The GOP Continues to Put American Lives at Risk

[Clio the Leo]

Or... Republicans put new hold on TSA nominee Erroll Southers

(whoohooo! Using hyperbole to spin is fun!)

By Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 7, 2010; A03

The nomination of a former FBI agent to lead the Transportation Security Administration hit a new obstacle Wednesday as several Republican senators expressed "serious reservations" about the nominee and pressed the White House for details of incidents in which he improperly accessed a confidential federal database years ago.

White House officials had hoped to speed the confirmation of Erroll Southers to revive confidence in an agency that has been leaderless for months and in the spotlight since the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day exposed intelligence and security lapses.

Southers's nomination had been held up by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) because of concerns he would support the unionization of TSA workers. On Wednesday, DeMint and six other Republican senators -- including John McCain (Ariz.), Charles E. Grassley (Iowa) and Tom Coburn (Okla.) -- demanded that the White House provide information about why Southers initially gave Congress an incorrect account about the searches two decades ago, incidents that led to his censure by the FBI.

"We believe that Mr. Southers submitted erroneous, and possibly misleading information regarding ethical violations during his service with the Federal Bureau of Investigation," the senators wrote in a letter to Nancy D. Hogan, special assistant to the president and director of presidential personnel.

Also on Wednesday, Coburn placed a hold on the nomination, pending the White House response to the senators' questions.

<snip>

Collins and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the homeland security committee, remain behind Southers, who they have said has had a sterling career that has prepared him to lead the TSA.

In addition to four years as an FBI agent in San Diego, Southers has served as a police officer, a senior official in the California governor's office of homeland security, and associate director of a homeland security center at the University of Southern California. He is assistant chief of homeland security and intelligence with the Los Angeles World Airports police department.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) also remains committed to working quickly to confirm Southers when the Senate reconvenes this month.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/06/AR2010010604499_pf.html

WHY do they HATE FREEDOM!!!!!!