Senate conservatives repeat obscure objection to block another Judiciary hearing.

This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on how recent Supreme Court decisions have restricted protections of American workers and consumers. Fulfilling their role as the Grand Obstructionist Party , Senate conservatives deployed an obscure parliamentary tactic to halt the hearing, as committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) explained: This morning an all too familiar pattern was underscored when a hearing on a topic our Republican colleagues did not like was cut short, without warning, by an anonymous Republican objection . … I share the sentiments Senator Whitehouse expressed before recessing the hearing — this behavior is a disgrace to the Senate, and it is especially shameful given that the victims who traveled a long way to tell their stories to the Committee did not get a full hearing. Conservatives used the same technique yesterday to shut down a hearing on torture tactics used against detainees in U.S. custody.