Obama's Recess Appointment Sparks Showdown

[leftysergeant]

Who the hell does Coons think he is to call the chamber to order?

 

[Crossbow]

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobby...fight-over-obamas-appointments-almost-certain

"Obama infuriated Republicans Wednesday by announcing the recess appointment of Richard Cordray to be the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Senate Republicans had blocked Cordray's nomination for months, so the president bypassed them with a recess appointment during the holiday break.
He followed that up later in the day with recess appointments for three members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), heading off another likely GOP filibuster.
The recess appointments broke with legal precedent, as they while the Senate is holding regular pro forma sessions. Republicans insist the Senate has not been in recess thanks to the seconds-long sessions held every few days, but White House attorneys determined the procedural move is a gimmick that can be ignored by the president.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) blasted the move as an "unprecedented power grab" and said he expects "the courts will find the appointment to be illegitimate."

Good!

Obama has been pushing for these appointments for months and those stupid, lying, self-centered Republicans have been blocking this issue; therefore if it takes a bold move like this to get the vote that is needed, then so be it.

 

[Newtons Bit]

Dude, check the names in that article. There was someone with authority there to call the chamber to order. That chinless drongo from Tennessee does not have that authority.

The Senate can't go into recess without the House's permission (and vice versa). So yes, the chinless drongo does have the authority.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

Since several people are comparing Bush v. Democrats in Congress to Obama v. Republicans in Congress on the matter of blocking votes on appointments, does anyone have any figures of how many appointments were/are being blocked in each case?

 

[hgc]

Who is the chinless drongo from Tennessee?

 

[Tricky]

I don't why the legislature gets "recess" anyway. How many citizens have jobs that just stop for a while? Surely governing (allegedly governing) the country is important enough to happen year round?

I think that the principle is that representatives should actually spend some part of their time with the people they represent. I don't mind the recesses if they'd just DO something when they're not in recess.

 

[leftysergeant]

Who is the chinless drongo from Tennessee?

Oops! My bad. McConnell is from Kentucky.

He's the whackadoodle who stated flat-out that the first order of business should be to be sure that Obama would be a one-term president.

He is the Senate Minority Leader.

Repuiblicons got a wierd concept of "leadership." Apparently, it has nothing to do with enacting laws for the good of the country.

 

[A'isha]

Since several people are comparing Bush v. Democrats in Congress to Obama v. Republicans in Congress on the matter of blocking votes on appointments, does anyone have any figures of how many appointments were/are being blocked in each case?

I haven't found how many appointments have been blocked during each presidency, but over here is a listing of how many recess appointments each president made going back to Reagan, and how that works out to a per-year average.

 

[TragicMonkey]

I think that the principle is that representatives should actually spend some part of their time with the people they represent.

They vacation with their lobbyists?

 

[Trakar]

Uh, no, actually I don't recall ever saying any such thing.

But I agree with you if you mean that the Democrats should never have started this stupid practice and it serves them right to have it used against them now that the tables are turned.

But we'll let the courts sort it out and then we'll have a legal precedent.

Are you sure the Democrats started it, or did you just mean they are also guilty of it.

 

[Dancing David]

Reagan-240
Bush I -77
Clinton -140
Bush II -171
Obama -28

And the winner is Ronald Reagan !

"But I agree with you if you mean that the Democrats should never have started this stupid practice and it serves them right to have it used against them now that the tables are turned." Puppycow

And Geo. Washington is a DEMOCRAT!
"Presidents since George Washington have made recess appointments. Washington appointed South Carolina judge John Rutledge as Chief Justice of the United States during a congressional recess in 1795. Because of Rutledge's political views and occasional mental illness, however, the Senate rejected his nomination, and Rutledge subsequently attempted suicide and then resigned."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recess_appointment

 

[Dancing David]

Who is the chinless drongo from Tennessee?

My sainted mother...

 

[BenBurch]

...

And Geo. Washington is a DEMOCRAT!

...

If only he had known, we could have escaped all those years of Federalists and Whigs!

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

I haven't found how many appointments have been blocked during each presidency, but over here is a listing of how many recess appointments each president made going back to Reagan, and how that works out to a per-year average.

I would think that figure doesn't give us the entire picture without knowing how many appointments the president tried to make during session. I would excuse more recess appointments if in-session appointments were filibustered more frequently.

I think it's difficult to argue that thwarting a gimmick to keep Congress in session to make recess appointments is somehow more contrary to the intent of the Constitution's instructions on appointments than filibusters (or any one-person blocking of a vote on the appointment).

ETA: I guess my point is that I'm fine with recess appointments when "consent" votes aren't being made for in-session appointments, but not fine with them (unless there really is an emergency) just to avoid that check on executive authority.

 

[Mike!]

Who is the chinless drongo from Tennessee?

Sounds like a country song title to me.

 

[Trakar]

Originally Posted by hgc
Who is the chinless drongo from Tennessee?

Sounds like a country song title to me.

what is - A Jeopardy answer and question?

 

[eeyore1954]

Originally Posted by Tricky

I think that the principle is that representatives should actually spend some part of their time with the people they represent.

They vacation with their lobbyists?

Pretty good line. Thanks

 

[Tricky]

I think that the principle is that representatives should actually spend some part of their time with the people they represent.

They vacation with their lobbyists?

Don't be silly. The lobbyists live with the representatives in Washington. Sometimes sharing a bed.

But congresscritters need to visit the home state every now and then so they can be photographed going to church and kissing babies and the like.

 

[BenBurch]

Don't be silly. The lobbyists live with the representatives in Washington. Sometimes sharing a bed.

But congresscritters need to visit the home state every now and then so they can be photographed going to church and kissing babies and the like.

Do you ever feel like we need to send all of them home and get a whole new batch?

I do.

 

[NoahFence]

Too funny.

Republicans have been petulent children for the last few years and now they got their toy taken away for a moment and they're crying predictably.