Saturday, February 16, 2013

Republican senators vow to hold up yet another nomination

U.S. Republican Senators John McCain (L) and Lindsey Graham talk during the Fiscal Responsibility Summit at the White House in Washington February 23, 2009.       REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque   (UNITED STATES) These guys? Again? Another day, another hold on another nominee because reasons:
A trio of Republican senators will delay the nomination of John Brennan to be head of the CIA if they don't receive an answer from the White House about who changed talking points in the days after the attacks on the consulate in Benghazi.

Sen. Lindsey Graham said he, along with Sens. John McCain and Kelly Ayotte, are determined to receive an answer.

Oh, Lord. Yeah, here's the thing with that. We know who "changed the talking points." It was the CIA. We know when, and we know why, and we knew it all two freaking months ago. John McCain in particular would know these things if he bothered to show up for the meetings instead of just holding press conferences about how there haven't been any meetings.

Short version of every story: The current set of Republicans is blocking everything, all the time, and whether or not their supposed reason for doing it makes any sense whatsoever is of concern to exactly none of them. If they don't like a government function they'll just keep it from being staffed entirely; if they do like it, they'll let it get staffed but only after making a camera-friendly stink about whatever the latest conspiracy theory is. And there's always a conspiracy theory.

This is beginning to feel more like the Clinton years. For you youngsters, that was the period of time when Every Single Nutcase With A Theory was treated as fodder for serious inquiry by Republicans, pushed in all (well, not really) earnestness to the press, and that same press ate it up because, I don't know, leprosy. Imagine Darrell Issa, except, like, 50 of him.

All theater, no plot.

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