There's no real excuse for the Democrats at all at this point, is there? It's hard not to get the impression that they have always been looking for reasons to fail.

Liberal incompetence is one of conservatism's secret weapons.

I'm sure those "grass-roots" organizations that mobilized during W's term to get nominees an up or down vote quickly will be working hard to get this new batch of nominees a vote in the Senate.
Okay. Not.

Recess appointments.

I actually agree with Al's post. First. Time. EVAH.

Is Dawn Johnsen ever going to take office?

Actually, Al, conservatism's secret weapon is shameless dishonesty and hypocrisy.

I suppose that is all you have when you have no ideas and a failed agenda. That, and a remarkable ability to deny reality.

all the themes this AM remind of the essay i read last night from the online "london review of books" by David Bromwich -- as usual in the LRB, very elegant and very cynical, and not the whole story... still...

life these days is slogging knee deep thru thick mud with the Dims while the Repugnants stand on the sidelines and yell obscenities... if one quit the Dims and Obama one would be outta the mud and away from the obscene Repugnants, but perhaps float right off the planet too.

the only game in town sucks.

It is very foolish for the Obama Administration to continue seeking civility, sanity, or any other quality from Republicans: they are all slime. There is no reason whatsoever for the Democratic majority to consider Republicans' input on judicial or any other nominations. GOP has had its chance and utterly rejected working together in the interests of the nation.

Is there no way to get rid of this 'anonymous hold' crap? I thought the 'manly men' of the GOP were all about accountability.

Here lets say that one more time:

"It is very foolish for the Obama Administration to continue seeking civility, sanity, or any other quality from Republicans: they are all slime. There is no reason whatsoever for the Democratic majority to consider Republicans' input on judicial or any other nominations. GOP has had its chance and utterly rejected working together in the interests of the nation."

Its like trying to reason with a drunk, it just doesn't work.

"conservatism's secret weapon is shameless dishonesty and hypocrisy"

Hardly secret. I think the secret is the hold they have over the Democrats. What the hell is that?

Let's remember that when Clinton was president that the Repiglicans did exactly as they are doing now. At that time pigshit Hatch was the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He stalling tactics got so, so bad that, at that time, the chief of the U.S. Supreme Court, a repiglican, spoke out publically against Hatch for what he was doing. And, just like repiglicans always do, Hatch ended up in a sniveling tirade at Renquist.

Alliance for Justice's Nan Aron noted, "It is incumbent on the Democrats and the White House to push as hard as they can to confirm judicial nominees, given that next year Republicans will make an all-out effort to block candidates as a means to gin up their base before the election."

Yep. This argument, in fact, goes for EVERYTHING that Obama and the Dems want, just replace "confirm judicial nominees" with "pass legislation" and "block candidates" with "kill everything" in the above sentence.

Those huge majorities won't always be there, take advantage NOW!!!

Conservatism's secret weapon is shameless dishonesty and hypocrisy . . . Conservatism's two secret weapons are shameless dishonesty, hypocrisy, and liberal incompetence . . . Conservatism's three secret weapons are . . .

I certainly agree that the D's need to recognize that the R's have no intention of being the loyal and constructive opposition, and thus need to adapt appropriately. However, I think this is hindered somewhat by the D's generally operating with a sense of honor, integrity and respect for institutional norms and standards.

Unlike W campaigning with the false promise of being a "uniter not a divider", Obama's campaign promise of working toward bipartisan solutions and trying to end the partisan gridlock in DC was sincere and he has certainly made efforts to do just that. Obviously that hasn't worked out because he is dealing with an opposition that has no shame. The R's don't operate with honor and integrity and would rather go scorched-earth and blow things up than work toward solutions that benefit the country.

The D's have been weak-kneed and need to wake up and slap back and are not without blame, but also, the R's need to be called out for the dishonorable liars they are.

I second the motion about recess appointments, but unfortunately, they are only good until the next Congress gets sworn in. Then they come up for a vote or something.

My question is what happens to the recess appointments after the next Congress. Do they actually then get voted on or are they automatically removed? If the former, then the Republicans can't do a whole lot unless they take back the Senate. A filibuster would allow them to stay in place, and a vote would install them permanently. It would be one way of overcoming a filibuster and the holds on nominees.

re: mcc -- Yes, what about Dawn Johnson? And why does Obama seem to recoil from getting tough? We know he can move political mountains: he, perhaps the least likely of all, won the election! Fair and square! As I recall, when momentum started to build and there were mixed messages/contradictions in his campaign, he stepped in, took charge and righted the staff boat (unlike Hillary, who left details to the uninformed and incompetent Mark Penn). So where is Obama now? Does anyone have a clear idea of what "The President's Health Care Plan" is? Sure, he says he'd like a public option, but what is he willing to go to the mat for?

How about the Senate having a Justice Day where the Dems vote to confirm all the judge nominees waiting 3+ months?

The Dems have 60 votes, and doing them all on one day would avoid the piddling sniping that Repubs throw at individual nominees. Let the Dems make it clear that they are fighting obstructionism.

i got the impression from the wapo article that the white house still finds some value in bipartisanship...i have no idea why

arguing that Obama's emphasis on easing partisan rancor over judgeships has backfired and only emboldened Senate Republicans.

no shit. it was, and remains stupid on the face of it for obama and his minions to think for a second anything productive could ever come out of trying to rationalize with Troglodytes.