Today in Washington, D.C. - Feb 9, 2010 - Obama Threatens Republicans

Update: Senate rejected Craig Becker to National Labor Relations Board on a cloture vote by 52-33. Two Democrats, Sens. Blanche Lincoln (Arkansas) and Ben Nelson (Nebraska) voted against Craig Becker with 15 Senators not voting when they knew Becker's nomination was defeated. The failure to get 60 votes on a procedural motion leaves the nomination stalled, and as detailed below President Obama has threatened to bypass the Senate and make a recess appointment if certain nominees are not confirmed.

The House remained out of session because of too many absences created by bad weather. The Senate met this afternoon and begin debate on the nominations of Joseph Greenaway to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and former SEIU lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. Becker’s nomination is controversial due to concerns Democrats want to enact parts of their stalled card check bill through the regulatory process on the NLRB. At 5 PM, the Senate will vote on confirming of Greenaway and if the Democrats secure cloture the Senate will vote on cloture on the Becker nomination.

As Washington, DC braces for another major snowstorm, political attention has focused on a new bipartisan health care summit at the White House proposed by President Obama over the weekend.  However, Obama was not willing to be bipartisan this morning as he threatened his way or else.  He then stated if the Senate did not cooperate on all his nominations that he would make recess appointments.  As some may recall the Dems (including Sen. Barack Obama) blocked President George W. Bush's appointments including judicial appointments to the Federal court which left the court without the manpower to bring to trail cases.  The Dems then used a "trick" of never officially being in recess and leaving behind a fewDemocrats to bring the Senate into session ever few days so that President Bush could not make any recess appointment.

The Wall Street Journal editors sound a skeptical note this morning, writing. “Whenever President Obama finds himself in a jam, he likes to call a summit.” They note, “[T]he summit is intended to be a pseudo-event staged to rehabilitate a political agenda that is opposed by well over half the public. The pitch is that the President and Republicans will sit down, sort through the best and worst ideas, and hash out a bill.”

“In fact,” the WSJ explains, “the only thing bipartisan about ObamaCare is the opposition. The White House decided early on to build the bill from the left and strike enough bargains with Democratic moderates—or buy them off—to assemble a bare partisan majority.”

Recalling how the president arrived at this point, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell responded on Sunday, “If we are to reach a bipartisan consensus, the White House can start by shelving the current health spending bill, and with it their goal of slashing a half trillion dollars from Medicare and raising a half trillion in new taxes. The American people want lower costs, not Medicare cuts and tax increases. Setting these proposals aside would be a sign that the administration and Democrats in Congress are listening to the country and are truly interested in a bipartisan approach.”

Politicol summarized, “Republicans say they’re open to compromise — as long as Obama tears up the House and Senate bills, restarts the legislative process and drops several key parts of his wish list.” But, “Democrats say, not a chance,” Politico reports. A White House official was similarly blunt to The Washington Post: “This is not starting over. . . . Don’t make any mistake about that. We are coming with our plan. They can bring their plan.”

Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl noted his dismay at this reaction, saying, “If the point is to listen to Republican ideas and really consider them, the President’s announcement is very welcome. According to recent news reports, however, White House officials have made it clear ‘that Obama does not intend to restart the health care legislative process from scratch’ and ‘that he’s adamant about passing comprehensive reform similar to the bills passed by the House and Senate.’ Such preconditions suggest the White House is not serious about genuine negotiations. A large majority of the American people strongly oppose the Democrats’ massive bill, and Republicans will not abandon them.”

As the WSJ said today, “Unless the White House gives up its most destructive health-care ambitions, the ObamaCare summit will be pointless and the political choice will be between ObamaCare and nothing. A genuine bipartisan negotiation has to start at the beginning.”

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