Norman G. Owen: GOP obstruction at its best

When it comes to distortion, no one outdoes the Republicans in Congress, or their apologists like the writer of the April 28 letter “A Democratic delay.”

They claim Senate Democrats were responsible for delaying Loretta Lynch’s confirmation as Attorney General because they wouldn’t rubberstamp a human trafficking bill. But why on earth should the confirmation of the attorney general of the United States be tied to the passage of a particular piece of partisan legislation?

This had nothing at all to do with her qualifications, and the Republicans knew it. They were just mischief-making, for months on end.

It may or may not have been racism, but it was most certainly evidence of “Senate dysfunction,” as embodied in Republican obstructionism of almost everything President Obama has attempted to do. That is the real “distortion.” Those who contribute to it go well beyond “inappropriate” into “shameful.”

This story was originally published May 3, 2015 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Norman G. Owen: GOP obstruction at its best."