You Won't Believe Who's Helping Push the Anti-Solis Campaign
Ask yourself this: Who is the most insanely inappropriate person to be cheerleading from the sidelines as GOP senators put the brakes on Rep. Hilda Solis' (D-CA) nomination to lead the Labor Department?
(Alberto Gonzales would be a good guess, but he's job hunting right now.)
The answer is Hans von Spakovsky. Yes, the Bush appointee who doggedly worked to decimate the reputation of the Justice Department's civil rights division while disenfranchising minority voters. The same von Spakovsky who could not honestly come by a seat on the Federal Election Commission is now accusing Solis of "ethics problems" and skirting FEC rules.
Seriously, the pot-kettle joke writes itself. But we digress. As hard as it is to pick my favorite part of von Spakovsky's treatise against Solis, this section takes the cake:
This latest problem raises serious questions about the involvement of Solis with an organization [American Rights at Work] that received soft money funds from union contributors that are outside of the limits and prohibitions of [campaign finance law] and then may have spent those funds on ads intended to affect federal campaigns. This issue needs to be investigated and Solis and ARW need to answer questions about it. The ramifications for Solis could be severe and throw even greater doubt on the wisdom of Obama's nomination.
Von Spakovsky is alleging (with zero evidence) that Solis violated soft money rules that he voted against as a member of the FEC.
Late Update: Von Spakovsky is also taking his anti-Solis campaign to the pages of the Weekly Standard.


















Typo, it was the civil rights division, not the civil division, which is a big difference. The civil rights division was turned into the destroy civil rights division by the king's administration, which is particularly gauling.
February 6, 2009 11:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Christ. Make it stop. Please.
There are more Democrats than Republicans on the committee, right? Who cares whether it's a party line vote at this point or not?
February 6, 2009 12:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
By the way, where do you want to go to lunch? I'm preparing myself for the inevitable.
February 6, 2009 12:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Michael, I count on you for optimism! I won't count my chickens until the vote, and you do the same. It may work out by the final vote.
It may.
February 6, 2009 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Doubtful. It sounds like the republicans in congress are going for the armageddon strategy. They are figuring if obama succeeds that they will get slaughtered, so they are banking on him failing. It's very sad that they care so little for people and the country. I can't wait until they go the way of the whigs and we get an adult opposition party.
February 6, 2009 12:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's a combination of the EFCA freaks out conservatives, Solis had a dreadful confirmation hearing, and the Republicans have chosen her as an appointment they're ready to fight.
February 6, 2009 1:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Im getting so sick of dems not shoveling the dirt on to these scumbags.
February 6, 2009 1:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's see if I understand this strategy. The Republicans lost huge numbers of women and Hispanic voters in the last election. Hilda Solis is a hero to Hispanic women in LA and now everywhere in the country. So this is who they choose to beat up during the confirmation process. Unbelievable.
February 7, 2009 11:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
If the GOP don't have the numbers, then the question is, can they hold up a nomination indefinitely? If not, let them carry on, as it makes them look so silly when watched on CSPAN.
Ah yes, a shout out to CSPAN - best drama of the day. As I watched and commented as each Senator address their issues re: Recovery and Reinvestment Bill yesterday, it showed how inept and unprepared they were. Some were "bold" enough to appear with charts and graphs about which they mumbled on...and made no point...
Some cherrypicked parts of statements - for which they were nailed! Some used all the rhetorical terms with no substance...see the replay. CSPAN should get an award for Best Drama or Best Comedy on daytime TV!
February 7, 2009 12:18 PM | Reply | Permalink