Repub Holding Up Government…Because He Can

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The latest from the NO party.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Al, is blocking Senate action on executive branch nominations, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said this afternoon in an e-mail.

…Reid spokeswoman Regan Lachapelle confirmed that Shelby has placed a “blanket hold” on most pending nominations.

By placing a hold, a single senator can stop the Senate from voting on a particular nomination, often as a way of gaining leverage on an unrelated issue. It is not clear when Shelby placed the hold or how many nominees are affected. While individual holds are not unusual, Gary Jacobson, a congressional expert at the University of California at San Diego, said he knew of no previous use of a blanket hold.

With his move, Shelby is holding up at least 70 Obama nominations because …

According to the report, Shelby is holding Obama’s nominees hostage until a pair of lucrative programs that would send billions in taxpayer dollars to his home state get back on track.

This is what teabaggers should really be screaming about – the fact that a single senator, on a whim,  has the power to hold up the forward movement of government.  Where is the Republican leadership on this?

Right, I forgot, there is no leadership.

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