I WAS GOING TO POST THAT RON FOURNIER SEEMS TO HAVE BECOME PART OF PAJAMAS MEDIA...

and then I read this:

The Party of Zilch
By Ron Fournier
November 19, 2013

The Republican Party stands for nothing. As Barack Obama threatens to fumble away his presidency along with the Democratic Party's reasons for existence—championing an active, efficient government—the GOP lurches into the leadership breach with … zilch.

Rather than be the party of solutions in a gridlocked capital, appealing to a leadership-starved public, the GOP is the party of obstruction, ensuring that its putrid approval ratings nose-dive apace with Obama's.

The country needs sensible immigration reform that brings 11 million or so undocumented residents out of the shadows. No, says the GOP.

The country needs to tame a massive debt that will be 100 percent of the gross domestic product by 2038 unless Congress raises revenue and trims entitlements. No, says the GOP.

The country needs fair debate and compromise around existential issues such as climate change, income inequality, and a deteriorating 20th-century infrastructure. No, says the GOP.

A small but recent example of Republican obstinacy came Monday when Senate Republicans blocked Obama's third consecutive nominee to the country's most important Appeals Court. Their argument is ludicrous: The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit does not have a caseload to merit filling the vacancies, Republicans claim. They failed to shrink the court by three seats, so they are blocking the president's nominees.

This is not about caseloads. Republicans had no trouble with the size of the court under President Bush. The data contradict the case for fewer seats. And all three of Obama's nominees are qualified for the job. This is pure politics of obstruction.