Dumbass Quote of the Day

“It’s astounding to me that the president is claiming these are recess appointments and within his authority, when Congress was not in fact in recess. These appointments are an affront to the Constitution. No matter how you look at this, it doesn’t pass the smell test. I hope the House considers my resolution as soon as we return to Washington so we can send a message to President Obama.”

—Rep. Diane Black (R-TN)

...As soon as we return to Washington from where, you goddamn moron? If the house is in session, shouldn't you be there?

Look, I'm not saying that they aren't technically pulling the "pro forma" stunt that Harry Reid did when George Bush was in office, but Democrats also didn't block every fucking confirmation vote the way the current 112th Congressional Republicans are obstructing every Obama nomination because they don't have the balls to put it up to a vote.

(H/T Chris U.)

Recess Par-TAY!

This is what happens when Republican opposition is only for reasons of trying to cripple the government under the Obama administration, be it the Consumer Protections Bureau, or the National Labor Relations Board to establish a quorum, or an ever growing number of vacancies in the federal judicial system (101 and counting). So enough is enough.

President Obama touched off a fierce election-year confrontation with Congressional Republicans on Wednesday, defying their deep opposition to appoint Richard Cordray as director of a new consumer protection agency and fill three labor board vacancies.

Whine all you want, Republicans, but refusing to even meet to vet or discuss nominations for positions to make the gears of government run is a bullshit move, and you can just fuck off.

“I refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer,” Mr. Obama said, adding, “I am not going to stand by while a minority in the Senate puts party ideology ahead of the people we were elected to serve.”

Oh, and there's also this:

"Despite the inevitable conservative complaints that President Obama is engaged in some kind of massive overreach by recess appointing Richard Cordray as the nation’s chief consumer financial protection watchdog, the truth is that Obama has used his recess appointment power very sparingly. After today’s appointment, President Obama will have made a total of 29 recess appointments. By comparison, George W. Bush made 171 recess appointments; Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments; George H.W. Bush made 77 recess appointments; and Ronald Reagan made 243. When you divide these numbers by the number of years each man spent in the White House, it reveals that Obama is far and away the least likely president to invoke this power."

So yeah, fuck off, hypocrites.

Quote of the Day

"Recess appointments are there. Ronald Reagan made 243 of 'em. And, remember, if Reagan did it, it automatically covers your ass because he was so fucking awesome when he wasn't soiling his diaper."

 ~ The Rude Pundit on why President Obama should recess appoint every nominee being delayed by Republicans. 

Bush The Deceitful

An abuse of power to the Nth degree.

President Bush has appointed Sam Fox as Ambassador to Belgium. If you don't know who Sam Fox is, he was Chimpy's nominee for said appointment back in January. During his Senate Confirmation Hearing in February however, he hit a bit of a snag when questions arose on why he donated $50,000 to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. You remember them, don't you? They're the lying scumbags who smeared John Kerry during his Presidential campaign in 2004.

So there is Sam Fox, sweating in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, answering questions asked by... John Kerry, who is on the committee. Chickens coming back to roost anyone?

Well, knowing Fox didn't have the votes was just a bit too much to take for Curious George and on March 28th (just seven days ago) he withdrew Fox's nomination. So now what does this sneaky, evil, criminal son-of-a-bitch do? He waits for Congress to go on a one week recess and then APPOINTS SAM FOX Ambassador to Belgium!

"We view the recess appointment of Mr. Fox as a clear abuse of the President's recess appointment power," three Democratic senators wrote in a letter to the Government Accountability Office, Congress' auditing agency.

Apparently Bush thinks that this is a dictatorship, not a democracy. Talk about brass balls! The Democratic senators were outraged, and asked the Government Accountability Office Thursday, "If the U.S. Senate defeats the nomination of Mr. Fox, would Mr. Fox's recess appointment continue through the current session of Congress, or would it be terminated?"

But that's a longshot as Bush had done this before with the 2002 blocked nomination of Otto Reich as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs. Senator Chris Dodd blocked that nomination and the Chimp-Man gave Reich the job as a recess appointment. The GAO then cited the US Constitution in Bush's favor. Ironic isn't it?

And to add insult to injury, of course Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, (The "I" must stand for "imbecile") the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney "hailed the appointment." Why wouldn't they? It's just another end-around to subvert the checks and balances of the Constitution that Bush hides behind when it's in his favor, but disregards when it is not.