The Puffy-Face of the Senate GOP

We don't hear an awful lot about former Dixiecrat turned Republican Richard Shelby -- though when we do, it is normally embarrassing. The last thing I recall was him playing the Teabagging 'Show us your Birth Certificate Card'. Before that it was him leaking national security data and managing to barely get away with it.

But Shelby has now upped his jackass level to "11".

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has put an extraordinary "blanket hold" on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate

Well there's a new way of making things even more ungovernable. Now each of these nominations has to get 60 votes for cloture -- and we all know how aggressive Harry Reid is on that and how often the GOP wants to help out.

And why is Shelby doing this? So he can get more earmarks for his sacred defense pork, especially to restore a $35 billion dollar price-tag to build refueling tankers for the Air Force.

(pic from Left In Alabama)

[Cross-posted at Firedoglake]