The Myth of Republican Obstructionism
Try googling "Republican obstructionism." By the time you get to "ob-" Google will have suggested several variations on this popular phrase, with hundreds of search results. Apparently some wags are even calling the GOP the "Grand Obstructionist Party" (oh stop it - my sides are splitting!).
Here's a quote from a December 6 report from NPR: "Since the beginning of the Obama administration, Republicans have escalated the use of the filibuster to historic levels and have blocked nearly 20 percent of Obama nominees. . . . "* Alas, no fact-checking over at NPR. The truth is, at least as far as judicial nominees go, Bush faced much worse obstructionism. Some useful facts from Ed Whelan at NRO Bench Memos:
- Obama's has an 81% confirmation rate for appellate judges compared to Bush's 66% (oddly enough, for district court judges Bush did slightly better than Obama, but not by such a large margin).
- There were no successful filibusters in 2009-2010 against Obama's appellate nominees. In 2011, there were two (nominees Goodwin Liu and Caitlin Halligan). In 2003 - Bush's third year in office - there were nine, with Democrats beating back "cloture" petitions 19 times.
If anything, the Senate GOP needs to get tougher with Obama.
*[note: the embedded hyperlink is a story in the Nation magazine that does not in any way substantiate the "historic levels" claim].
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Comments :
Dec '10
Re: The Myth of Republican Obstructionism
Exactly Adam, we need to jump up and down on their legs every chance we get and not think twice about it. This is ridiculous. They are fools fooling only themselves.
Jul '11
Re: The Myth of Republican Obstructionism
Why, again, do we fund an NPR that is broadcast nationally, largely supported with federal funds, so they have inevitably an obvious bias for any administration that holds the purse strings for their very existence? It seems to me this puts them in a position of being advocates for the growth of federal government, regardless of its impact, because their paychecks depend on it. We're paying for a megaphone that's telling the country to support a specific presidential candidate, with our tax dollars.
Amazing.
Re: The Myth of Republican Obstructionism
Chris, I agree with the sentiment, but to be fair, I don't think NPR is "largely" supported by federal funds. One of the telling moments of James O'Keefe's secret recording of NPR executive Ron Schiller is Schiller's remark that NPR doesn't need federal funding and would be better off without it.
That said, any amount of taxpayer funding is too much.
Aug '10
Re: The Myth of Republican Obstructionism
Adam, I bet there are people over at Stoopidtown (NPR) that didn't consider the Bush numbers because it was a "false presidency" ...
James O'Keefe's heroics are receiving more shovels of dirt than a mass grave, it would be interesting to see how many people are busily covering up the truth he exposed.
Edited on Dec 27, 2011 at 2:26pm