The Cost of Shelby 'standing up to Obama Every Single Day'

By Bob Nicholson, a certified public accountant who lives in Huntsville and works in corporate finance. He can be reached at bobncolumn@gmail.com
24 February 2016
al.com

"Why not allow the President to do his job of selecting judicial nominee and let us do our job in confirming or denying them? Principles of fairness call for it and the Constitution requires it."

These were the words of Alabama Senator Richard Shelby at a time when it was easier for him to pretend to be diplomatic. That statement was made in 2003 when George W Bush was President and Shelby was using them against Democrats.

Our senator should stand by his words no matter who is president – but Richard Shelby doesn't. Instead, upon the death of Justice Scalia, Mr. Shelby proved those words to be hypocritical by announcing his opposition to any Obama high court nominee, no matter who is nominated.

What justification could Shelby manufacture if President Obama nominated someone like Sri Srinivasan, judge on US Court of Appeals who was confirmed 97-0 in 2013?

It's an election year and 81 year-old Richard Shelby is trying to attain senator for life status here in Alabama. You have to have been hiding under a rock not to get a brief version of the world according to Shelby every day. Billboards all over the state carry his name. Pop-up ads demand your attention mid screen at the start of YouTube videos. Facebook side bar ads and "suggested posts" fill your screens. Worst of all are the barrage of TV ads, most of which play fast and loose with the truth or reality.

Senator Shelby will tell anyone who will listen that respect for America is dwindling because of President Obama (not true - the US government is the most admired in the world according to a Gallup poll, and Barack Obama repeated as the second most admired man in the world according to the annual YouGov poll).

He will then tell you many truths, that he voted against both the bank and auto industry bailout, that he opposes cuts to defense spending, that he opposes all efforts to prevent gun violence, that he supports a balanced budget amendment, that he would kill Obamacare, but all of these positions actually raise troubling questions he is not answering.

Yes, he opposed the successful auto industry bailout, but has not explained why he was so willing to let a strategic American industry die with hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake. He also opposed the bank bailouts that prevented the US economy from plunging into a depression, so you might need to be reminded that Wall Street bankers invest in Senator Shelby year after year through generous campaign donations. They can overlook the bailout vote since they are so richly rewarded otherwise. Shelby thinks that the banks are now too tightly regulated; most of us think that more bankers belong in jail.

Senator Shelby talks about creating or saving American jobs. Perhaps someone should ask him why he voted to keep tax subsidies in place for companies that move jobs offshore?

Senator Shelby is very critical of the Obama administration's defense spending cuts. The USA now spends as much on defense as the next largest eight countries combined, yet according to Shelby it's not enough. Shouldn't the senator explain exactly how much spending is enough? Can Senator Shelby assure us that we are getting a good value for our money and that none of it is wasted?

Senator Shelby falsely claims that Obama's executive orders clarifying gun sale regulations restrict Second Amendment rights. Can the senator explain why he wants to keep it easy for criminals to get guns?

Can the senator explain what would replace Obamacare if Republicans were to successfully repeal the program? Would he simply let the millions of Americans with health insurance through the program do without?

Shelby is also very critical of the current budget deficit, a deficit that he and his colleagues helped create. Shouldn't he have to explain his votes for the deficit creating Bush tax cuts, his unfunded Medicare drug benefit vote, or perhaps he can explain voting to fight two wars on borrowed money. Most of these tax cuts and much of the war costs continue to this day. Senator – you voted to create this debt and you have never proposed a realistic balanced budget.

Finally though, let's give the senator credit where it is due. His campaign gives his supporters the red meat issues they crave, without any distracting policy details on how he would accomplish anything (indeed considering the decades he has spend in Washington, he has an amazingly small list of accomplishments).

Senator Shelby is the type of politician Alabama has come to expect. He'll probably be re-elected with ease.