A somewhat entertaining wrinkle in those somewhat hasty and fumbling recess appointments to the National Labor [Relations] Board that Obama brought off today: it turns out that the three picks were only submitted to the Senate on December 15th. They have not been in point of fact filibustered; the question hasn’t even arisen yet, given that it’s been all of nineteen days since the names were submitted and a huge chunk of that time was the Christmas/New Year’s break. I’ve heard of… anticipation, but that’s just absurd. If you’re going to try to paint the opposition party as obstructionists, common courtesy dictates that you at least give the opposition party a chance to actually obstruct. Otherwise you’re just being silly.
One hopes that the President is not going to make a habit of this sort of thing…
Moe Lane
PS: What’s that I hear? “The GOP was going to obstruct anyway, so it’s perfectly all right for the President to get it over with quickly!” …Do tell. And God, but do I feel sorry for the wife of any man making that particular argument…
But impeachment would be playing into his hands!!!!
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Bleh. The Constitution is dead.
Can you jump a shark if there’s no shark present?
Fair point, Mr. Crawford, but .. there’s quite a lot the congress can do, and quite a few reasons why impeachment and doing nothing would be .. unwise. See what Drew over at Ace of Spades had to say:
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/325322.php
For instance, embargo every dollar allocated to NLRB and CFPB and forbid other agencies from answering queries from either until the nominees are given hearings.
Mew
Sorry, don’t care what anyone at Ace of Spades says.
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And playing with budgets won’t work, either. Lord High Emperor Obama the First has already ignored Congress on that. They explicitly zeroed out some of his “czars” and he declared that Congress doesn’t have the authority to set budgets if he disagrees.
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He’ll just do the same, again.
So next time a Republican President will be able to make appointments on a weekend. That is great news.