{"id":25762,"date":"2017-01-06T10:53:50","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T18:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=25762"},"modified":"2017-01-06T10:53:50","modified_gmt":"2017-01-06T18:53:50","slug":"plugging-the-pipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2017\/01\/06\/plugging-the-pipes\/","title":{"rendered":"Plugging the Pipes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever had your sewerage back up?  Now, I’m not talking about a minor problem but a major, BIG TIME back up that has erupted all over everything.  Now think about your bathroom full of crud and your toilet full of crud.  Now tell me the characteristics of the turd that is three from the back and two deep in the toilet bowl.  You can’t, and you are probably questioning my sanity, because, when the world is full of crap, nobody pays attention to one single turd.  That is exactly the strategy the Republican Party will be employing next week.<\/font><\/p>\n

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\"0106pipes\"<\/p>\n

Senate Democrats are frustrated that Republican leaders have scheduled six confirmation hearings for Donald Trump\u2019s Cabinet nominees next Wednesday<\/strong>, the same day the president-elect will hold his first press conference in many months.<\/p>\n

Democrats oppose several of the appointees and hope to drag out the vetting process, thus maximizing the public exposure of their complaints. They are concerned that with multiple hearings occurring simultaneously, it will be more difficult to fully question and evaluate the nominees in public settings<\/strong>. They\u2019re also concerned that the schedule coincides with Trump\u2019s press conference \u2013 and will take place the day after President Obama\u2019s final speech in office \u2013 further taking attention away from the confirmation process.<\/p>\n

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Thursday he had shared his concerns about the schedule with his Republican counterpart, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and hoped for a solution to \u201calleviate the crunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is mostly unprecedented in the modern era of Cabinet considerations, happening only once in history,\u201d Schumer said of the six hearings in one day. \u201cThat\u2019s not the standard."<\/p>\n

Schumer said \u201cmostly unprecedented\u201d because six confirmation hearings for President George W. Bush\u2019s nominees were held two days before his 2001 inauguration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re jamming them together so that they receive less scrutiny and attention individually<\/strong>,\u201d said Sen. Richard Blumenthal. \u201cI regret that there are so many hearings bunched together."<\/p>\n

Republicans, for the most part, dismissed these concerns…<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

From <Real Clear Politics<\/a>><\/font><\/p>\n

The press will pay little if any attention to the hearings, because Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten is holding his first press conference since last July, when he asked Russia to hack the Democratic candidate.<\/font><\/p>\n

Rachel Maddow<\/a> thinks Trump’s intent is to stifle coverage.<\/font><\/p>\n