Enough is enough.
Your message to Harry Reid:
Enough is enough. Do not honor Sen. Shelby's shameful hold on all
70 of Pres. Obama's appointees. Stand up, fight back and make the
Republicans filibuster these nominees and suffer the consequences in
the court of public opinion.
A Republican Senator
from Alabama has put what is by all accounts an extraordinary
"blanket hold" on almost every single nomination that
President Obama has sent to the Senate.
This is what happens
when the Democratic leadership plays nice with bullies. The country
loses. And if Sen. Richard Shelby is successful, this kind of
extortion will only get worse.
At least 70
nominees to important positions at the White House, the federal
judiciary, and crucial cabinet agencies - including those charged
with keeping us safe from terrorism - cannot move forward until this
hold is ignored or lifted.
What's worse, this
is not just the typical Republican obstructionism, but a brazen brand
of political extortion. According to reports, Sen. Shelby will lift
his hold on the President's executive appointees if the Senate agrees
to pour billions of dollars into Alabama via two federal programs:
- A $40 billion contract for Northrop/EADS to build air-to-air refueling tankers in Mobile, Ala.
- The construction of a $45 million FBI lab outside Huntsville, Ala.
- A $40 billion contract for Northrop/EADS to build air-to-air refueling tankers in Mobile, Ala.
- The construction of a $45 million FBI lab outside Huntsville, Ala.
It's time for
Democratic leadership to stand up to Republicans, starting with Sen.
Shelby. Senate Majority Leader Reid should refuse to honor Shelby's
"blanket hold" on more than 70 nominees. If Republicans want
to block every single Obama appointee, they must filibuster them
one-by-one and deal with the very public consequences of their
obstructionism. Sen. Shelby should be ashamed - but he is
not.
Harry Reid has
refused to honor holds in the past - including when Sen. Chris Dodd
tried to block retroactive telecom immunity for big telecom companies
who helped the Bush White House spy on Americans.
Imagine the gall of
blocking every single one of the President's appointees, just to bring
home pork to the state of Alabama.
If ever there was a
time for Sen. Reid to say enough is enough, it's now. We can't let
Senate Democrats simply stand by while a Republican Senator brazenly
takes advantage of their spinelessness to extort billions of taxpayer
dollars for boondoggle projects in his home state.
Thank you for
demanding action from Democratic leadership.
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