Come On Gang. Shape Up.

       Wow! Did I just read the scariest op-Ed by the editorial board of the New York Times. The Senate has been holding up as many as 143 senior positions not including judicial appointments. People like the Ambassador to Mexico. This person is responsible for much of the border security, Central American immigrants and counter-narcotics efforts. The nominee has been waiting since July, but it's been held up by the Senate because she was nominated by Obama. All these nominees have faced a vendetta of a stalling-like non-process.
       Think I'm kidding? In their last two years, our last two presidents have had 528 and 545 appointments confirmed, but Obama, since the beginning of 2015, has had only 193 confirmed. The question is, are these unnecessary holdups the result of a fundamental disagreement between Mitch McConnell, Senate majority leader and the President, or is it something else? The last two Presidents worked with Democratic led Senates while Obama has been unable to work with a Republican led Senate. But for whatever reason, the Senate shouldn't be holding up qualified appointments.
       Obama's policies on Guantanamo or Cuba shouldn't have anything to do with appointments for unrelated positions. For instance Eric Fanning, Army Sec'y nominee, is being held up by Sen. Pat Roberts because of the Guantanamo policy. And Ms. Jacobson 's appointment is being held up by Sen. Marco Rubio because of Obama's Cuba policies. What does Cuba have to do with Mexico?
       Whatever the problem, highly important positions are being held unfilled. Like the U.S. Army currently has no Secretary. With over a million soldiers,. not having a Secretary is a problem. Most, if not all, these unfilled positions are in retaliation for policy decisions of Pres. Obama's administration that the Senate Republicans don't like. But senior official appointments being held up doesn't make for a smoothly operating government at war with a terror organization looking for weaknesses in government.
       Now look. I'm not suggesting that Democrats aren't just as capable of vendettas as the Republicans, I'm just saying that now is not the best time to be playing childish games. Actually,. there is no time that our elected officials should be playing childish gotcha games, at least as they pertain to official business.