Obama Blocks Vote on Von Spakovsky in Senate!

[2/25/08: Welcome to Hugh Hewitt’s Townhall blog readers! You should know that you are being misled by Patrick Ruffini’s disinformational blog item today. Please see our response to it here so that you get the full story on what is actually going on with the FEC nominations in the Senate, which are currently being blocked by the Republican leadership in that body.]

A Democrat does the right thing for a change! What are the odds these days? And will it hold?

Senator and Presidential Candidate Barack Obama (D-IL), had recently (and correctly) called on Bush to send up an “acceptable” nominee to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), instead of the anti-Democracy, anti-voter villain Hans von Spakovsky.

“His record of poor management, divisiveness, and inappropriate partisanship makes him an unacceptable nominee to the FEC,” Obama had previously said. “I am particularly concerned with his efforts to undermine voting rights at the Civil Rights Division during his tenure at the Department of Justice.”

And for a change, we have a Democrat who has decided to put his money where his mouth is! For now.

Roll Call (subscription req’d) is reporting that Harry Reid (D-NV) and the Democratic Leadership had shamefully “struck a deal” with Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KS) to slide four FEC nominations, including the GOP “voter fraud” zealot, von Spakovsky, through the Senate on a voice vote, unless any Senators objected.

Obama did object today and succeeded in blocking the vote. Bravo! Don’t back down, Senator!

TPM has more details from the Roll Call report. Loyola law professor Rick Hasen offers speculation on what comes next.

For more on the evil von Spakovsky, our extensive coverage of the Bush crony/operative began in late 2005 as he was nominated and then recess appointed by Bush to the FEC. While at the Civil Rights division at the DoJ, he was, among other embarrassing affairs, at the heart of the successful national GOP strategy to gut the beloved Voting Rights Act of 1965. Who better to sit on the FEC?! And in a Presidential Election year no less!

We’ve requested a comment/explanation from Reid’s office on what he must have been thinking. Will update this item if we get one.

UPDATE: Russ Feingold (D-WI) joined Obama in blocking the vote on vS. They’ve just issued this joint statement:

“While at the Department of Justice, Hans von Spakovsky was directly involved in efforts to politicize the Department and use the Voting Rights Section to disenfranchise voters, rather than enforce our nation’s civil rights laws. As a recess appointee to the FEC he has been a committed, ideological opponent of the campaign finance laws he is supposed to enforce. Putting him at the head of the FEC is just another example of this administration putting the fox in charge of the hen house. We oppose his nomination, and any effort to tie his nomination to the other pending nominations to the FEC.”

Still no word on what Reid must have been thinking.

UPDATE 10/5/07: Paul Kiel updates the story with the “game of chicken” now in play in the Senate, and the ramifications for 2008 if a stalemate continues.

22 Responses

  2. Not just Obama…Feingold, John Kerry, and Sherrod Brown all four have holds on Hans.

  3. What’s this “Democrat doing the right thing for a change” shit?

    “President Bush’s success rating in the Democratic-controlled House has fallen this year to a half-century low, and he prevailed on only 14 percent of the 76 roll call votes on which he took a clear position.

    “So far this year, Democrats have backed the majority position of their caucus 91 percent of the time on average on such votes. That marks the highest Democratic unity score in 51 years.”
    http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1728952&mesg_id=1728952
    http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002576765.html

    Don’t let the media rhetoric fool you. The Democrats have acquitted themselves quite well–especially given their bare majority in both houses, and a relentlessly obstructionist Republican minority.

  4. Well knock me over with a feather…..a Dem doing the right thing in the Senate?

    pardon me while I get back up off the floor….it knocked me off my seat again….

  5. Perry,

    Utter bullshit.

    None of that “solidarity” means a damn thing as long as the Democrats insist on fucking up when it comes to the critical issues.

    It doesn’t matter if they are voting in lockstep… if that happens to be in lockstep with torture, eternal occupation, warrantless surveillance ot any of the myriad and loathsome goals of the “current administration”.

    There have been too many fundamental issues, again critical issues, that Harry “Cave-In” Reid and Nancy “Toothless” Pelosi have simply refused to stop when they had the administrative ability to stop it all cold in Congress.

    Their bad. And they will be held accountable for it by the voters if they don’t straighten up and fly right… and assuming Holt’s Fiasco isn’t allowed to screw up our electoral system even more so than it already is.

  6. Thank goodness that Obama stood up and objected. (Is there any way to get rid of Pelosi??? Can we impeach her?)

  8. I think it’s time for Obama and Feingold to create a new political party. The only requirement for membership: “SOLID BACKBONES!” Membership must be voted upon by all founding members. I will join here in NJ, where the Democrats are too corrupt for my continuation in that party to continue!

  11. Okay, now you’re on a roll, how about impeachment, AND Iraq AND The Constitution – is that enough to carry us through 2008???

  12. With leaders like Reid and Pelosi the majorities are wasted.

    We need house members with backbone like Woolsey and Waters and senators like Feingold and Obama in leadership positions.

  13. People had better get used to this “unique” style of politics because Obama’s throwing a very hard punch against his competing candidates. I hope he gets elected, but if not, he’s definitely bringing to people’s minds the simple ideas of how and what politics should be compared to what we’ve been brainwashed into thinking it’s all about.

    “Democrat doing the right thing for a change”… surely this would be just the start of things for him. I’d see the whole democrat/republican lines removed when a true leader is taking command… not the poor excuses we’ve had in the recent past.

  14. Of prime importance is that someone stood up against the human stain that is besmirching our government and therefore our Constitution. Unlike Roth’s character in the book of the same name, Obama is not afraid to be what he is and to say what he thinks. Only praise should be heaped upon him. Let him be an example. Let those who would dismiss his courageous act, re-think their dismal game of Politiks. I think of Lombardi’s, “It’s not about winning or losing, but about how you play the game.” No one is denying that politics is a game, as no one denies that bike racing is a game.

    Well spoken, Obama. Keep pedaling!

  15. “Public Law 109-364 or the “John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007” (H.R.5122) (2) October 17th, allows the President to declare a “public emergency” and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities.”

    This should worry anyone, that read it!

  16. Thank you, Mr. Obama! How refreshing, indeed! I am a Republican and do not agree with Mr. Obama’s positions; however, to find a MAN, yes MAN, who will stand on his feet and declare HIS MIND and HIS PRINCIPLES without stooping to the gutter to collect money from thugs, shows that there is virtue in the Democratic party after all. WOW! I just might change my mind. Thank you, Mr. Obama!

  18. Obama is fearless and has great charisma. I think he has good judgement and does not favour either Republicans or democrats in terms of doing what is right in office;We need your type as President.GOODLUCK.

  20. The media I’ve read validate Hans’ actions. He is only seeking to preserve the rights given to those citizens who actually are entitled to them, by fine tuning the voter ID system. As one of them, I wish him godspeed as I am convinced he will overcome the pure political bias of these candidates, obviously catering to the marginal US population. The reason they so object to him is because they are literally terrified of his discoveries and progress. You see, Hans is a super intellectual, he does not bias. He is simply repairing a historically mismanaged voter system. And no repairs are automatically perfect. Thanks to Hans, no more dead confederates and felons are voting in certain districts. Why does this scare the living hell out of Sen Kennedy, Barack Obama and others? Because this one little guy is so smart he has found skeleton closets full of their voters. Expect more from him. Join him and better this nation. Do not accept marginalization of your rights. Hans is not scared of these people because he sees right through them. We all know the media is extremely biased. Read everything twice and then question it.

  21. “American” said:

    The media I’ve read validate Hans’ actions. He is only seeking to preserve the rights given to those citizens who actually are entitled to them, by fine tuning the voter ID system.

    Well do share with us which media it is that you are reading, sir/madam.

    Having actually read everything twice and questioned, it turns out your “no more dead confederates and felons” theory is utter bunk. That’s according to the DoJ as well, btw (where Hans is reviled).

    You might try reading something other than the Washington Times and TownHall for a change. Here’s a nice place for you to start.

    Do let me know when you need more.

  22. If it comes down to Hillary or Obama
    I’m going
    OBAMA
    .
    Hey Brad, always nice to see an idiot get wamped so easily.