Republican Holds Up Obama Appointments Until He Gets Some Pork For His State

• February 7, 2010

It’s not often I find myself agreeing with Democrats or the Obama administration, but when they blast Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama for holding up some of Obama’s defense department appointments until he gets some defense earmarks for his state, they’re right.
This sort of behavior is inexcusable for Republicans, especially at a time when they’re simultaneously raking Obama and the Democrats over the coals on excessive federal spending. How can we take them seriously in opposing that spending, and enacting a new sense of fiscal responsibility, when they’re also playing politics to pork up their home states/districts?
This, frankly, is the sort of behavior which indicates that while Democrats may be losing favor with the American public Republicans aren’t yet necessarily ready to step back into the majority.
Because clearly, they haven’t learned their lesson yet.

Tags: Asshats, Domestic Issues, Politics

http://Array brenarlo

It’s time to repeal the 17th amendment.
http://www.harlemghost.blogspot.com/ harlemghost

“Because clearly, they havenâ€™t learned their lesson yet.”

So now one guy is a THEY ?

Wow … so until there is not one member of the GOP who doesn’t have a single earmark “The GOP hasn’t learned the lesson”.

Blast thos one guy, quit trying to paint the party with the actions of individuals.
robert108

He’s also stopping Obama’s efforts to gut our national defense.
sayanything-287

Thanks to Mike Adamson for posting this story yesterday in the Reader Blogs, which allowed for some time to consider the issue in greater depth.

I agree that if we on the Right can complain about those on the Left bringing pork to their state to the detriment of the economy/budget deficits, we need to hold those on the Right responsible as well.

It was suggested this was acceptable because it involved defense appropriations and that might carry some weight except, Shelby is only fighting for military projects in his state and no other Senators seem to see these defense expenditures as being thus critical.
sayanything-352

He’s not a double agent and it’s not a nefarious group. The President is a not-so-closet Marxist. Even a cursory examination of his background, not to mention actually READING his book “Dreams from My Father”, will tell you that. He doesn’t intend to ‘hurt’ the United States. On the contrary, he intends to ‘improve’ the country with his policies. He is dead wrong, of course and is too blind (because of his ego) to see, much less admit it.
robert108

What would he be doing any differently if he were? Your nutty conspiracy spew is BS, but there is such a thing as “common purpose”. When he went all over the world bowing, pandering and apologizing, what did that tell you?
He’s not representing my interest or the interests of the majority of Americans when he does stuff like that. What’s behind his gutting of our national defense and his flaccid response to Islamic terrorism?
Do you have anything to say about those things?
robert108

My comments don’t “make” you do anything; all that stuff is already in your own mind.
robert108

They should be gutting wasteful social spending, not necessary defense spending.
lock’em’up

Your fake outrage is wearing thin. This is SOP for republicans & democrats. Freekin’ Scott Brown just said he’ll consider ANY legislation that benefits HIS state. Benefits his state, not the tea party cause, not the country, Pork for Massachusetts.

Until this changes, which it never will, we need to elect the congressman that is best for our states interests. Not the one who claims that he’ll stop all pork for ND. Hey Scott, ya listening?
lock’em’up

robert108, your comments make me wonder. Do you think President Obama is like a double agent for some nefarious group that has been put in place to damage the United States?
sayanything-4808

“Do you think President Obama is like a double agent for some nefarious group that has been put in place to damage the United States?”

No, he’s just an ego-blinded moron. If we still need to explain this, you’re obviously competing with him on the luge run downhill into the IQ basement.

I suggest self-immolation during a family BBQ. Those are always the best for YouTube.
sayanything-7695

There just aren’t very many good politicians in Congress these days.
sayanything-4808

“For one thing, a health care bill that had the level of unfunded mandates for states that the one that has nearly been signed into law wouldn’t even see the light of day in the Senate of Senators were representing states, and not popularly elected, as our founders intended.”

Not even close. The Dems have major influence in the majority of states and control over a good number outright. To think they would not invite this chicanery on their own states is absurd. The state legislatures are almost as irresponsible as the federal one.

Any unfunded mandate tossed on the states always get buck-passed to the towns. The towns then turn and lobby the feds for more money. You get direct public groundswell and so the feds turn around and provide the money through a back door later after the budgetary damage has already been done.

EDIT: There’s a serious disconnect between the problem’s appearance in the continual here and now, and the cause in the there and then. The political class well knows that you can rant all you like about the government causing the issue in the first place, but the public will ONLY care about getting the money any way they can. The ones who create the unfunded mandates use the resentment and hands-out begging as an a posteriori reason for spending. Create a debt, pass the debt, then use the debt you made as an excuse for spending, only part of which goes to cover it and the rest to get you re-elected.
sayanything-4642

“This sort of behavior is inexcusable for Republicans”

this is all you really needed to write, the gop needs to move AWAY from bribes like this.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

The big lie here is that massive amounts of federal-deficit spending being funneled into the states is actually good for those states.

It isn’t.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

I agree.

For one thing, a health care bill that had the level of unfunded mandates for states that the one that has nearly been signed into law wouldn’t even see the light of day in the Senate of Senators were representing states, and not popularly elected, as our founders intended.
sayanything-4808

Wow, ONE member of a party that is so far in the minority that they come off like Orthodox Jews at the Apollo Theater, manages to stand up Obama and the entire Democrat machine.

It reminds me of this.

Except, the only slaughter is going to be 2010 and again in 2012 and it will be the guys in the tanks.

Do the Dems ever get tired of looking like powerless insects? Or is it just that their entire way is so based on assumption of invented ideas at odds with reality that just one person uttering the word “no” can grind them to a total halt?

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Republican Holds Up Obama Appointments Until He Gets Some Pork For His State

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