Reid vows to force vote on TSA nominee DeMint blocked

[babylonsister]

Reid vows to force vote on TSA nominee DeMint blocked

By Margaret Talev | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will force a vote on President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration when the Senate reconvenes in three weeks.

Reid's announcement Tuesday that he will file a motion for cloture, a procedural step to limit debate and lead to a roll-call vote, follows the alleged attempt by a Nigerian extremist to blow up a U.S.-bound commercial flight on Christmas Day.

Reid had sought Senate consent to confirm TSA nominee Erroll Southers without floor debate, along with multiple other nominations, before the Senate adjourned for its winter break on Christmas Eve.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., objected, calling for more debate and temporarily halting the confirmation, as part of DeMint's opposition to unionizing TSA, a move he believes Obama will push. With the health care debate running up to Christmas Eve, Reid had yet to make his next move on Southers.

The alleged terrorist plot involving Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian whose name was in a terrorism database but who boarded a plane with explosive material, has brought new urgency to the nomination.

White House spokesman Nicholas Shapiro said Tuesday that while the acting TSA administrator filling the job for now is “very able,” DeMint and any others inclined to delay the vote “should put their short-term political interests aside.”

DeMint said Tuesday in a statement that Reid had “completely ignored this nominee for weeks until the recent terror attempt” and was now grandstanding.

“I'm only looking for some time to debate the issue and have a vote so this isn't done in secret,” DeMint said. He added that he hoped the debate and the alleged terrorism attempt “will convince Reid and President Obama that we cannot give union bosses veto power over national security at our airports."

Reid spokesman Jim Manley said DeMint was being “petty and vindictive” and that “he can’t have his cake and eat it, too. The fact is he objected to us confirming this nominee. The one who’s grandstanding is Sen. DeMint.”

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/81397.html

[spanone]

1. give 'em hell harry...up or down vote

[blondeatlast]

2. So, DeMent is accusing Reid of yusing the attempted bombing for political gain? How does DeMent not

hurt himself from the hypocritical whiplash?

:mad:

[babylonsister]

4. Because the m$m is being vewy vewy quiet about who's holding this

nom up.

[truebrit71]

10. DeMent(ed) was on the CBS early show this morning bad-mouthing Obama...

..as expected, and rough-and-tough Harry Smith lobbed him a softball about holding up the TSA nomination which allowed DeMent(ed) to reiterate his talking point about collective bargaining being a campaign promise of Obama's and that was behind the nomination not the safety of the country...of course rough and tough Harry asked him a follow-up saying basically, "so it is more important to you to argue over unionization of the TSA than the safety of the American public?"*

*That last part didn't actually occur anywhere other than in my head, but would have been de rigeur if the fucking media in this country did their fucking job...

[malaise]

3. Just heard a Democratic Rep raise this issue

on GEM$NBC. This should be mentioned by Dems every five minutes.
Fuck the party of NO. Fuck the Demented one.

[Blue_In_AK]

5. It needs to be widely publicized that DeMint has held up

this appointment. Using the usual Republican logic, we could lay this almost terrorist attack squarely at his feet. :evilgrin:

[blondeatlast]

6. Kick, nt

[lonestarnot]

7. K & R

! :kick:

[lonestarnot]

8. Did Spongebombpants get his drawers from DeMint?

[blondeatlast]

9. Too importasnt to be ignored, kick. nt

[ck4829]

11. Kick