It is time to get pissed. Okay, this is by no means the first time I've been pissed at Congress, but I'm really pissed. The topic if my wrath? The filibuster of the confirmation of Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense. If you haven't heard about this, here is the short version. After the usual hoop jumping - a full investigation, vetting and general inspection of everything he ever said, wrote or thought about national defense - they held hearings, asked all the questions and decided yes, he is qualified, and voted in cloture that he should be confirmed - 58 ayes is enough. Then four republican - I will not dignify the designation with a capital letter in reference to these clowns - senators (John McCain, Lindsay Graham, ?? and ???) decided they weren't okay with the idea and put a filibuster in place to prevent the vote. Why does this royally piss me off? Let me count the ways. It is:
- irresponsible. Remember the 60,000 plus troops still in Afghanistan? The simmering nitro in Syria and Iran? The upcoming NATO meetings? The changes taking place as we speak throughout the military? Seems like a Sec'y of Defense might be a good idea? I would think so. Did they forget that Leon Panetta has already packed up, said good bye and is outta here? I doubt it. And let us not forget that they did this the day before the Senate heads off for break! Criminally irresponsible.
- dishonest. At least two of these bastards - McCain and Graham - said publicly that while they were considering the idea, they would NOT actually do it. But that was three days ago and what good is a promise anyway? And Graham had the gall to claim it wasn't a filibuster. If it looks like shit, smells like shit, etc. Was Hagel great in the hearings? No. But was there anything brought up to call his qualifications into question? No. Did he get a majority of votes? Yes!!
- without precedent. Never, not ever, in the over two centuries they have been doing this, as anyone ever filibustered a cabinet nominee. People have been denied, removed their names from consideration and been removed by the President, but never have they been held up like this. Ever. Can I be clear here? NEVER. Remember that this is the law of the land as per our constitution. He is the President's choice, he has a majority of votes, he gets the job. Except this time because these four guys say no. Four! Four chest-thumping, finger-wagging, flag waving hypocrites who freak out if someone else has the temerity to suggest that the constitution is not perfect as the sacred framers wrote it. But they can ignore two hundred years of precedent and senate guidelines because they didn't get their way.
- pointless. It actually isn't because they didn't get their way, but because they are petulant obstructionist punks. This is the image I can't get out of my head: a four-year-old, having just been told no, holding his breath, stomping his feet and throwing things even though he knows it won't change anything. But he can't help himself because he is only four and a brat. At least two of these asses have even said they will probably confirm him after the recess. So why not do it now to avoid being irresponsible? They haven't even actually given an clear reason why they're doing it to begin with. The closest anyone has come is to say hey want more information about the attack on Ben Ghazi. Huh? That would be State, not Defense, but they slid Kerry through his confirmation like he was greased.
- petty. Since there isn't any professed justification that holds water, perhaps there are some other possibilities. How about they just hate President Obama so much they just can't abide the thought of him getting something he wants (Kerry was their idea). Or maybe they hate Hagel because he turned on them - don't forget that the guy they are torturing like this is a former Republican senator. Could they be stalling? The more time they waste on a done-deal confirmation the less time they have to spend actually legislating. I am reluctant to go with that one because while they are certainly underhanded and unscrupulous enough, it would betray an ability for long-term thinking that I think might be beyond them. I'm going to go with all of the above and because they are small-minded and mean.
Let's see. Irresponsible, petty, pointless, dishonest and without precedent. Shall we just use that as the new definition of Republican for simplicity's sake? But lest you chalk this up as just another liberal rant, I must point out that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - Democrat - also has to be called to task for this as well. This wouldn't even have been possible if when he had the chance to change the rules to prevent such ignominious perverting of the senate guidelines he had shown a little spine. He decided instead to put in place a "handshake rule" or "gentlemen's agreement" with Mitch McConnell that this kind of crap would stop. Gutless, which unfortunately is too often the case with Democrats lately. Then again, what he is mostly guilty of is trusting these asshats. But did we really expect such as these to honor a handshake or behave like gentlemen? I didn't and am in no way surprised.
But I am pissed.
No comments:
Post a Comment