President Obama Calls Out Mike Lee’s Scorched Earth Obstructionism

[ProSense]

President Obama Calls Out Mike Lee’s Scorched Earth Obstructionism

By Ian Millhiser

Last week, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) announced he would take revenge for President Obama’s decision to make four recess appointments by engaging in a scorched earth campaign of obstruction against the president’s nominees. In his weekly address this weekend, Obama punched back:

Just two days ago, a senator from Utah promised to obstruct every single American I appoint to a judgeship or public service position – unless I fire the consumer watchdog I put in place to protect the American people from financial schemes or malpractice.

For the most part, it’s not that this senator thinks these nominees are unqualified. In fact, all of the judicial nominees being blocked have bipartisan support. And almost 90 percent have unanimous support from the Judiciary Committee.

Instead, one of his aides told reporters that the senator plans to, and I’m quoting here, “Delay and slow the process in order to get the President’s attention.”

Watch it:

<...>

Lee is, in many ways, the perfect foil to the president. While Obama wants nothing more than for the Senate to consider his nominees in a timely manner and give them an up or down vote, Lee’s short political career is marred by escalating displays of extremism and embarrassing overreach. A sample of Lee’s beliefs include:

• Child Labor Laws Are Unconstitutional: <...>
  
  
• And So Is Social Security and Medicare: <...>
  
  
• And So Is Nearly Everything Else: <...>
  
  
• The Constitution Needs A Depression Amendment: Lee is the lead sponsor of a radical constitutional amendment that would force such swift and draconian spending cuts that it would “throw about 15 million more people out of work, double the unemployment rate from 9 percent to approximately 18 percent, and cause the economy to shrink by about 17 percent instead of growing by an expected 2 percent.”
  
  
• Extorting The American People: <...>
  
  
• Corporate Slush Funds For Politicians: <....>
  
  
• Sabotage: And, of course, let’s not forget that the entire reason why President Obama needed to make his recent recess appointments is because senators like Mike Lee were filibustering Obama’s nominees to sabotage entire agencies. In Lee’s words, “I feel it is my duty to oppose (CFPB Director Richard Cordray's) confirmation as part of my opposition to the creation of CFPB itself.”
  
  http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/01/30/414059/president-obama-calls-out-mike-lees-scorched-earth-obstructionism/

[Sheepshank]

1. A Freshman idiot thinks he's going to show up Obama?

oh, please please please, let the smack down be heard publically and repeatedly

Bowing my head in shame (I'm in Utah) and his TEA bagger vote into office (I hope) is short lived.

[AtomicKitten]

2. And that would be different than the GOP obstructionism so far how exactly?

k&r

[BumRushDaShow]

3. K&R

and ditto about his teabagger origins.

[ProSense]

6. He's a

poster child for teabaggers.

[Enrique]

4. both parties do this?

refresh my memory, which Dem did something like this, and admitted it was just to obstruct?

The truth is, neither party has been blameless in tactics like these. But it’s time for both parties to put an end to them. I’m asking Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, to stop this kind of behavior by passing a rule that allows all judicial and public service nominations a simple up-or-down vote within 90 days.

[ProSense]

5. Well

"both parties do this? refresh my memory, which Dem did something like this, and admitted it was just to obstruct?"

...there was the recent incident with a Senator from NJ, but that's over now.

[shraby]

7. I don't think he meant "both parties do this" he meant it takes both parties to pass rules to stop i

[ProSense]

8. It's

definitely time to end the obstruction. They've gone from nonsensical arguments to stating outright that their only goal is to obstruct.

[Motown_Johnny]

9. Running against Congress just got easier

stupid conservatives