Sen. Shelby Holding "All" Obama Nominees Hostage Until He Gets His Earmarks

Yesterday, it was reported that Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), one of the most powerful members of the GOP caucus, has placed a blanket hold on "at least 70" of President Obama's nominees.  A self-described fiscal conservative, Shelby is apparently holding the nominees hostage in order to secure expensive earmarks for his home state.  Via TPM:

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has put an extraordinary "blanket hold" on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate, according to multiple reports this evening. The hold means no nominations can move forward unless Senate Democrats can secure a 60-member cloture vote to break it, or until Shelby lifts the hold.

"While holds are frequent," CongressDaily's Dan Friedman and Megan Scully report (sub. req.), "Senate aides said a blanket hold represents a far more aggressive use of the power than is normal."

The Mobile Press-Register picked up the story early this afternoon. The paper confirmed Reid's account of the hold.... Reid aides told CongressDaily the hold extends to "all executive nominations on the Senate calendar." [...]

According to the report, Shelby is holding Obama's nominees hostage until a pair of lucrative programs that would send billions in taxpayer dollars to his home state get back on track.

Shelby's shenanigans have created something of an uproar -- and rightly so. 

"[W]e're not dealing with a stand on partisanship or ideology," Josh Marshall wrote. "This is more like just a stick up. Gimme my money and I'll give you your Senate back! Worse than a squeegee man and not much better than a bank robber, Shelby is shutting down the president's ability to appoint anyone to anything until he gets his way."

Steve Benen added, "it's additional evidence, as if more was needed, that congressional Republicans are simply out of control. At a time when the nation needs strong institutions, GOP lawmakers have not only gone mad, they're also tearing down governmental touchstones like the United States Senate."

Indeed, this is another example of how dysfunctional the Senate has become, and of the extreme lengths that Republicans are willing to go to get whatever they want.  Senator Shelby should be ashamed.     

Update: ThinkProgress notes that in 2005, Shelby actually supported "changing the Senate rules" to force up or down votes on Bush nominees.