Time for Obama to go gangsta against GOP; make recess appointments
Civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer made famous the phrase, “I’m sick and tired of getting sick and tired.”
For me, I’m sick and tired of Democrats having power and being unwilling to use it. I’ve always respected Republicans when they had power because they were willing to use it and maybe apologize later.
Today, President Barack Obama walked into the White House briefing room, and took some questions, and one of them revolved around recess appointments.
He has witnessed Republicans block many of his appointments, and now he says he made it clear to them that he will “consider” appointing some when the U.S. Senate goes into recess.
“One senator, as you all are aware, had put a hold on every single nominee that we had put forward due to a dispute over a couple of earmarks in his state,” President Obama said. “In our meeting, I asked the congressional leadership to put a stop to these holds in which nominees for critical jobs are denied a vote for months. Surely we can set aside partisanship and do what’s traditionally been done to confirm these nominations. If the Senate does not act — and I made this very clear — if the Senate does not act to confirm these nominees, I will consider making several recess appointments during the upcoming recess, because we can’t afford to allow politics to stand in the way of a well-functioning government.”
This is where the president needs to show his toughness and just do it. Forget the threats. The actions of Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and other Republican obstructionists will continue if President Obama allows them to run roughshod over him. When you’re the top dog, you do what you have to do to govern. And allowing Republican senators to continue to deny your appointments is nonsense.
And if all of them choose to support a filibuster, then you take it to the American people and show them as being obstructionists. You put them on blast and you get your grassroots movement fired up to stand up and do something. The political right used their base to go after Dems who blocked appointments to the federal bench and other positions. So why not be just as aggressive?
If there are members of your own party who stand in the way, such as Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), then you also put them on blast and you make them pay for acting so foolishly.
This president got rolled by the Senate over healthcare. His team made some boneheaded mistakes, and now they are paying for it. Continuing to play footsie with them will only get him into more trouble. He should set a deadline to have his folks confirmed. If not, appoint them all during the recess and go on about your business.
His critics keep blasting him for Chicago-style politics. So, fine. Channel your inner Al Capone and go gangsta against your foes and let ‘em know that if they aren’t with you, they are against you, and will pay the price.
