there, rather than that of the Administration."

It's hard to imagine that the White House - which nominated Becker twice - feels the same way.

Asked for comment on how Nelson's filibuster pledge complicates the White House's efforts to cast Republicans as obstructionists, the same senior administration official who communicated with HuffPost on Monday did not immediately respond. On the Hill, the groaning was widespread.

"It's not helpful," said one Senate Democratic aide. "The fact is, we are going to run into this countless more times in the future even if we have Nelson on board. We are going to have to show the American people who is obstructing progress, even if they are on our side."

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Comments

[Bill Floyd zzz]

with Dems like nelson who needs a republiklan . nelson ,lincolin, landrier, and the other blue dogs did nothing to help their party lieberman should be thrown out of the caucas. Dems need to act more like the repubs and pass some legislation soon

[PerfumeisToxic]

Does anybody realize that all these senate problems are caused by the fact that the senate IS NOT ELECTED DEMOCRATICALLY

No body ever mentions this. The senate is not fairly elected. Nebraska gets represented by as many senators as New York or California which are much bigger states. Therefore Nebraska and other small states have an unfair power and their residents have an unfair voting advantage. The senate will always lean unfairly right as Republican rural states are undemocratically over represented.

Whatever happened to "one person one vote" that democracy is supposed to support. America is being held to ransom by the excess power of rural voters in the senate.

Their should be an outcry at the fact that someone in Nebraska gets the power of 30 votes for every one vote that someone in New York gets. And that person is probably white so therefore the vote of rural whites is worth much more than the vote of urban people. Isn't that not only undemocratic but racist as well?

[gladhart1]

Ben it is time to join the dark side - go ahead and declare your party switch to your true party - the Repubs. DINO's are extinct - or in this case should be!

[reasonshouldrule]

He joined the dark side long ago.

[Horus45]

Just kick Nelson and Lincoln out of the caucus and be done with them, they are NOT Democrats!

[Acebass]

We Dems know Nelson as a Republican in a Democrat's suit. There are primaries aren't there? And I've heard Nelson isn't doing so well by doing what he's doing. Maybe the voters will decide he needs his term limited...

[Horus45]

Are there any Democrats giving him a primary challenge?

[studmoose]

One of the top 20 rules...

Never trust a man with a bulbous nose.

When they kiss someone's butt, they can never pull their nose out of there. Once for sale.. always.

[dragonmaster]

The Democrats need to let lose this duplicitous Insurance salesmen.

[taddles]

Not sure why the Dems haven't taken this turn-coat to the woodshed.

[larmarch5]

Just shine a big bright light on Nelson, Bayh, and Lincoln, a light that will make their incoming dollars glow.

[DesertDawgAlpha]

That does it. Ben Nelson now has zero chance of ever winning a Senate seat in California or New Jersey!

[j86jws]

Yup, yup, yup, it's a hard act to follow demonizing anything for Obama with Ding Dong Nelson doin' such a good job of demonizing his brother and sister Democrats.

[jsgaetano]

Nelson is proof that all America's enemies are conservatives, but not every conservative is a Republican.

[norman]

The Democrats in Congress must be inoculated immediately to ward off Nelson-Lincoln disease. It is a wasting disease that leaves the victim without guts and with severely impaired moral fiber.

[den1953]

Is it possible for a senator to be thrown out of a political party?

[meko]

It is possible for a Majority Leader to strip senators of their committee chairs and other perks. Many have done so in the past. The Democratic Party leadership may also deny those who do not support the party support, both in endorsements and in reelection funds. This has been done in the past, but is not being done in this case.

In fact, when members of the Democratic base worked to inform the constituents of these senators (Lincoln and Nelson) of their votes and encouraged them to contact the White House and these senators to voice their opposition to these anti-Democratic platform votes, the White House Chief of Staff screamed obscenities at them. He apologized for his word choice, not for the insults - he is supported by the White House.

So yes, it's possible. But not with this leadership.

[taddles]

Rham got Nelson into office, he's not going to let him be touched. Rham's idea was to get centrist Dems elected in Red states, problem with that concept is that once they are in office they are no better than republicans and they know that Rham can't touch them because they can always threaten to join the other side. Rham Emanuel is an id1ot who effectively shot his own party in the foot in an arrogant vain attempt to get the wrong people elected.

[jsgaetano]

There was Lieberman.

[MiHi]

Ben Nelson is NOT a Democrat in any way, shape, or form.

if Nelson is a "democrat", then imagine what the Nebraska REPUBLICANS must be like.

[meko]

Nor is Lincoln.

[reasonshouldrule]

What must the Nebraska Republicans be like? Kind of makes you sick, doesn't it?