More on Republican obstructionism

From Daily Kos

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Senate Republicans totally boycott judicial nominee process

It's no secret that Senate Republicans have one purpose in political life: total obstruction of President Obama's and Senate Democrats' agenda. It's no secret that to do so, they've ground the work of the Senate to a halt with the filibuster, blocking an unprecedented number of bills and nominations, including judicial nominations. The judiciary crisis is no secret, either: nearly 10 percent of federal judicial seats are vacant and 40 percent of those vacancies are in courts that are so overburdened with cases, they've been  designated "judicial emergencies" by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

When challenged, Republicans point the finger at President Obama, saying that out of the 82 vacancies, 61 don't even have a nominee. How, they say, can we be responsible for this crisis when the president won't even make the nominations. Well, it turns out, Republicans are even blocking that process: They're refusing to allow the simple process of nominations go forward.