Enough of Senate 'Holds', Time to Move Forward

Driving to the printer, to pick up some proofs on new brochures for work today, I was listening to the segment on NPR about the number of Obama appointees that are being blocked from doing their job by ‘holds’ in the Senate.

As you’ll read, ‘holds’ are a cheesy little way of gumming up the works, behind the scenes, anonymously. If this isn’t the official definition of ‘chicken shit’ then nothing is. This can be done away with, like it’s bad traveling companion, the filibuster, but it’s doubtful that it can happen with this Senate - without a LOT of public outrage and insistence.

Listen to the complete story by clicking here.

Here’s what NPR has to say about it all:

“The “hold” is an informal Senate custom that allows any lawmaker to block action on any bill or nomination at any time for any reason. It is essentially a threatened filibuster. Party leaders can try to move ahead anyway, but they generally honor holds out of tradition and courtesy. A president can overcome holds on nominations by making short-term appointments while Congress is away on recess. This spring, President Obama, facing 77 such holds, made more than a dozen recess appointments. By comparison, at the same point during the George W. Bush administration, senators had placed holds on only five nominations. As of May 5, senators had holds on 87 executive and judicial nominations, most of them anonymous. Four lawmakers have gone public and attached their names to the nominees they are blocking. Democrats say they have no current holds on nominations.”

And here is the thoroughly ridiculous number of appointees that are the objects of ‘holds’ - just one more thing that needs changing in the Senate (aside from all the obstructionist Republicans there):

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