It seems to be time to invite Senator Nelson to join the other caucus.

Exactly how often does Nelson actually vote with his own party?

I don't understand the point of embracing Democrats whose only Democratic vote was for Harry Reid as majority leader -- not counting the health care vote that had to be bought.

"During the Bush/Cheney era, Nelson decried obstructionism, found filibusters against George W. Bush's nominees offensive, and routinely voted with Republicans to cut off Democratic efforts...Now, however, there's a Democratic president, and Nelson is siding with Republicans in support of filibusters."

That's messed up.

And here is the problem: The DNC keeps asking me for money. They did nothing to stop the MA debacle and are not agressively advertising Scott Brown's obstructionism in DC. But they did send have a million dollars to Nelson, and they fund others like Landrieu who attack fellow Democrats. I am not sending the DNC any more money.

If anyone can call themselves a Democrat, and anyone can run as a Democrat, and anyone calling themselves a Democrat is allowed into the caucus, and if on top of that there are never any consequences whatsoever for betraying the caucus and the party, then we will always have dickheads like Ben Nelson and they will always do this kind of thing.

i really do not understand the inclination of party leaders to support any and all who call themselves 'democrats' despite their clear support for policies deferential to republicans.

The politics of this are real clear, if there are no consequences for not supporting an up and down vote on the party's nominees there really isn't a party. Nelson can be against the nominee, but he can't be allowed to filibuster his own president.

I remember a guy named Will Rogers who way back in the early 30s said that he wasn't a member of an organized political party, he was a Democrat. Still true all these decades later.

Two words: Recess. Appointments. As much as wingers might shriek, there's manifestly no other way to get these employees into place. These confirmation votes are being blocked because people think they can shake Obama down.

The sad news is that more and more Dems appear to be embracing obstructionism. Doesn't anybody want to get stuff done?

If Obama wants to fill the seats he has proposed, then it is time for recess appontments. The up or down vote at years end would end the problem of Republican obstructionism plus 2 ( Nelson and Leiberman). What do you think the chances are of Prof Obama using the recess appontment rule? If Obama chooses not to use this tactic shame on him.And if he doesn't use the recess appointment then I guess these appointments were not necessary.

Nelson is laying the groundwork for switching parties. He's not the only one.

I remember old Lego-hair Nelson being anti-filibuster back when Bush and the GOP were in charge. He was always about the up-or-down vote and was a member of the "Gang of 14". Imagine my surprise at his embrace of the filibuster now that the D's run the show. What an unprincipled hack. Ben Nelson disgusts me and needs his ass kicked out of the caucus now!

It's like what was mentioned on NPR this morning. The senate is in a state of total paralysis. Can the house be far behind? Shame on the dems for allowing this nation to be held hostage by thugs.
Thugocracy?

The Donkeys can change their party rules any time they want. They can insist that anyone carrying the Dem moniker swear not to support an opposition party's filibuster or lose all committee assignments and the right to caucus with them. It will give party contenders in a primary a club. So put up or forever STFU! Convince me this senate doesn't actually WANT a disfunctional gov-mint.

How to handle a bully at recess time

There are dozens of positions to fill. Some in important national security positions. Allowing the republicans to hold up those appointments is not keeping American safe. Remember, Obama promised repeatedly in the campaign to keep American safe. No one at the head of TSA? Don't blame Demint. A recess appointment gets it done. All you have to do is show some strong LEADERSHIP skills.

In other words: this cowardly presidential lion actually has a legitimate excuse (Keep America safe!) to make recess appointments. And instead he does nothing.

But dither, dither, dither....

WTF is this guy doing in our party?! I can't recall a single instance in which he has voted for or supported anything that remotely resembles Democratic ideals.

This guy is a bigger enemy than anyone in the GOP.

This from a man who claims to oppose "obstructionism."

Sounds like everyday, ordinary, run of the mill republican to me...

As a democrat it pains me to say this, but our notoriously fractious party has reached a point of paralysis that is congenital. If there was no republican opposition, the current democratic party would obstruct itself. It is painful to watch.

Nelson can do this because Obama and Reid let him. Put the blame where it belongs, the unwillingness to play hardball. What was it that Karl Rove said about fucking him like he has never been fucked before? Nobody is scared of the screeching ballet dancer.

Setting the record straight:

1) Like many democrat senators, we own Ben Nelson.
2) We keep using Ben as a front man, because Nebraska is such a cheap state to buy.
3) We hold our other owned democrat senators (ie. Bayh/Landreau/et.al.) in reserve for when we need them to kill legislation or appointments that we do not want.
4) We will not have Ben changing affiliations to the republican party, as we want to continue the pretense of having a democracy.
5) We will continue to have Ben and our other owned democrat senators subverting Obama, because Obama (while corporately owned) is not sufficiently owned.
6) It is manifestly unacceptable to appoint someone to the NLRB who is pro-labor and we will not allow it to happen.

In light of our recent Supreme Court victory in Citizens United (Not Timid) vs FEC, we expect the trend to follow a pattern where we can intimidate Congressmen and Senators and not have to spend as much money buying them.

God Bless America! What a great country we own!

You didn't have to remind us that Nelson is a dick.

The democrats really do not have much of a majority in the Senate. There are quite a few Republicans in Democratic clothing. I think we need to clean house and get the party we can count on.

Notwithstanding William Sewell's insightful critique of States and Social Revolutions, Theda Skocpol continues to impress. I sent Martha Coakley $25, a toekn amount but that's my bank account. A half million from the DNC for Ben Nelson!!!

After reading this I did some penance by phoning my Senator to urge reconciliation for HCR. $500K for Nelson!!

Nellie's behavior lends credence to a report that after Brown won, Senate Dems and their aides breathed a sigh of relief because they hoped things would go back to 50-50 blame sharing for doing nothing. Big win on Shelby, he's back to standard shakedown rather than the operatic version. $500k for Nelson!

I met with local Dems to watch the SOTU and we all felt better. The big applause in our group was repealing DADT. Mullen got out front against it but since then zip. $500k for Nelson.

Will the threat from Wall Street to switch their cash, post Supreme Court ruling on money, to the GOP kill financial reform? Maybe it will have a good result, like only $250k for Nelson.

So, um, remind me again why Harry Reid had to bend over and seat Scott Brown a week early? Wasn't it so he could filibuster this guy? And now he isn't even needed?

Insult to injury.

Nelson and his ilk will pull stunts like this as long as they can do so without getting 'taken to the woodshed' as a consequence. And since the Senate party leaders and the White House seem to have completely forgotten where the woodshed is or what it was used for, Nelson can do what he likes.

Combined with the negative publicity earned from the deal in the health care bill, one might start thinking that Nelson was actually an agent of the GOP.

I think this one is pretty easy to understand. The prospect of strengthening the right and ability of workers to join a union is one of the biggest fears of many in the business community today. In particular, it is a major concern of Walmart: the largest employer in the United States whose world headquarters are, you guessed it, in the state of Arkansas. Obviously, Sen. Nelson is simply serving the interests of his constituents.

While on the subject, increasing the ability of workers in the retail and service industries to join unions is probably the best thing that progressives could do: both to help those people economically and aid the democratic party politically. People working these jobs have no control over their work environment and zero leverage at the bargaining table in determining compensation. As these jobs are purposefully designed to provide for high turnover, and what with the Federal Reserve generally targeting an unemployment rate of 4 to 5%, the only hope for these workers is collective bargaining. These people also, justifiably, feel completely abandoned by both political parties. It is, I think, one of the reasons for the popularity of the anti-government rhetoric of the tea-party crowd. The Party that successfully made a difference in the lives of these people, not by increasing food stamps or subsidized housing, but by directly empowering them to obtain more for themselves, would win their loyalty and their vote.

It is my opionion that educated democrats, including most bloggers and their readers, tend to underestimate the postive progressive and democratic effect that widespread unionization of the work force would achieve. Perhaps because, being educated, they tend not to work at many of these jobs.

I would like to see more discussion of EFCA, the employee free choice act, in the media that I read and watch, and people who are serious about pursuing progressive ends should try when possible to make that happen.

Nelson is from Nebraska, not Arkansas, but other than that you are dead right. Of course, the rich are so incredibly stupid, so unbelievably penny wise and pound foolish, that they think weakening the working classes of this country -- you know, the people who buy the products and services of the companies they invest in -- will enhance their wealth.

Somehow the notion that the confidence in the future of the mass of Americans, enhanced by improved incomes, better safety nets and the ability to have a say in the terms and conditions of their employment, is unimportant to the health of the economy and, accordingly, to the value of the assets they hold, continues to mesmerize this dense group of people. Funny that their wealth grew fastest in the last Democratic administration, which happened to be a reprieve in the long term war against the middle class that is Reaganism.

Nelson must be "primaried". Let one of the least populated state in the country ruin health care for the rest of the country? I think not. He should at the least be stripped of committee assignments. We'd be better off with a true red tea-bagger, rather than a traitor in our midst.

"Doesn't anybody want to get stuff done?"
CWC on February 9, 2010 at 9:03 AM

No.
SASQ (h/t atrios)