Shelby releases holds on Obama nominees

From the article:

"The purpose of placing numerous holds was to get the White House's attention on two issues that are critical to our national security - the Air Force's aerial refueling tanker acquisition and the FBI's Terrorist Device Analytical Center (TEDAC). With that accomplished, Sen. Shelby has decided to release his holds on all but a few nominees directly related to the Air Force tanker acquisition until the new Request for Proposal is issued. The Air Force tanker acquisition is not an 'earmark' as has been reported; it is a competition to replace the Air Force's aging aerial refueling tanker fleet. Sen. Shelby is not seeking to determine the outcome of the competition; he is seeking to ensure an open, fair and transparent competition that delivers the best equipment to our men and women in uniform. Sen. Shelby is fully justified in his concern given the history and current status of this acquisition," the senator's office said.


http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/02/shelby-releases-holds-on-obama.html?wprss=44

Maybe he was worried about recess appointments...

Mz Pip

I used to live in Nazibama and from what I remember he was always for screwing who or whatever it took to get What HE WANTED.

Nice to see the assholes on the other side being forced to cave for a change...

<snip>

"As for the larger context, Shelby's office said the conservative senator pulled this stunt "to get the White House's attention." I suppose that was effective -- the scheme was hard to miss -- but ultimately futile. Shelby dropped most of his holds in exchange for nothing, and in the process, became the poster child of Republican excess and corruption of the political process.

That he backed down at all just a few days after launching his stunt suggests Dems were at least somewhat effective in embarrassing Shelby. With that in mind, the majority party should keep up its efforts to shine a light on GOP tactics that have gone out of control."

—Steve Benen 9:30 AM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (21)
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

:eyes:

problems going back to 2003.

Toyota has a huge plant in Alabama, Shelby's home state.

Last year, Shelby was one of the Senators against the bailout of GM, saying that Toyota didn't have any of those problems. Oops.

According to Tweety, Shelby was holding things up until he got loads of pay-out for his state (Alabama). Tweety went off on him for being patriotic only to his state at the detriment of his country.

Don't know if there is a cause-and-effect relationship between Hardball and Shelby's move today, but it is curious.