Ben Nelson Tougher On Obama's Nominees Than Bush's

[Me.]

#1 if push come to shove I hope Obama does her as a recess appointee. #2 When the hell is he going to counter punch Nelson?

“Sen. Ben Nelson's opposition to President Obama's choice to head the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel appears to be the key obstacle to her confirmation. Democrats say Dawn Johnsen, an Indiana University law professor, has 59 backers in the Senate -- just one vote shy of cloture. Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, is standing firmly against her appointment, pointing to Johnsen's job 15 years ago as a counsel to the abortion rights group NARAL.

All of which has left Nelson's critics furious. Where was the principled opposition from the Senator during the Bush years? Why is he refusing to show Obama the same deference that he offered the previous administration?

The votes, they argue tell the story. Nelson supported cloture or confirmation for some of Bush's most controversial judges and political nominees, including several who were never able to be confirmed even under a GOP-controlled Senate. Moreover, Nelson often defended his positions by citing presidential prerogative.

"The president's nominees, especially to the Supreme Court, deserve an up-or-down vote," he said of the nominating process, "even if the nominee isn't popular with the special-interest groups in Washington."cont…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/14/ben-nelson-tougher-on-oba_n_203447.html

[graywarrior]

1. I call his office every chance I get an tell his staff what a loser he is

[Joanne98]

2. Oh good for you.

:yourock:

[Me.]

3. Are You One Of His Constituents?

If yes...then fabulous. If not they'll probably ignore you, sorry to say.

[H2O Man]

4. It's still good

to do. Even if they pretend to ignore someone, they are keeping track of how many people they ignore.

[Me.]

5. Good Point Pond Master

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5654540

[H2O Man]

6. There is a good reason

why the Bill of Rights protects a citizen's right to file complaints with elected officials.

[graywarrior]

7. No I am not, but it deflates their world anyhow

Plus, they never ask me where I live.

[depakid]

8. The man is an ugly and corrupt human being

who reflects very poorly on his state.

[d_b]

9. it's all good though

because he's from a red state, and we need him...

AMIRITE?

[Metta]

10. This kind of behavior doesn't win human reincarnation, Ben. Happy karma.

He has enough to tip the pot the other way, I'd think.

[merh]

11. Folks don't realize that the obstacles to the key DOJ positions

work to allow the Bush appointed US Attorneys to continue with their crap. How can Obama appoint new US Attorneys to the state positions if he can't get these key positions filled? Holder and Obama will want their input when they vet the possible nominees for the state US Attorney offices.

[Me.]

12. Precisely

She's a good candidate and I hope Obama holds onto her and does the recess appointment thing if necessary. Nelson should be careful. He has a big thing for having scholarships go through Nebraska's banks and Obama says he's going to put an end to that. Fingers crossed.

[barbtries]

13. it sounds to me that nelson

is what they call a DINO

[Wednesdays]

14. K&R

:kick:

[Jim Lane]

15. Nelson might vote against confirmation but for cloture, which would be fine

Getting the simple majority for confirmation will be no problem. The issue is whether we can bring the nomination to that "up-or-down vote" that was such a mantra on the right when it was their stooge who was doing the nominating.

With regard to Nelson and Johnsen, Sargent noted that Senators sometimes vote for cloture (the vote that counts, in many instances) but then vote against confirmation, to be on record as opposing it. Sargent added:

So I asked Nelson’s spokesperson whether this also meant he was leaning towards a No vote on cloture. His response: “He hasn’t decided yet, but he usually votes for cloture, as he is against obstruction and believes it is important for each issue to get an up or down vote.”

So this isn’t quite as bad for Johnsen, but Nelson is still validating the criticisms, and could vote No on cloture, too.

(You can read Sargent's full post .)

Obviously, Johnsen would have the full support of any real Democrat, not to mention any real public servant with a shred of human decency. Nevertheless, if Nelson votes for cloture, I won't get too excited about his subsequent vote against confirmation. Priorities, doncha know.

[cboy4]

16. I think this guy is worse than Lieberman if that's even

possible.

Really sickening.

:puke: