The Senate GOP under President Obama has mastered the art of proactive apathy. Not content with neglecting their own jobs, Senate Republicans have expertly used their own dysfunction to prevent other parts of government from doing theirs. These efforts have consequences far beyond bureaucratic procedure: whether it's by crippling the courts or attacking agencies that hold corporations accountable, Republicans are making it harder for individual Americans to access the rights that a functioning government protects.
This week, Senate Republicans added two new public disservices to their resume. On Tuesday, they shattered the 2005 "Gang of 14" deal that prevented filibusters of judicial nominees in all but extraordinary circumstances, setting a standard that no nominee for the D.C. Circuit will be able to meet. As President Obama said about the filibuster of Halligan's nomination, "The only extraordinary things about Ms. Halligan are her qualifications and her intellect." And then on Thursday, they blocked President Obama's nominee to head a new federal agency simply because they do not want that agency to exist -- a move that will have untold consequences on future attempts to staff the executive branch.
These political power plays by a minority of senators are far more than "inside the Beltway" procedural dust ups. They signal the emergence of a party that is so intent on tilting the playing field in favor of the powerful that they will sacrifice basic public service in order to serve the interests of a powerful few.
On Tuesday, all but one Senate Republican refused to allow an up-or-down confirmation vote on Caitlin Halligan, a D.C. Circuit Court nominee who in any other year would have been easily approved by the Senate. The GOP struggled to find a reason to oppose Halligan on her merits, ultimately settling on a handful of trumped-up charges and the ridiculous argument that the D.C. Circuit, with one third of its seats vacant, didn't need another judge. When George W. Bush was president, many of these same Republicans loudly proclaimed that filibustering judicial nominees violates the United States Constitution, ultimately agreeing to the "Gang of 14" deal that judicial nominees would only be filibustered under "extraordinary circumstances." The vote on Halligan shattered that deal, opening the door for further political abuse of the judicial confirmation process.
On Thursday, the story repeated itself when the GOP succeeded in blocking a vote to confirm Richard Cordray to lead the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Cordray, the former attorney general of Ohio, is as non-controversial as they come. He has a history of working with banks and with consumer advocates. He's backed by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, including the Republican who beat him in last year's election. Republicans in the Senate don't have any problems with Cordray. But they've made it very clear that they'll do everything in their power to keep the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from performing the functions that it is required by law to carry out. They don't want anyone to lead the agency, because without a Senate-confirmed head, it cannot perform all of its legally assigned duties. This is not conjecture on the part of progressives; Republicans have brazenly admitted it.
Unfortunately, these votes are not aberrations. They are part of a clear pattern of the Senate GOP since President Obama's election. Unable to accept the results of an election they lost, and unable to get their own way on everything, they have resorted to obstruction and dysfunction. They have abused the extraordinary power the Senate minority is granted , blocking everything they get their hands on, sometimes, it seem, simply because they can. In the process, they are damaging America's system of justice and accountability and betraying the voters they were elected to serve.
Perhaps they are doing this to serve the powerful corporate special interests that do not want courts and agencies to hold them accountable, or perhaps they are doing it to score political points against a Democratic president, or some combination of those reasons. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. Either way, they are abusing their positions and throwing sand in the gears of the Senate to make it harder for ordinary Americans to get our day in court and to defend ourselves against the powerful. It's a deeply cynical strategy, and ultimately a deeply harmful one.
That's not accidental. That's *deliberate*. They *HATE* citizens getting access to redress of grievances. The GOP, which in their minds are always right, abhor the thought of a wrong citizen getting a favorable judgment by a fair judge.
So, they attack all avenues at once. They hinder the appointment *OF* fair judges, talk about crippling the jurisdiction *OF* the courts in Constitutional cases (illegal, but what do they care?), and make it as difficult as possible for a citizen to be considered having th standing to file a grievance.
"Of course that want to "harm" governmentÂ. They want to DESTROY governmentÂ."
Not true, or else why would they be trying to remove *ALL* restraints *ON* government? That's *why* the GOP is fighting the appointment of decent judges.
The GOP is *not* against government. They merely have a very different, negative view of the role of government. Government, in their view, should exist only to punish and enforce conformity. Government should never *HELP* anyone -- only punish.
Unfortunately, they're willing to give the *punishment* arms of government as many tax dollars and personnel as it wants. A *real* wet dream is to privatize the prison complex and, in so doing, build a predatory gravy train that enriches corporate America and, by virtue of privatization, is less easily held accountable to Constitutional limits.
Perhaps the half of the country that votes Republican should rethink voting for a group of people who not only think that government is ineffective, but are tirelessly striving to make the effective parts of government conform to their cynicism.
SarcasticLiberal.blogspot.com
Everything you say is true. However, Grover Norquist is only an agent of the 1%. Where do you think he get the money to select and finance primary chanllenges?
It must serve their interests alone.
Their priorities seem to be to something other than democratically conducting the business of the nation.
They make a farce of our Constitution.
It only required a 2/3 majority for approval of any US treaty.
A simple majority is required to move a nomination to vote.
But because of the filibuster threat it became a 2/3rds majority to end discussion and move a nomination to be approved.
No place in the constitution does it mention a filibuster.
Can you tell me which party is which?
Newsflash: A national budget is not the same as a personal checking account.
The dems started this with the Bork nomination. He was a good man and, by historical standards, ought to have sailed through the confirmation progress. The dems stopped him for purely political reasons.
It used to be that the President was the President and the opposition resigned themselves to the fact that - even if they didn't like it - the President ought to be allowed to appoint his own men/women. The dems broke that consensus with Bork.
Nothing will ever put it back together.
I guess your mother never told you that 2 wrongs don't make a right.
By all means lets bring the debate up to the level of ten year olds.
How do you think 'Borked' became a verb?
bork
   [bawrk] Show IPA
verb (used with object)
to attack (a candidate or public figure) systematically, especially in the media.
Origin:
1988, Americanism ; after Judge Robert H. Bork, whose appointment to the Supreme Court was blocked in 1987 after an extensive media campaign by his opponents
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2011.
As you sow, so shall you reap....
Check your history once in awhile. This filibuster game has been going on for years, by BOTH parties.
You know the one.............
that when his side lost he cried. "It's my ball, MINE, and if I can't win, I'm going to take my ball and go home..............So THERE!"
Lousy attitude for a spoiled child..................despicable for a political party elected to serve.
One can only wonder why anyone votes for them?
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." -Abraham Lincoln-
Damaging the courts via corrupt far-right partisan appointees -- and preventing Democratic presidents from repairing the damage by any means possible -- is *THE TOP*, the *MOST ABSOLUTE* litmus test in the Republican Party today. Today's GOP would sooner raise taxes on the rich than confirm a strong progressive judge.