Republicans, Recess Appointments, and Hypocrisy: Business As Usual

...with the emphasis on "Business"...

Late last week, after the Senate recessed, President Obama made 15 "recess appointments" of executive branch nominees held up by Republicans in the Senate.

Predictably, the Republicans in the Senate screamed about a "lack of respect" for the Senate, blah, blah, blah.

They ignored the fact that their president, George W. Bush, did the same thing nearly 200 times during his terms in office.

While the Senate's Republicans were blocking all 15 nominees, the recess appointment of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board may be the one generating the most angst.

Mr. Becker has been a lawyer for the AFL-CIO and SEIU.

So naturally, all of the Republicans in the Senate signed off on a letter to President Obama opposing a recess appointment of Becker, saying that Mr. Becker “could not be viewed as impartial, unbiased or objective" because of his union work.

Ummm...where was the outrage and concern for objectivity when Bush used recess appointments to appoint...

- Peter Kirsanow, whose legal practice "focused on representing management in employment-related litigation as well as in contract negotiations, NLRB proceedings, EEO matters, and arbitration." (source: his own bio at the US Commission on Civil Rights, where he's been loyally mucking up things for the Bushies)

- Ronald Meisburg, a lawyer for the mining industry and various industry associations

- Robert J. Battista, known as the worst and most anti-worker NLRB chair ever. More on Battista and R hypocrisy on recess appointments here, from the AFL-CIO

- William B. Cowen, a management attorney and union-buster

- Michael J. Bartlett, a former attorney for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Yep - lots of fairness and objectivity there.

Note: Apparently Craig Becker isn't as popular with the US CofC as Bartlett was - they've come out strongly against his appointment.

What a shock. :)