Yesterday the Senate stalled in moving along the confirmation of Mari Carmen Aponte. 11 additional votes were needed to break the filibuster blocking the President’s appointment.

As noted on Daily Grito last week, this particular appointment has been politically charged because of an old relationship that Ms. Aponte had with a Cuban intelligence operative (which had been investigated and Aponte was found to be worthy of being issued clearances) and more recently because she wrote an opinion pieces in an El Salvador publication advocating for tolerance in the LGBT community in that country.

Interestingly, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida voted against confirming the Puerto Rican born Aponte. Florida’s growing Puerto Rican population is seen as having more of an influence in that state.

Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, sent out the following message following the vote:

“Republicans may claim a win but it is actually a loss for our country and our effort in building and sustaining a productive relationship with Latin America. Ambassador Aponte’s confirmation could have served as an opportunity to demonstrate to the American people that partisan interest should not trump good policy. It is even more difficult to understand how someone like Sen. Rubio who had earlier supported Amb. Aponte could abandon a responsible approach to one driven by purely Republican Party politics.”

What makes the Senate’s failure to confirm Aponte even more stinging is that she has been performing this job for over a year earning praise of people across the political spectrum. But this kind of inaction or failure to accomplish things in the Senate is indicative of the current polarizing climate, where finding commonality becomes more and more difficult.